People who found the treasure. Kuryanin for the found treasure of gold coins will be paid a million. Eagle's Nest treasure

Have you ever wondered what lost treasures are still languishing in the dark and waiting in the wings? It turns out that there are many more stories in the world about legendary treasures that no one has yet found. Throughout history, people have repeatedly hidden their untold wealth, or simply stolen their fortunes from them. According to rumors, these were gold bars, jewelry, precious stones and much more, for which billions of dollars could be bailed out today. Our world is large, and therefore the search for such treasures is still a challenge, but there is always hope. Ahead is a list of 25 of the most legendary treasures that no one has yet discovered.

25. Oak Island Money Mine

Oak Island is located in Nova Scotia, Canada, and it is rumored that the abandoned mine was first discovered by a 16-year-old guy back in 1795. Previously, pirates often sailed to these places, and there was a legend that it was on this island that they hid the stolen goods. However, for several hundred years, attempts by treasure hunters have never been crowned with success. Why did people even think that treasures were hidden in the old mine? It turns out that in the 19th century, at a depth of 27 meters underground, a stone was found, atypical for Nova Scotia, and it was even possible to see a very intriguing inscription on it, which said that "at a depth of 40 feet under this stone, 2 million pounds sterling are buried." How not to dig here?

24. Dutchman's Forgotten Gold Mine


Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

In the southwestern United States, in the mountains of Superstition, there is a mine that was allegedly dug by the German immigrant Jacob Waltz, who claimed that he also discovered huge reserves of gold there. As you already understood, the German took the secret of the location of this mine with him to his grave. Every year, 8,000 adventurers try to find this mine, but so far no one is lucky in this matter. Moreover, some treasure hunters even died during their research. All for the sake of gold and glory.

23. Beale's Cryptograms


Photo: Presumably Historicair

According to legend, an American named Thomas J. Beale and 30 other adventurers found a mine near Santa Fe, full of gold, silver and other jewelry. They took the treasure and hid it in another place, and where exactly is still a mystery. However, Bale created 3 separate cryptograms in which he encrypted the names of his comrades, a description of the treasure and its coordinates. The main snag is that so far no one has succeeded in breaking this cipher. The text of these mysterious letters was even published so that at least someone could unravel it, but in the end, most treasure hunters questioned not only the existence of the treasure, but in general the reality of Bale's personality.

22. Menorah from the Second Jerusalem Temple


Photo: Steerpike

After Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed the First Temple built by King Solomon in 586 BC, Jerusalem remained without a new temple until 513 BC. Unfortunately, the Second Temple was also destroyed, but already by the Romans in 70 AD. Only the western wall of the legendary building remained intact. The Jews are convinced that the Romans stole a huge golden menorah (a ritual candlestick for 7 candles) from this temple as a trophy. Since then, no one has seen her again ...

21. Treasures of Lima


Photo: Augi Garcia

According to rumors, this is the largest and most expensive lost treasure in the entire history of mankind, and no one in the world knows where to look for this incredible treasure, although it is buried somewhere on the uninhabited island of Cocos (Isla del Coco). Tens of tons of gold, silver, jewelry and even a 2-meter statue of the Virgin Mary with a baby made of gold have sunk into oblivion, but not a single treasure hunter has ever found this cache. Famous pirates such as Benito of the Bloody Sword and even US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt have sailed to Cocos Island more than once, but in vain.

20. Golden owl

Photo: Tim Green / Bradford

This legendary figurine was buried somewhere in France on April 24, 1993. French writer Régis Hause, often published under the pseudonym Max Valentin (Régis Hauser, Max Valentin), developed a quest to find the Golden one, and to help treasure seekers in his book, he left 11 tips. Each of the clues is a riddle presented in the book with its own title, text and illustration. According to Valentine's preliminary estimates, the search for the statuette should have taken his readers from 8 to 14 months, but to this day no one has been able to find the coveted treasure. The winner of this treasure hunt game will receive a prize of 1 million francs, but so far even such a strong motivation has not helped anyone.

19. Imperial seal of China


Photo: Deadkid dk

Since 221 BC, the hereditary seal of the kingdoms, carved from the jade stone He Shi Bi, was passed from one emperor to another, even when the turn of a new dynasty came, because such was the sacred tradition. This was until about 907-960 AD, when the legendary disc was allegedly lost. No one knows exactly where the Imperial Seal of China went, and many have even decided that it never existed at all. However, there are still treasure hunters who continue to search for the legendary relic.

18. Lost Royal Regalia of England

Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

After the signing of the Magna Carta, King John the Landless, whom everyone hated, went on the run to save his life. In 1216, during an attempt to cross the tidal river Nene (Nene), the cart with the riches of John the Landless was washed away by stormy streams of dirty water, and with it the old royal regalia of Great Britain were lost. Since then, treasure hunters have repeatedly tried to find the lost treasures, but so far no one has succeeded.

17. Nazi gold


Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

The Second World War ended with the defeat of the troops of the Third Reich, and Hitler's defeated allies tried with all their might to hide the looted wealth, including drowning them in a mountain lake in southeastern Austria. Gold and other valuables totaling $ 45 billion are said to lie at the bottom of Lake Toplitz. For many years, treasure hunters tried to find the sunk trophies of the Nazis, but quite often such attempts ended in death.

16. Diamond "Florentine"


Photo: Chris 73 / Wikimedia Commons

About 500 years ago, a unique diamond was discovered in one of the mines in India, and after cutting it became a yellow diamond weighing 137.27 carats and with 126 facets (facets). This diamond was passed from one wealthy ruler to another until it finally settled in the hands of the Austrian royal family. After the First World War, the overthrown imperial family was exiled to Switzerland, where the legendary stone was supposedly flown. Since then, this diamond has never been seen again, and there are many theories about its fate. Only one thing is known for sure - the one who finds the Florentine will become a fabulously rich man.

15. Gold of the Confederation


Photo: Pixabay.com

In April 1865, Union forces marched into the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, frightening off President Jefferson Davis and his followers who were there. According to the northerners, in flight, the president of the southerners took great wealth out of Richmond, but when Union soldiers detained Davis, only a few dollars were found with him. The President of the Confederation and his henchmen were very wealthy, and the northerners were simply convinced that their opponents had hidden millions of dollars in gold reserves from them. But where did these treasures go? No one really knows, but many films and books are devoted to the search for this treasure.

14. Gold of Leon Trabuco (Leon Trabuco)


Photo: Thomas Shahan

During the Great Depression, a wealthy Mexican entrepreneur, Leon Trabuco, and 4 of his partners tried to smuggle about 16 tons of gold out of the country. Fearing that they would be caught and imprisoned, the smugglers buried their treasure somewhere in the New Mexico desert. Trabuco and his allies realized that it was too risky to sell this gold, so they never dug it back. Within 5 years, 3 out of 4 of Leon's partners died, and he himself took the location of the cache with him to the grave. Since then, the search for the treasure has not stopped.

13. Patiala's Necklace

Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

In 1928, the craftsmen of the Cartier jewelry house created a masterpiece necklace, which was adorned with 2,930 diamonds, including one of the largest diamonds in the world called De Beers. The necklace was made for the Maharaja of the Indian state of Patiala, but in 1948 it was stolen directly from the royal treasury. Some pieces of it are said to have appeared at auctions and in jewelry stores around the world in the following years, but most of the unique diamonds have never been found.

12. Treasures of the Dutch Schultz

Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

During Prohibition, the famous New York gangster, nicknamed the Dutchman Schultz, made a fortune on his scams, but this could not last forever, and one day prosecutor Thomas Dewey came for him. Schultz is said to have been so afraid of losing all his money that he buried about $ 7 million somewhere in the Catskill. Nobody knows the exact location of this cache, because the gangster took this secret with him to the grave. The search for the legendary treasure continues to this day.

11. Seven missing Faberge eggs

Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

Between 1885 and 1916, Peter Carl Faberge worked on the creation of 50 Imperial Easter eggs specifically for the Russian royal family, including Nicholas II. Of all these eggs, 8 pieces disappeared without a trace. However, in 2014, the Third Imperial Egg was discovered at a simple flea market, and after all, its value was estimated at as much as $ 33 million! The next time you go to the flea market, be careful and your friend will be incredibly lucky ...

10. Lake Guatavita Treasure


Photo: Masanalv

Locals believe that this lake is located on the territory of the legendary city of Eldorado. According to the ancient tradition of the Muisca (South American people), a ritual was regularly held here to wash off the gold dust from the skin of the ruler of the Indians, and as a worship to its gods, this civilization threw gold jewelry and other valuables into the lake. Subsequently, in Guatavita, indeed, several gold artifacts were found, but no more.

9. Treasures of the Battle of Little Bighorn


Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

Most Americans are familiar with the story of the Battle of Little Bighorn, also sometimes referred to as the last battle of George Custer, because the general then very recklessly sent a small cavalry regiment against several thousand Indians. However, few people know that two major treasures are associated with this battle. The people of Custer had an impressive bag of gold and money with them, and after their loss, the Native Americans buried these values ​​in a secret place. The Cheyenne chieftain Two Moons drew a map showing the location of the treasure, but it was lost, and no one found the treasure of Caster's company. The second treasure is already associated with Captain Grant Marsh, who drove a river boat on the Bighorn River. In an attempt to save his people, the captain was forced to dump a cargo into the water, which also included $ 350,000 worth of gold bars. Presumably, this treasure is still hiding somewhere at the bottom of the river.

8. Forrest Fenn's Treasure


Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

A former Vietnam War pilot, art dealer, collector, and self-taught archaeologist, millionaire Forrest Fenn, at the age of 87, hid enormous wealth somewhere in the Rocky Mountains Nature Reserve. The key to unraveling the place where the veteran's treasure is hidden is a poem written by Fenn himself. According to him, the treasure will certainly go to someone who can correctly use all the clues from the old man's poem.

7. Treasure of the Cahuenga mountain pass


Photo: Downtowngal

This pass is located in California, and it is rumored that untold wealth is buried somewhere there. Trick? They say that the treasure is cursed, because many treasure hunters died under mysterious circumstances. In addition, no one still knows exactly where to look for this cache.

6. The Qumran Dead Sea Manuscripts and the Copper Scroll Treasure

Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

The discovery of the Qumran scrolls is in itself almost the largest archaeological discovery in all of modern history. Like the icing on the cake, archaeologists have also discovered a treasure map. Called the Copper Scroll, this manuscript lists 64 different locations where incredible treasures can be found. Supposedly, all these treasures together could be worth almost a billion dollars, according to the descriptions in the ancient artifact. The problem is that only a very narrow circle of people who understand the very specific instructions of the author of the manuscript could understand what is written in the Copper List. In addition, there is a theory that the Romans discovered these treasures many centuries ago, but for some reason it does not deprive modern treasure hunters of the hope of still finding the Qumran treasures.

5. Secret Tomb of Emperor Nguyen Zyk-Tong


Photo: Nowic

Nguyen Zyk Tong ruled Vietnam longer than any emperor in the history of this people, and during his time on the throne he managed to accumulate an incredible amount of values. The emperor had no heirs, so he ordered the construction of a huge mausoleum. Construction lasted from 1864 to 1867, but in the end, Nguyen Zyk-tong was so afraid that the tomb with him and the treasures would be robbed that he ordered to arrange a place for a secret burial. After the death of the emperor, on his own order, 200 servants who buried their master were beheaded so that later they could not reveal the location of the secret tomb full of gold and other jewels. The treasury of Nguyen Zyk-tonga has not yet been found.

4. Royal box


Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

The royal box once belonged to Polish rulers. The box was made in 1800 and was designed to house 72 relics of the royal family. During World War II, the box was stolen by the Nazis, and since then no one has heard of it.

3. The Treasure of Mount Victorio (Victorio)


Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

In 1937, a man named Doc Noss from White Sands, New Mexico, near Victorio Peak, found a large cache of gold and silver that could be estimated to be worth almost 1.7 billion dollars. In those years, ordinary citizens were not legally allowed to own gold, so Noss could not use the treasure, and instead of selling the treasure, he hid the bullion all over the district. It is said that the man became very distant from family and friends, trying to protect the found treasure. However, he later acquired a partner named Charlie Ryan, with whom Noss tried to sell gold on the black market. However, Noss's paranoia still prevented this enterprise, because it seemed to him that his partner would betray him, and therefore the ingots were again hidden. It turned out that Doc was right about Ryan, who ended up shooting him. It is still unknown where the murdered man hid the gold.

2. Amber room


Photo: WikipediaCommons.com

It's hard to believe, but a whole room is missing! This is exactly what happened after the Nazis invaded St. Petersburg and dismantled this legendary cabinet literally piece by piece. This amazing room was originally a gift from the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm to Peter the Great as a sign of reconciliation. The soldiers of the Third Reich packed all the contents of the cabinet in 36 hours and sent the trophies in an unknown direction. Among the versions about the location of amber panels and other works of art from this room, the most popular theory is that the collection was destroyed during the bombing, although there is also a theory that it is still in someone's cache.

1. Treasure of the Masamune gunsmith


Photo: Christoph Waghubinger

Cast by the legendary gunsmith Masamune, this Japanese sword is considered the most famous artifact in Japanese history and is considered a national heritage. Unfortunately, after the Second World War, the sword disappeared. According to one of the versions, after the defeat of Japan, the ancient weapons were transported abroad into the hands of representatives of the anti-Hitler coalition. Where this Japanese relic is hidden today is still unknown.




Dedicated to all lovers of looking for someone else's good in the earth (and not only) - the largest found treasures from all over the world!

Did you play pirates or robbers as a child? Then you probably drew a card with an "X" at least once, and then pretended to be looking for a valuable treasure - a chest of gold, for example. Well, the treasures that Bigpikcha will talk about today were indeed found - by random lucky people or true adventurers. Only, unlike your children's trinkets, these values ​​are worth much, MUCH more. The most interesting thing is that sometimes the treasure is practically under our noses.


1. Treasure in the foundation of a building in Sroda Сlska

In 1985, builders undertook the renovation of the old building, who discovered a treasure in the foundation dating from the beginning of the XIV century. The walled vase contained over 3,000 rare coins, medallions and a gold crown. The find is estimated at $ 150 million. The treasure is currently on display in the Wroclaw Museum.

In 2012, search engines raised about 48 tons of silver from the ocean floor. The treasure has become one of the largest finds of silver. Its cost was estimated at $ 38 million. The valuable cargo was on a military transport ship that sank after an attack by German submarines. The treasure was found after the British Department of Transport announced a reward.

In 2007, the company Odyssey Marine Exploration, which specializes in geological exploration, found a Spanish ship offshore. Gold and silver coins were found on board. After the treasure was found, a terrible scandal erupted. The Spanish government demanded that the treasure be given. And the gold itself was exported from the territory of Peru.

In 2011, gold was discovered in the foundations of the Padmanabhaswamy temple, which is estimated at $ 22 billion. And it weighed more than 30 tons. The son of the last maharaja was present at the opening of the treasure.

6. The treasure was found in 2010 by David Crisp. He is an amateur treasure hunter. The treasure is estimated at only $ 5 million. The treasure is most valuable in the historical aspect: this is due to the fact that during this period the Roman Empire was experiencing an economic crisis and the quality of the coins was very low, and the treasure itself represents a four-year salary of a legionary warrior. Found coins can be seen in the British Museum.

The cargo with platinum was supposed to be delivered to New York during the Second World War - this platinum was used to pay for "allied aid." But the ship was sunk by a German submarine. It is very difficult to estimate the value of this treasure - according to rough estimates, it is worth $ 3 billion. It was found by the treasure hunter Greg Brooks.

The largest treasure found in England was discovered in 2009. The treasure was found by amateur treasure hunter Terry Herbert. Almost all products date from the 7th century AD. The treasure consists of silver and gold items, their total weight is 7.5 kg, and the number reaches 1500 pieces. These are weapons, dishes, and jewelry.

10. Archaeologists who excavated on the island of Jersey (Britain) have discovered a cache of treasures of the Celts. The treasure was hidden about two thousand years ago. Most likely, he was hidden from the troops of Rome, who invaded the British Isles. Now the cost of jewelry and coins is estimated at $ 17 million.

The treasure was found during the renovation of the mansion where the Trubetskoy-Naryshkins lived. During the renovation, a secret room was discovered that was not marked on the building plans. It contained whole deposits of silverware with the coat of arms of the Naryshkin family, awards and decorations. The dishes look great because they were in a linen cloth soaked in vinegar. This cache was created in 1917. The treasure was estimated at 189 million rubles.

13. In the state library of the town of Passau, a cleaning lady, Tanya Hels, accidentally discovered rare coins in 2011. Tanya took her find to the management. The treasure is estimated at several million euros. This cache contained very rare Byzantine, Greek, Roman coins. It is believed that this collection was hidden from the authorities in 1803, for the reason that the authorities took away the monastic coins and books for the needs of the government.

This treasure was found in 1984 by an archaeologist who specializes in underwater excavations. The treasure is estimated at $ 15 million. He was on a sunken ship built in the 18th century.

Galleon "Atocha" was loaded with jewels for two months! With great difficulty, the ship was sent sailing, but he never made it to the metropolis. The ship sank off the coast of Florida. The Spanish authorities have repeatedly tried to raise the treasure from the bottom, but all attempts were unsuccessful. It was only in 1985 that Mel Fisher was lucky enough to find the treasure. To find him, Mel created an entire company, Tragers Salvors Incorporated, and was also able to find investors for funding. While searching for the treasure, Mel's team surveyed about 120 sq. miles of the seabed. The value of the valuables raised is estimated at $ 450 million. It is believed that no $ 500 million worth of valuables was found from this vessel. And, probably, they will not find it anymore ...

The newspaper "Friend for another" has already written about an unprecedented incident in the history of Kursk that took place on March 6 at the Central Market. A middle-aged man approached the currency dealers and offered to buy a treasure from him - a large batch of derevolutionary Nikolaev gold coins.


He was ready to give a gold five-ruble note weighing 4.3 grams for 10 thousand rubles, an 8.6-gram royal chervonets (10 rubles) - for 20 thousand. Kuryanin explained that the cash was needed to buy an apartment. Currency traders, considering the "newcomer" crazy, estimated that the entire treasure - 260 coins - would cost about 4 million rubles. They asked to bring samples for authentication. The next morning, the client brought a five-ruble gold piece and a ducat to the market. Their weight was confirmed. But it was not possible to agree on the final price - the owner of the rare coins was detained by employees of the 1st city police department.

During a search in his private house, a pile of royal money was found and seized. As the owner explained, he accidentally found this treasure in this old building. And he decided that having sold the "gold reserve", he could buy a good apartment in the center of Kursk. The owner of the Tsar's chervonets was given a written undertaking not to leave the place, and the police began to find out how the valuable treasure ended up in the man's possession.

We decided to find out how this story ended. Dmitry Davidov, the head of the divisional commissioners of the police department No. 1 of the Kursk Ministry of Internal Affairs, told DDD that the owner of the "mountain of gold" was a 50-year-old resident of a private house in the Railway District, not far from the railway station. The total weight of 260 five-ruble rubles and chervonets seized from a Kurjan from the time of Emperor Nicholas II was 1.5 kilograms of gold. As the investigation found out, the man really found the coins in his house. They went through double examination. All the money turned out to be gold, minted during the reign of Nicholas II, which clearly indicates their historical value.

Therefore, now, according to Davidov, the leadership of the 1st police department sent a request to the Rosokhrankultura department in the Central Federal District in Moscow, with a request to determine the further fate of the valuable coins. According to preliminary information, all Nikolaev chervontsy should be transferred to one of the Kursk museums, most likely to the local history museum.

As Dmitry Davidov explained, the chicken who found the treasure, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, is entitled to 50% of the amount of its value. Now the Central Bank of Russia has set the price of one gram of gold - 1330 rubles. Thus, one and a half kilos of precious metal will pull almost 2 million. About a million rubles is due to a resident of Kursk who discovered rare coins.

Igor ZABELIN, newspaper "Friend for another"


There are many famous and legendary treasures, the search for which has been going on for several centuries. In today's review - the legendary treasures in Russia, which no one has yet found.

In an unstable time, whether it be a revolution, wars or dispossession of kulaks, some secret dungeon or land was considered the most reliable place to preserve values. The acquired property was transferred to chests, barrels, and they buried their treasures somewhere in a deep forest in a secret place.
This way of storing more or less large amounts of money was considered in the order of things until the middle of the last century. However, it was far from always possible to return for riches, often no one except the one who had hidden the treasure knew exactly where it was buried, and the treasures remained lying and waiting in the wings. A considerable number of such forgotten coin caches in Russia are scattered from the Far East to Siberia.

Treasure of Khan Ediger Magmet

Where to look: Kazan, Lake Kaban
Back in 1552, Ivan the Terrible decided to take Kazan. At the beginning, the Tatar wars tried to attack the troops besieging the fortress of the Kazan Khanate, but after some time they realized that they could not resist the troops of Grozny. Then Chapkun Otuchev, who was in charge of the khan's treasury, decided to hide all the khan's valuables in a safe place. Lake Kaban seemed the most suitable for him: the jewels were rolled into barrels, taken out of the fortress at night and thrown into the lake. During the storming of the city, everyone who knew about the exact location of the treasures was killed. And untold riches to this day rest at the bottom, under a layer of many meters of silt that has grown over hundreds of years.

Napoleon's treasure

Where to look: Zhernovka village, Kasplya, Svaditskoe, Velisto lakes; Lake Mutnoe in the Demidovsky district of the Smolensk region, Lake Semlevskoe.
Leaving Moscow, Napoleon took with him several carts with gold, valuable things and a collection of ancient weapons. According to various archival data, in total he took out about 18 pounds of gold, 325 pounds of silver and countless other valuable things. However, he never brought the trophies to the appointed place. Periodic attacks by Russian troops and the approaching cold weather forced the French to start throwing off the looted goods in order to increase the speed of the army's movement. On the way, the valuables were buried in the ground and flooded in the nearest lakes. Historians suggest that Napoleon continued to drag the carts at least to the Berezina River. The first such treasure was found near the Nara River.

Kolchak's gold

Where to look: the village of Taiga, Lake Baikal, the Tura river of the Tyumen region.
At the beginning of the First World War, Russia's gold reserves were redirected to Kazan. The head of the White movement, Admiral Kolchak, in turn, took him out of Kazan and transported him by train to Siberia. On the way, the train was attacked, during which the attackers each time stole some of the treasures. Some, according to eyewitnesses, Kolchak hid. The Bolsheviks got only half of the exported stock. Gold bars with a total weight of about 200 tons still lie somewhere in the chests hidden in Siberia.

Treasure of Sigismund III

Where to look: Moscow region, Mozhaisk, Aprelevka.
The Polish troops invading Russia in 1604 filled their chests with anything of any value. As a result, the good was accumulated on 923 freight carts, which were sent along the Mozhaisk road to Poland. But all the treasures disappeared almost without a trace, even before reaching Smolensk. According to one version, this happened because the person who sent the valuables himself had views on them and planned to stay in Russia. The records mention that they were buried near a certain churchyard. But it was not possible to establish exactly what it was and where it was, therefore the geography of the location of the treasure is rather blurred, which stretched the search for many, many years.

Emelyan Pugachev's treasure

Where to look: along the route of the troops - Orenburg, Berda, Yaitsky town, Samara, Kazan, Simbirsk, Ufa, Magnetic fortress, Iletsk defense, Beloretsk factories, Zlatoust, Orsk, Osa, Izhevsk plant, Botkin plant, Tsivilsk, Kurmysh, Saransk, Penza.
During the uprising, Yemelyan Pugachev's "treasury" was regularly replenished at the expense of the values ​​of estates and the property of local landowners. Prioritizing the mobility of rebel troops, Pugachev periodically hid wealth along the way. According to rumors, he did it in a conspicuous place, so that later it would be easier to find. Some of these caches were found in the vicinity of Orenburg. But the main treasures continue to excite the imagination of treasure hunters, hiding somewhere under a layer of earth or water.

Treasure from the ship "Varyagin"

Where to look: in the Ussuri Bay, between the Three Stones section, Mount Vargli and Sukhodol Bay.
In 1906, the cargo-passenger ship "Varyagin", en route from Vladivostok to the Sukhodol Bay, collided with a mine left after the Russo-Japanese War and sank. On board there were 250 passengers and 60 thousand rubles in gold, along with "especially valuable cargo." Only 15 managed to escape, including the captain. In 1913 he made an attempt to find and raise the ship. The ship was found, but the ship's lifting operation turned out to be too expensive, so only part of the valuable cargo was pulled to the surface. The gold remained in the holds of the ship at the bottom of the bay.

Treasure of Hetman Mazepa

Where to look: Baturin, the place where Mazepa crossed the Dnieper, Mazepa's castle - Goncharovka, a country palace - on the Porosyuchka farm.
In October 1708, Mazepa was supposed to meet with Charles XII, crossing the Desna. To go light, before leaving Baturyn, he partially buried his countless treasures. He tried to ferry other parts in a wagon train that followed along with the troops to Karl, and also hide in other places known to him alone. One of these attempts, when crossing to the other side of the Dnieper, ended with the fact that some boats with valuable cargo simply sank.

Treasure of Count Rostopchin

Where to look: the Voronovo sanatorium at the 61st kilometer of the Starokaluzhskoe highway, 37 kilometers from the Moscow Ring Road.
During the war of 1812, the Voronovo estate, located 37 km from Moscow, became the residence of the Governor-General of Moscow, Count Rostopchin. In it, he brought works of art and various values, turning the estate into a kind of miniature Versailles. After Napoleon's troops arrived in Moscow, he set fire to his estate, staging everything in such a way that supposedly all the wealth he had accumulated was destroyed. In fact, on the territory of the estate there were underground passages, through which, presumably, all the good was carried out and hidden in the district.

Treasure of the Smolensk Bank

Where to look: the village of Otnosovo in the Smolensk region.
Before the invasion of Smolensk by German troops, it was decided to take out all the funds and valuables from the bank vaults. In eight trucks, the wealth was sent to Vyazma, but the convoy came under fire and only 5 vehicles reached the nearest settlement. There are different versions of how further events developed, but the most popular is the assumption that gold and silver were buried. This theory is supported by the facts of finding individual coins of the 1924 issue near the village of Otnosovo. And all the treasure still lies somewhere in a secluded place.

Treasure of Ataman Semyonov

Where to look: near the Russian-Chinese border, Dauria region.
Preparing an escape from Chita, Ataman Semyonov decided to take out the stock of the Russian Empire, which was brought by Kappel's army, and hide it in the Daurian steppe. The valuable cargo was delivered to the Dauria station and safely buried, but during the return of the Cossacks to the armored train, they were attacked and all those who were privy to the secret of placing the treasure were killed. According to the assumptions of counterintelligence officers, the size of the territory on which the treasure may be located is 150 square kilometers. The treasure itself is estimated at about $ 500 million.

Instructions for the most fortunate treasure hunters on what and how to do when suddenly the cherished pot of silver appeared from the ground.

When an outstanding find has already been made, the question immediately arises - is there a penalty for this, a fine of 500 thousand rubles. Sometimes it does. Therefore, it is important to know what is considered a treasure under the law and what is not.

What is a treasure?

We find the definition in Article 233 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In general, by the way, a useful article. This is what is called "Article 233. Treasure". According to her, a treasure is "money or valuable objects buried in the ground or otherwise hidden." Valuable items are jewelry, precious stones, etc. But documents, manuscripts and items of historical value are not treasures.

Beach search engines may have a question here. Can a gold ring, bracelet or an expensive watch found in the sand be a treasure? No. The treasure is "hidden", purposely hidden things. Hardly anyone hides jewelry in the sand on the beach on purpose. By the way, one coin that was once lost in the field is also not a treasure.

However, let's move on to cases when you are incredibly lucky to find many coins or jewelry in one place.

The treasure was found, what to do?

There is already enough conscience for someone. Someone prefers to hide the treasure and sell for a coin, someone honestly follows the advice of lawyers and goes to the police. Before that, the find must be photographed. And the items must be handed over according to the inventory and received from the police an act of finding the treasure. For the document to have legal force, you need to enlist the support of three witnesses who will confirm that you found the treasure.

Who will get the treasure?

According to article 233 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the treasure “goes into the ownership of the person who owns the property (land plot, building, etc.) where the treasure was hidden, and the person who discovered the treasure, in equal shares, unless otherwise established by an agreement between them ". An agreement is when, before looking for a treasure, you went with the owner of the land to a notary and signed a document on the shares of the treasure.

But if you are caught when you found a treasure on a plot / house without asking the owner's permission and without notifying him in any way, “the treasure must be transferred to the owner of the land plot or other property where the treasure was found”.

In the case when the treasure has historical value, it should be given to the state according to the law. And you can only count on compensation for half the value of the find. Compensation is divided as follows: 25% of the amount at which the treasure is estimated - to the finder, 25% - to the owner of the site. If there are several property owners, then the compensation is divided equally among all (including the treasure hunter).

How do I get compensation?

Very hard. While experts estimate, while the bureaucratic red tape lasts, it may take about three years. When all this dragged on, you will have to turn to lawyers. There is a known precedent when a resident of Chita found a treasure for 300 thousand rubles, gold coins lay in the museum for three years, but he never received compensation. The lawyer helped the Chita citizen to return the treasure through the court. It is clear that that search engine did not give anything to the state anymore.

Note that compensation for the treasure, in fact, will be a reward, you do not need to pay tax on it. If the treasure has no historical value and becomes the property of the finder, you will have to pay personal income tax (13%).

What happens if you do not report the treasure?

In the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, there is no article for hiding a treasure. The legislation says that a treasure of historical value must be transferred to the state. If a person does not do this, then the find will be confiscated through the court, and the treasure hunter will lose compensation. But this is only if the court proves that the treasure has historical value. This does not apply to other treasures.