The rich old man’s purpose of burying his treasure made many people curious. It opened the most stirring treasure hunt of the 21st century.
Forrest Fenn, a famous antique dealer, filled the chest with antiques worth tens of billions of dong from his own collection and hid it. He then wrote a poem containing cryptic clues in a book, launching a treasure hunt that lasted nearly a decade and is said to be the greatest of the 21st century.
End of life wishes
Fenn was born in 1930. His father was a math teacher who loved outdoor sports. From a young age, Fenn followed his father to explore everywhere, so he soon had a love for adventure sports.
As an adult, Fenn joined the US army and became a pilot, participating in combat and achieving the rank of major. After retiring, he and his wife opened an art gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. This gallery quickly achieved success and brought him a considerable fortune.
According to media reports in the United States, in the 1980s, the gallery’s annual revenue reached about 6 million US dollars (equivalent to about 142.5 billion VND).
The turning point happened at the age of 58, when he discovered he had stomach cancer. Fenn thought about the fact that after his death, the treasures he had diligently collected would lose their owners, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable. So why not give them to someone who is “predestined” and truly deserving?
Fenn placed 265 ancient gold coins and many other treasures in a bronze chest, weighing up to 38kg. According to his own estimates, the total value of these treasures was about 47 – 118 billion VND in the 1980s.
Moreover, Fenn himself is an avid follower of outdoor sports. He hopes that through the treasure hunt, more people will get out of the city and live closer to nature. is true wealth.
The 10-year treasure hunt
In 2010, Fenn self-published her memoir, The Thrill of the Chase. In addition to stories about his adventures as an Air Force pilot, it also includes a 24-line poem that Fenn claims contains nine clues “that will lead to the end of my rainbow and treasure.”.
At first, The Thrill of the Chase was only sold at a local bookstore in New Mexico. But word spread, and by 2011, after the media picked up Fenn’s story, the real chase was on. Fenn estimates that about 350,000 people around the world have searched or are currently searching for his treasure. However, no one has found it yet.
The 24-line poem contains clues about the treasure, on the right is a map of the Rocky Mountains. The book is currently out of print and copies are sold on Amazon for up to 76 million VND.
Many people may think that treasure hunting is ridiculous and a waste of time. But there are those who have spoken out that the experience brought a positive change in their lives: Neitzel said that before learning about Fenn’s treasure, he had never gone for a walk, but when he joined, he He even climbed mountains; Kreis said she used to cower in her house, afraid of wild animals, but not anymore. “It changed us,” she said.
The quest even brings incredible economic benefits to a park. Because it matches the clues in Fenn’s treasure poem, Yellowstone Park has become hotter than ever. The park was quickly filled with a stream of people coming here to find treasure, earning dream profits for the Government as well as the Management Board.
Yellowstone Park
The treasure hunt peaked in 2015 – 2016, but with the consecutive deaths of several hunters, the national treasure hunt began to be criticized.
In January 2016, a 54-year-old man named Randy Bill disappeared during a treasure hunt in New Mexico, and his body was found half a year later.
So where is the real treasure?
Finally, this hunt came to an end when someone found it.
An image of a treasure chest was posted by a person.
Time flies to 2020, now that the “treasure hunt” has completed 10 years, an anonymous netizen suddenly posted an article online, claiming that he had finally found the treasure chest. The treasure was accompanied by a photo and immediately caused a stir.
Jack said that he had heard about “The Treasure of Fenn” since he was a child and was fascinated by it. When he grew up, he went deep into the Rocky Mountains many times to find treasure using his own research experience. But then he realized, the treasure was hidden by Fenn, the poem about the clue was written by Fenn, so he shouldn’t interpret it from his perspective. From there, he began to focus on Fenn and actually find the treasure.
Afterwards, Jack returned to Fenn with the treasure chest. During this meeting, he complained to Fenn: “Real treasure is too hard to find.”
Fenn smiled and said: “Treasure chests are of course difficult to find, but they will eventually be found, just like our lives, only when we experience them do we know how difficult it is to get.”
The photo was released when Jack went to meet Fenn
In August 2020, with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction gained during his “treasure hunt”, Forrest Fenn passed away forever at the age of 90.
