Lost Treasures Trivia Quiz

Answer: Seti I

The tomb of Seti I (KV17) is one of the most beautiful in the Valley of the Kings. But the tombs of the other three rulers have yet to be discovered. Of particular interest is Herihor, who was not a pharaoh, but High Priest of Amun at Thebes near the end of the New Kingdom period. We know that he moved the mummies of many early kings to places where they would be safe.

Many speculate that he appropriated what treasure was left in their tombs, and used it for his own burial. When his tomb is found, it may contain treasures that will put Tutankhamen's to shame!

Answer: William Shakespeare

In one of those ironic twists of fate, almost no actual handwriting by the world's greatest writer has survived. There are said to be six surviving signatures of Shakespeare, three on legal documents, and three on his will, but even the authenticity of these has been questioned (many people believe the signatures on a property deed and a court deposition are just his name written by law clerks).

There is also a manuscript of a play called "Sir Thomas More," which was written by at least six people; some believe that "Hand D" is Shakespeare's, but there is very little evidence to support this. If you could find an authentic signature of Shakespeare's, it has been estimated that it would fetch at least $5 million at auction.

A letter or poem would bring much more, and if you should stumble across a lost play - such as "Cardenio" or "Love's Labor's Won" - written in his hand, the sky's the limit! Checked those boxes of old papers in the attic lately?

Answer: Flor de la Mar

The Flor de la Mar, also known as Flor do Mar and Frol de la Mar, was a Portuguese ship of some 400 tons, that sank in a typhoon in 1512 (some sources say 1511). She was said to be carrying a cargo of 60 tons of gold, and 200 chests full of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds.

Many consider her the most valuable lost treasure ship in history. Many times in the past it has been claimed that her wreck has been discovered, but these have all been false alarms. Her cargo's value has been estimated at between $2 billion and $17 billion today. One thing you should be aware of if you stumble across this, or any other sunken galleon: expect a long series of lawsuits by various governments trying to claim your treasure as their own.

In 2012, treasure hunters had to return 17 tons of silver coins to the government of Spain.

Answer: 7

Seven of the eggs are missing; they may have been destroyed and melted down following the Russian Revolution, but one was discovered as recently as 2014! Known as the Third Imperial Easter Egg, it was made in 1887. It was purchased at a flea market by a scrap metal dealer who had intended to melt it down for its gold value. Fortunately, he did a little research online, and realized that he might have something more valuable than scrap gold.

The find was authenticated by experts, and was rumored to have been sold to a private collector for a whopping $33 million dollars! The moral of this story? Check grandma's curio cabinet - who knows what you might find there.

Answer: Sir Ernest Shackleton

The Order of Saint Patrick was established by George III in 1783. Its regalia, consisting of a badge and a star encrusted with diamonds and other jewels, were valued at £30,000. The jewels were last seen on March 15, 1907, when they were worn by the Lord Lieutenant, Lord Aberdeen, at a function leading up to a St. Patrick's Day celebration. They were discovered to be missing on July 6, 1907, four days prior to a visit to Dublin by King Edward VII.

The jewels were kept in a safe in the office of the Ulster King of Arms, Arthur Vicars. Suspicion naturally fell on him; he refused to cooperate with an investigation into the matter, and eventually had to resign his office. Vicars, however, accused his subordinate, Francis Shackleton, brother of the famous Antarctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton, of the theft. In 1914, Francis Shackleton went to prison for embezzlement in an unrelated matter. Many other suspects have been named over the years, including the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who may have stolen the jewels to raise money to finance their campaign for Irish independence.

So, what happened to "the Irish Crown Jewels"? No one knows to this day. Most likely they were broken down, the precious stones sold, and the settings melted for their gold content. But they could be still hidden away, just waiting for someone to find them. They are estimated to be worth £5 million, or about $8 million, today.

Answer: The Lost Dutchman's Mine

In the United States, Germans were often called "Dutchmen." Tales of a lost mine in the Superstition Mountains date back to the time of the Spanish Conquest. In the 1840s, a Mexican named Don Miguel Peralta was said to have shipped millions of dollars worth of gold back to Mexico, until he and his men were all killed by a band of Apache Indians. In 1870, a man named Dr. Abraham Thorne was said to have befriended some Apaches who took him, blindfolded, to the site of the mine, and allowed him to pick up all the gold he could carry. Thorne later sold the gold for $6,000. These are only a few of the stories related to the Lost Dutchman's Mine.

Waltz's landlady supposedly sold treasure maps for many years, and thousands of people have gone looking for the Lost Dutchman's Mine. Dozens have died in the attempt, many of their skeletal remains found with bullet holes in their skulls. One of these was a man named Adolph Ruth who disappeared in 1931. When his remains were located, there was a note in his pocket which read: "About 200 feet across from cave" and "Veni, Vidi, Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered).

So is there really a Lost Dutchman's Mine? Geologists say the Superstition Mountains are not the kind of place where gold is normally found. But there are enough stories to indicate that even if only a few of them are true, gold is coming from somewhere. So, if you are willing to risk your life to find it, there may be "gold in them thare hills."

Answer: 9

Only nine of the 24 original 1894-S dimes are known to exist today; one was found in a "junk box" at Gimbels Department Store in 1957, and purchased for a few dollars.

The most interesting part of the story concerns 15 year-old Hallie Daggett. She kept two of the dimes given to her by her father, but on her way home from the mint, she stopped in a drugstore and spent one of the shiny new dimes on a dish of ice cream. It may have been the most expensive dish of ice cream in history; in 2007, an 1894-S dime sold for $1.9 million at auction.

Are there more of these dimes out there awaiting discovery? Well, there are 15 unaccounted for; they may have been lost, worn slick, or melted down over the years, but, then again, one may be lying unnoticed in someone's cigar box full of old coins. It's worth a look.

Answer: British Guiana

The 1856 British Guiana 1c magenta is the world's rarest and most expensive postage stamp. There are many other stamps of which only a single example is known to exist, but none of these has captured the imagination of collectors like this one. Louis Vernon Vaughan was a 12 year-old when he found the unusual stamp.

It is crudely printed on reddish-purple paper in black ink, and shows a sailing ship. When British Guiana (modern Guyana) ran out of stamps in 1856, the local postmaster had some printed by the local newspaper to use until a new shipment of stamps arrived from Great Britain.

In addition to the one cent value, there were two differently colored four cent stamps issued. There are several surviving examples of both the blue and magenta four cent stamps, which were used to mail letters, but only one example of the one cent stamp, which was used to mail newspapers. Could there be another another lost copy in that old stamp album gathering dust in your attic?

Answer: The Concert

This small painting, "The Concert," measures on about 27" X 24" and is believed to have been painted by Vermeer around 1664. It shows a young woman playing a harpsichord, a man strumming a lute, and a woman singing. It is one of only 34 Vermeer paintings known to exist, and is valued at $130 million.

The crime has never been solved. Stolen artworks are notoriously difficult to sell, because they are so easily recognized. They sometimes turn up in odd places. Of course, if you discover the The Concert, or any of the other missing masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist, you would have to return them to their rightful owner. But you wouldn't be left empty-handed; there's a $5 million reward for the return of the stolen artwork.

Answer: Dutch Schultz

Even by gangland standards, Dutch Schultz (born Arthur Flegenheimer) was a bad character. He was, however, a very successful criminal, and acquired a fortune through his bootlegging and numbers rackets. In 1935, however, things were looking bad for Dutch; he had been charged with income tax evasion (he somehow managed to beat that rap), and had also fallen out with fellow mobsters Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Joe Bonnano over his plan to assassinate New York County District Attorney, Thomas E. Dewey. The Syndicate decided that the Dutchman was becoming too much of a liability, and dispatched Louis "Lepke" Buchalter to take care of him. Schultz was gunned down, along with several of his associates, on October 23, 1935 and died the next day.

In the years prior to his death, Schultz supposedly decided to put something aside for the old age he never lived to enjoy. He ordered a special safe constructed, and stuffed it full of $1000 bills, $20 gold coins, and negotiable bonds. Then, sometime between 1933 and 1935, Schultz and his trusted bodyguard, Bernie "Lulu" Rosencrantz, buried the safe somewhere near the small town of Phoenicia, New York.

So, is there any truth to this story, or is it just a legend? One thing is for certain: very little of Dutch Schultz's fortune came to light following his death. And while he was dying, Schultz kept mumbling about a "box" filled with money: "John, please, did you buy me the hotel for a million?. . .I'll get you the cash out of the box. . .there's enough in it to buy four-five more. Lulu, drive me back to Phoenicia. . .Don't be a dope Lulu, we better get those Liberty bonds out of the box and cash `em." Unfortunately, Rosencrantz was gunned down along with Schultz, so we may never know. But there could just be a treasure waiting in the Catskills for someone lucky enough to stumble across it.