Mining engineer by trade, explorer and treasure hunter by nature. This is where I log what I find.
Exploring is the same game as building a side hustle: you study the ground, follow a hunch, and accept that most days you come home with nothing but a good story. Every so often the signal is real. When it is, it goes here.
No staged photos and no tall tales. If it's on this page, I actually dug it up, and I'll tell you what it is and roughly where it came from (general area only, out of respect for landowners and sites).
Heading up a jungle river today. After the rain it's running fast and muddy over the boulders. Which river? That stays secret for now. Updates soon.
No finds logged yet. When something turns up, it goes here with photos and the story.
Follow the expedition on X →These are other people's finds, not mine. Each one is summarized from, and credited to, the linked source.
A walker spotted two gold rings poking out beside a field road, no detector needed, and a follow-up survey turned up four more. The six intact 10th-century arm-rings weigh 762.5 g, making this Denmark's third-largest Viking-Age gold find, now on show at the National Museum of Denmark.
Source: Medievalists.net ↗On Oct 6, 2026 a coroner ruled 47 rare Anglo-Saxon silver pennies, including "Two Emperors" coins of Alfred the Great and Ceolwulf II, part of the hoard two detectorists dug up and hid in 2015. One coin was mailed anonymously to a museum, and well over 200 coins from the hoard, said to be worth up to £30 million, are still missing.
Source: Hereford Times ↗Over 21 years and more than 1,000 beach visits, he recovered about 870 gold and silver coins plus personal items from a merchant ship wrecked in a storm in 1583. It's thought only a quarter of the money aboard has been found, but the beach is now protected, so searching there is no longer legal.
Source: BBC News ↗After five hours of digging up junk, she found a 10.6g gold cross that opens on a pin, showing the crucifixion on one side and Mary with the infant Jesus on the other. It has been declared treasure and is being assessed by the British Museum, with estimates of £20,000 or more.
Source: NationalWorld ↗A second Late Bronze Age hoard, about 3,000 years old, with two bronze axeheads, clay casting moulds and Scotland's first complete copper ingot. It is now with National Museums Scotland for conservation and study.
Source: BBC News ↗He stopped after 15 coins and called archaeologists, who lifted the whole 3.1 kg hoard in a block of soil. It is the largest coin hoard from Emperor Hadrian's reign found in Germany and is now shown at the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn.
Source: Live Science ↗2,584 silver pennies from the time of the Norman Conquest. Their $5.6 million sale made the hoard the most valuable treasure ever found in the UK.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine ↗More than 800 Iron Age objects, including cauldrons, horse harness, ceremonial spears and 28 iron tyres, buried about 2,000 years ago. Archaeologists called it "unprecedented."
Source: BBC News ↗Out walking on his doctor's advice with a newly bought detector, he found nine gold medallions, gold beads and three gold rings dating from around AD 500. At first he thought they were chocolate coins.
Source: The Guardian ↗36 whole and broken silver coins minted between about 1000 and 1065, many under Edward the Confessor. The island's deputy coroner declared them official treasure.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine ↗While searching for the remains of an ancient road, they found 17 rare 16th- and 17th-century silver coins worth more than $120,000, and handed them over to the local conservator.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine ↗A crop mark near a Roman road led to a hoard of gold and silver coins dating from 206 BC to about AD 47. It took three months to recover, and museums including the British Museum kept some.
Source: BBC News ↗An 18th-century gold and enamel mourning ring, believed to remember Sir Bassingbourne Gawdy, found after 18 months of searching the area. It was declared treasure.
Source: BBC News ↗A solid gold Bronze Age fastener, one of only seven of its kind found in England and Wales. He first wondered if it was an aluminium drawer handle.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine ↗Books whose clues lead to real hidden treasure. Statuses come from the linked sources. Last checked Oct 24, 2026.
| Book & author | Year | What was hidden | Status | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Featured: Jon Collins-Black | ||||
| There's Treasure Inside Jon Collins-Black |
2024 (on sale Oct 21, 2024) | 5 treasure boxes in 5 different US states: four similar-sized boxes (Pokémon, Past & Future, Forrest Fenn, Appalachian Footpath) and a larger "Lion's Share" box. He says he spent well over $2 million on the contents (Bitcoin, gold, gems, historic items). | 0 of 5 foundOfficial FAQ: "aware of no boxes that have been found." In an Oct 12, 2026 interview he said the boxes "are all still waiting." Last checked Oct 24, 2026. | Official site FAQ · Mysterious Writings interview (Oct 13, 2026) · The Guardian · CNN |
| Our Unbreakable Thread Jon Collins-Black (children's book) |
Not verified | Not a separate hunt. He says its clues "can take you pretty close to the Lion's Share treasure" from There's Treasure Inside. | Lion's Share box not foundSame hunt as above. He says he has no plans for more children's books. No other Collins-Black treasure book could be verified. Last checked Oct 24, 2026. | Mysterious Writings interview (Oct 13, 2026) |
| Other famous treasure books | ||||
| The Secret: A Treasure Hunt Byron Preiss |
1982 | 12 treasure boxes (casques) in cities across North America, each tied to a painting and a verse | 3 of 12 foundChicago (1983), Cleveland (2004), Boston (2019). Preiss died in 2005 and kept no record of the exact locations. Last checked Oct 24, 2026. | Wikipedia ("As of 2026") |
| Masquerade Kit Williams |
1979 | A jewelled golden hare, buried in a park in Bedfordshire, England | Solved (found 1982)Found in 1982 and sold at Sotheby's in 1988 for £31,900. The BBC notes it was found through "a mixture of luck and cunning." Last checked Oct 24, 2026. | BBC Press Office (2009) |
| Sur la trace de la chouette d'or (The Golden Owl) Max Valentin & Michel Becker |
1993 | A bronze replica of an owl, redeemable for a gold-and-silver original, buried somewhere in France | Solved (dug up Oct 2024)Announced Oct 3, 2024 after 31 years. In May 2025 the spot was revealed as Dabo, Moselle. Some hunters dispute the result, and a hunters' association filed a legal complaint. Last checked Oct 24, 2026. | BBC News (2024) · RTL (2025, French) |
| A Treasure's Trove Michael Stadther |
2004 | Gold tokens hidden in parks across the US, each redeemable for a jewel (about $1 million in total) | Solved (all found)CBS reported that all 12 tokens were found. Wikipedia says there turned out to be 14 prizes, all now found. Last checked Oct 24, 2026. | CBS News · Wikipedia |
| The Thrill of the Chase Forrest Fenn |
2010 | A chest of gold and gems in the Rocky Mountains, which Fenn said was worth about $2 million | Solved (found 2020)Jack Stuef found it in Wyoming in June 2020. At least four people died searching during the hunt. Last checked Oct 24, 2026. | NPR (2020) · CNBC (2010 launch) |
Always get permission before searching private land, follow local antiquities and treasure laws, and never put yourself in danger chasing a clue.