Treasure Hunting Is the World's Worst Investment (2024)

FAQs

Treasure Hunting Is the World's Worst Investment? ›

The cost of undersea treasure hunts is double that of projects carried out by competent scientists. Only 1 in 20 salvage companies has any chance of making money. However, there is a way for investors to profit from shipwrecks.

The practice of treasure-hunting can be controversial, as locations such as sunken wrecks or cultural sites may be protected by national or international law concerned with property ownership, marine salvage, sovereign or state vessels, commercial diving regulations, protection of cultural heritage and trade controls.

YES, you can make a living hunting treasure. There are people who do it every day. But, like any job, it involves work. There are several different levels of treasure hunting to consider.

Mel Fisher was a dreamer, a visionary, a legend and most importantly, the World's Greatest Treasure Hunter.

The largest scavenger hunt consists of 3,040 participants and was achieved at an event organized by Gyeonggi Provincial Government and Uniquegood Company (South Korea) in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on 12 November 2023. There were 200 treasures hidden in total.

If the found property is lost, abandoned, or treasure trove, the person who found it gets to keep it unless the original owner claims it (so actually, unless the original owner claims it, the rule is “finders keepers”).

Archaeological remains on public land are protected under law. If you were to discover such remains, you should leave them undisturbed and notify a FS office. The purpose of the restrictions to metal detecting on public lands is to protect historical remains.

the object doesn't need to be kept and should be returned to the finder. the object should be kept for a museum. If this happens, the finder might be paid a reward, based on the value of the object.

The IRS Uses Fair Market Value

“Whether or not you sell the found object has no bearing on the fair market value requirement. Even if you choose to merely keep and use the thing you find, the value of it is taxable.”

What lost treasure has never been found? ›

Found in the 1980s in the town of Środa Ślaska, Poland, the Środa Treasure is a 14th-century hoard of gold and silver coins, precious stones, jewelry, and a gold crown. It is worth a cool $120 million. Workers discovered the hoard during demolition work in 1985.

Tommy Thompson, 69, was held in contempt of court since December 15, 2015, for refusing to share the whereabouts of the missing gold coins valued at roughly $2.5 million. He has been in prison ever since, the AP reported.

The biggest treasure so far discovered would be the Hindu Padmanabhaswamy temple treasure of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, south India, worth $14 billion USD, and consisting of gems, coins and images, hidden in a secret room.

Often called “the world's richest” shipwreck, Spanish naval galleon San José carried up to 200 tons of gold, silver, and uncut gemstones when it sank in 1708 during a battle with British warships. (Read more about the San José.) Estimates of the ship's treasure range from a few billion dollars to more than $20 billion.

The treasure trove rule dictates that a treasure trove belongs to the finder. Courts distinguish a treasure trove from other mislaid property as refined gold and silver, or paper money buried or otherwise hidden or concealed.

Under the 1987 Abandoned Shipwreck Act, US states have ownership of any shipwreck found up to three miles off the coastline, meaning you won't receive any financial gain for these finds. Some states, like Florida, have even stricter jurisdiction on their coastlines.

A majority of state courts, including those of Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Wisconsin, have ruled that the finder of treasure trove is entitled to it.

The Treasure Hunt consists of clues, each one leading to the next clue. Each correctly solved clue carries 10 points. And final Treasure carries 50 points. All the clues of the teams are at different and located at different places but the final destination i.e. the treasure is same.