Staffordshire Hoard --- Metal detecting hobbyist Derek McLennan stands to make a fortune after the treasure trove of 10th-century Viking artifacts he discovered in a field in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland in 2014 was valued at $2.6 million (£2m). National Museums Scotland is in the process of acquiring the hoard.
Santa Margarita Gold Chalice -- Diver Mike DeMar thought he'd come across a discarded beer can when his metal detector beeped during a dive off Florida's Key West in September 2008. Amazingly, he'd discovered a gold chalice that was lost in the Santa Margarita shipwreck of 1622, worth upwards of $1.3 million
Hand Of Faith Gold Nugget
-- The largest gold nugget ever found using a metal detector, the 960-ounce Hand of Faith was discovered by Kevin Hillier near Kingower, Australia back in September 1980. The $1.1 million (£837k) find was later sold to the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas, where it remains on display to the general public.
The Hoxne Hoard --- The largest stash of late Roman gold and silver discovered in Britain, the Hoxne Hoard was found by metal detecting whiz Eric Lawes back in November 1992 buried in farmland near Hoxne, England. Valued at $2.3 million at the time, the find is worth $4.3 million in today's money.
The Sroda Treasure -- Back in 1985, an old building in the town of Sroda Śląska was being demolished ahead of renovation works when a vase was found beneath the foundation. Inside were more than 3000 silver coins, dating back to the 14th century. A couple of years later, when another building nearby was knocked down, even more, artifacts were uncovered, including lots more gold and silver coins and an array of jewelry, including a gold crown and a ring bearing the head of a dragon. Although there’s clearly a lot of treasure there, experts have struggled to put an exact value on it, because nothing else quite like it really exists.
THE CAESAREA SUNKEN TREASURE
scuba divers exploring the seabed near the harbor of Caesarea National Park, Israel, thought they’d stumbled across a child’s toy when they found the first gold coin. But when they saw how many coins there were, and looked more closely at the engravings on them, they realized they’d found something pretty significant.
They reported their find to the Israel Antiquities Authority and returned with metal detectors to search the area more thoroughly. In the end, nearly 2000 coins were recovered—the coins were of several different denominations and had been minted at different times, sometime between the 10th and 12th centuries. (You can see a closer view of the coins in the top image.)
And so far, no one’s attached an exact value on the find, except to say that it’s so valuable, it’s essentially priceless.
There are a lot more exciting stories of lost treasure, ghost towns, outlaws and much, much more @ www.diggerzone.com
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