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- Okay, let's see.
If X marks the spot, and X is also 10 in Roman numerals,
then the treasure must be buried at the end of this video!
That's how it works, right?
So, believe it or not, "treasure hunter" is a real job.
And while most of them return home
of course, empty-handed, you'd be surprised to learn
that some actually return home
with a fortune fit for a king.
So grab yo shovels, because we're about to unearth
the 10 biggest treasures ever discovered.
#1 is the Frome Hoard.
In April of 2010, in Somerset, England,
Dave Crisp was using his metal detector along the ground
when he happened to stumble upon
a giant stash of Roman coins.
Exactly 52,503 coins were discovered
buried in a ceramic pot after Mr. Crisp
found the first one in a chunk of clay.
Made from silver and bronze, the coins date back
all the way to 253 and 305 CE.
How much was it worth?
Well, historians say that it was comparable
to a four year working salary of a Roman legionary.
Today, the hoard is valued at around $460,000,
and is currently held at the Museum of Somerset.
And you be laughing at people on the beach
with their little "beep beep beep" machines.
Yeah, not no more.
#2 is the Atocha Motherlode.
On July 20th, 1985, after over 17 years of treasure hunting,
Mel Fisher discovered the wreckage
of a Spanish ship off the Florida Keys.
The Our Lady of Atocha sailed in 1622
with an extremely large amount of
silver, gold, copper, indigo, and precious jewels
that took over two months to load it.
Since the discovery, over 40 tons' worth of silver and gold
has been collected, valued at over $450 million.
And that's only half the reported treasure!
The rest of the treasure is still lost
with the sterncastle section of the ship,
somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.
Time to go for a swim!
#3 is the Fishpool Hoard.
In Ravenshead, England in 1966,
construction workers at a building site
accidentally dug up a cache of medieval coins
that went on to become the largest
discovery of its kind in Britain.
1,237 gold coins, four pieces of jewelry,
four rings, and two lengths of golden chain,
all from the 15th century, were recovered
and valued at around $430,000.
The hoard was most likely buried by a refugee
during the early battles of the War of the Roses,
some time between 1463 and 1464 CE.
The collection currently sits in the British Museum,
that is, until I get there.
I'm gonna pull an Italian Job. I'mma be right back.
#4 is the Cuerdale Hoard.
On May 15th of 1840 in Cuerdale, England,
a group of men working to repair
an embankment on the River Ribble
discovered a lead box buried
with a massive amount of Viking treasure.
Dubbed "the Cuerdale Hoard", the treasure included,
prepare yourself for this,
7,000 Anglo-Saxon coins from 903 to 905 CE
of various types, and 31 kilograms of silver ingots.
The majority of the coins were from Viking colonies,
but some were collected from various foreign sources
such as Byzantine, Scandinavia, Islam, and Northern Italy.
The entire hoard is valued at over $3.7 million.
You know when those guys found it, they were like,
"Foreman! Yeah, I retire, peace."
#5 is the Whydah Galley.
Discovered in 1984 off the coast
of Wellfleet, Massachusetts by Barry Clifford,
the Whydah Galley was the captured British flagship
of an extremely wealthy pirate named
Captain "Black Sam" Bellamy.
Over 200,000 pieces have been collected from the wreckage,
including gold and silver coins, jewelry, and cannons.
But, perhaps the greatest find came
when the ship's bell, which had the ship name
and maiden voyage date of "1761" engraved on it
was fully authenticated as the first
pirate ship ever discovered.
Clifford didn't sell any of the treasures
that he'd brought back,
making its true value relatively unknown.
Recovery of the Whydah treasure is still ongoing, however,
much of the valuable gold that it was reported
to have been carrying is still yet to be found.
Look at that!
Now there's finally a good reason to go to Massachusetts!
#6 is the Saddle Ridge Hoard.
In April 2013, while walking in the
Sierra Nevada Mountains in California,
a couple happened upon an old metal can
of near-mint gold coins.
Upon further investigation, seven more
metal cans were found, totaling 1,400 gold coins
from between 1847 and 1894,
during the California Gold Rush era.
And the collection is worth upwards of $10 million.
Could you imagine how he felt
when he found all those gold coins?
How do you keep a secret like that? I'd be nervous.
Okay, John. You found a bunch of gold coins.
Just be cool. Don't make it obvious.
- [Voiceover] Hey John, how's it going?
- What?! I didn't find any gold coins!
I mean, hey.
(chuckles nervously)
#7 is the Terracotta Army.
On March 29th, 1974, in Xi'an, China,
seven Chinese farmers digging a well
struck the head of a large statue.
That one statue was joined
by the rest of the Terracotta Army
in the eventual unearthing of thousands more.
With many more still buried, it's estimated
that the army consists of 8,000 soldiers,
520 horses, 150 cavalry horses, and 130 chariots.
The army was constructed in the 3rd century BCE
under the rule of Emperor Qin Shi Huang
to help protect him in the afterlife.
Each statue has unique facial features
and were colorfully painted in their original state.
Sadly, the farmers who discovered the statues
received nothing for their find,
and the government seized their land.
Today, the value of the stone army is completely unknown,
but officials call it priceless.
I get it.
Priceless because it's a once in a lifetime find,
but also priceless because who's gonna buy a stone statue?
It's just stone.
#8 is the Java Sea Treasure Trove.
Discovered by divers swimming in the Java Sea
off the coast of Indonesia in 2004,
this treasure consisted of 271,000 artifacts
from a 1,000 year-old shipwreck.
It took 30 divers and 22,000 dives to recover the treasure,
which was largely made up of 10th century ceramics
and porcelain from China and ancient Egypt.
Also found were 14,000 pearls, 4,000 rubies,
2,200 garnets, and 400 red sapphires.
The collection is worth over $80 million
and is currently being auctioned off
by the Indonesian government.
Okay, I get it. Impressive.
But I've seen Pirates of the Carribean.
Please, does anyone know if there
were zombie pirates down there?
Who's got the answers?
#9 is the Black Swan Project.
On May 18th, 2007, Odyssey Marine Expedition Inc.
flew some 17 tons of gold and silver coins
that they recovered off the coast of Portugal
to an unknown location in the US.
It was later proved that the coins
had come from a Spanish frigate
called the Our Lady of Mercy that sank in 1804.
In 2012, the coins, valued at $500 million
were flown back to Spain to be put on display in museums
after the Spanish government sued Odyssey.
Okay, but how much did they sue them for?
Because if I was them, I would just like
sell a small portion of it, give them 10 million,
and then you've still got 400-something million.
It's just math, people.
And #10, the Sree Padmanbhaswamy Temple Treasure.
And now for the real mother lode.
In June 2011 in India, a Supreme Court
gave archaeologists permission
to open some very secret vaults.
Located inside the ancient Sree Padmanbhaswamy Temple,
this treasure was worth nearly
$10 billion in antique valuables.
Just some of the contents of this vault included
sacks of diamonds, thousands of pieces of jewelry,
gold and silver antique items, and thousands of coins
that dated back several centuries.
This find made the temple by far the wealthiest institution
and place of worship of any kind ever.
There's another underground chamber
beyond the vaults that is presently unopened
and that archaeologists believe contains more valuables
at an estimated value of over $1 trillion.
I understand if they wanna leave it for now,
but you know, the economy might get bad again.
You never know. You might have to dig up a corpse or two.
(chuckles)
Ooh, a diamond inside a skull! I'll take that, thank you.
Pay off your debts.
And kids, that's how the economy works.
And that's all for this video, guys.
If you enjoyed it, remember to subscribe to my channel
so that you can catch my next video.
And I will see you in the next one.
Oh and by the way, the treasure? Here it is!
(exhales)
Carbon dioxide from my lungs.
No, knowledge! That's the real treasure!
Knowledge!
Knowledge.
Knowledge!