What do a comic book, a jar of old coins, and some broken jewelry have in common? Well, the people who found them all got rich, for starters. From Smaug’s hoard beneath the Misty Mountains to Blackbeard’s Booty, there’s no shortage of lost treasures in pop culture. But why Lara Croft it up with all the puzzles and dinosaurs when you could just… stumble upon your riches? Wait, is that an option? Chill! Get the shovels! Yay! Treasure hunt! Wait! No no no! While some people may think of lost treasure as buried gold and jewels, that’s not always the case. Well I’m sorry for thinking you were getting at something. If I knew about a treasure around here don’t you think I’d have hidden it somewhere myself? Somewhere close to me? Somewhere that only I’d look? Somewhere loaded with caffeine? Are you saying that Howard’s got treasure inside him? Touch me and you cease to exist. Besides, not all treasure takes the form of gold and jewels, sometimes it’s something a little more common and legible. Minnesota, 2013 - contractor David Gonzalez was renovating the house he and his wife Deanna had purchased for $10,100. Built in 1938, the place was a bit of a... fixer upper. Breaking open one of the walls, he found a most peculiar addition among the insulation: namely, an issue of Action Comics #1. For those unaware, Action Comics #1 was a comic book released in 1938 by National Allied Publications, or as they’re known today, DC Comics. Action Comics #1 is also notable for a few other things. It was the first appearance of Zatara, the superhero stage magician who practices real magic! Oh, and it also featured the first depiction of Superman, I guess, if that’s what you're into. And it is what a lot of people are into - to the point where prices for Action Comics #1 are… well, high would be an understatement. Actor and Brew Crew favorite madman Nicolas Cage purchased a near mint copy in 1997 for 150,000 US Dollars. He later sold it in 2011 for over 2.1 million US dollars. More recently, a “pristine” copy of the comic book sold for over $3.2 million at auction in 2014. And how much did Gonzalez’s copy sell for? Well, sadly being kept in the wall of a house and being used as insulation doesn’t do much to maintain quality, and unfortunately for Gonzalez, the comic was further damaged by his wife’s aunt who grabbed it and tore it in the excitement. But even damaged as it was, the issue still sold for $175,000! More than 17 times what the house itself was worth. How did it get there? Well, if I had to guess, given that the house and the comic were from the same year, and that it was found in the wall with newspaper used for insulation, the comic was probably just used as insulation as well. After all, it’s not like someone in 1938 would necessarily know that their comic book would be worth millions one day So you’re saying there could be treasure in the WALLS? Chill! Get the sledgehammer! Time for renovations! No no nononononono! Okay, let’s move from the contemporary to something a little more old fashioned. Como, Italy, 2018. The former Cressoni theatre, open from 1870 to 1957, was being renovated when workers discovered a stone pot while excavating the basement. The contents of which dated to long, long before the theater had ever existed. Was it gold? Rupees? Doubloons? Close! Gold coins, actually! YES Haha. Zorlda was right! CHILL! GRAB POTS! Yeah! Hyuh, hyuh, hyah! Huh! Augh! No! Why do you keep thinking my modern home has hidden treasure? This whole subdivision was up pretty much overnight! Dun dun dun DUN Unlike the Cressoni pot, which turned out to be housing more than 300 golden coins from the Roman Empire! In fact, some of these coins featured figures like Emperor Valentinian III, who ruled over Rome from 425 to 455 CE, around the same period that the coins were dated to. According to rare coin expert Maria Grazia Facchinetti, the coins were "buried in such a way that in case of danger they could go and retrieve it" and, “stacked in rolls similar to those seen in the bank today," which lead her to the conclusion that, “the owner is not a private subject, rather it could be a bank or deposit." Not only that, but according to archaeology superintendent Luca Rinaldi, the coins are in an unprecedented pristine condition. Or, in her words to the London Times, “Sometimes coins that are found are stuck together, but these are all separate. It was like opening a wallet,” After their discovery, and an apparent discovery of a gold bar in the same pot, the coins were taken to be restored in Milan and are estimated to be worth millions of dollars. Where did the coins come from in the first place? Well, the site of the Cressoni theater was just a few steps away from the city’s forum - a place where merchants and banks did business. Given Facchinetti’s statement that the coins were buried to be retrieved later and stacked in rolls, they could have been hidden by a merchant or banker who was unable to retrieve them. Guess you could say they really hit the jackpot? Euuuughhhhhh... And on the topic of gold... Staffordshire, England, 2009. Metal detecting enthusiast and amateur treasure hunter Terry Herbert was searching the land of farmer Fred Johnson when his metal detector picked something up. Digging in the spot, Herbert found gold. Like, literally. He found what would turn out to be 1,500 pieces of golden and silver artifacts dating back to 700 CE. You can find treasure with METAL DETECTORS? … I mean, yes. Obviously. Oh yeah, I guess that’s kinda— BREW IT’S PICKING UP HOWARD. Grill, he’s… He’s literally made of metal. Or maybe there’s TREASURE INSIDE HIM. Only of the caffeinated variety. Unlike the treasure Herbert discovered. Among the pieces recovered were pieces of helmets, swords, religious symbols, and some unidentified objects that had been buried away for over a thousand years. Once uncovered, English archaeologists quickly moved into the site and unearthed more items in what academic project leader Chris Fern described as “without a doubt one of the greatest finds of British archaeology”. After a decade of study, the treasure, known as the “Staffordshire Hoard”, or “Staff Hoard” is believed to be the spoils of battle taken by the Mercian kingdom sometime in the 600-650 CE period. In addition to being a significant British archaeological find, the treasure was also described as the most important find in Anglo-Saxon history by the Independent and other news sources, and even contained the world’s earliest known surviving hierarchical religious headpiece. Which is amazing! There’s so much that we could learn from a find like this, and it’s astounding luck that it was even found at all. Hey Brew, Um. Didn’t Herbert get help from some friendly treasure spirits or something? Huh. Ok, yes, I do have to acknowledge this one. Herbert claims he had dreamed of gold night after night and on the day of his discovery he, as was his tradition, repeated a good luck phrase he said before every hunt: “Spirits of yesteryear, take me where the coins appear” - though in this case he replaced “coins” with “gold”. Herbert then claimed he felt “pulled” towards the spot where he found the treasure. Did he get help from spirits? I dunno, probably not. Though I can’t really disprove spirits. For Herbert, he may have placed more importance on the spot after finding the treasure leading to a feeling of being drawn there. But - you know what? Here. Been awhile since I used this. Spirits of… uh… yesteryear! Heed my call! Do you um… Exist? Umm… Hmm. I don’t know where this leaves us. Researchers have since found that all the items from the Staffordshire Hoard were parts of valuable items. A golden warrior’s helm, parts of a sword, golden crosses and pagan symbols… It’s unlikely that just anyone could have gotten ahold of these. Some of the objects may have belonged to elite warriors, kings, and high ranking clerics. While we don’t know who exactly buried them or why, I can make a guess. The hoard was buried sometime between 655 and 675 CE, a tumultuous time for Mercia. King Penda had been slain in 655, an event that began a power struggle in the region. The items are believed to be spoils of battle. Perhaps the items were buried to keep them out of the hands of their owner’s foes? Or maybe they were buried after the death of his successor, Wulfhere in 675. As for Terry Herbert and Fred Johnson, the farmer who owned the land he found the gold in… Well, the two apparently weren’t on great terms after the topic of money came up, especially since that topic weighed out to about 3.3 million pounds - or roughly 4 million dollars. But, the BBC described that the money was split between the two of them as per UK law. And while that much money could carry temptations, well, Johnson at least says that it hasn’t changed him. As exciting as all this is, it’s important to note that before you go off searching for lost treasure your actual chances at finding any are… well, not good. There are plenty of stories that get passed around about lucky treasure hunters who find a lost hoard, but for each of them there are many more who come back empty handed, and even if you don’t you might not get to keep it depending on local laws. Terry Herbert described his find as “better than winning the lottery!” but you may actually have better luck winning the lottery. Oh also, we did a video on lotteries way back, so if you’re keen on learning about that you can go there! But really, between you and me, I think the real treasure is the friends- JEWELS! No, it’s the… The friends No. There are JEWELS. And gold. Inside Howard. Well yes, there’s a treasure inside all of us. No I’m serious, look at this. How long have you kept these in here? Keeping what in where now? Put them back. You could- PUT THEM BACK. The um. The greatest treasure is the friends we make Hyah!
