67. The Staffordshire Hoard
Est. Value Today: $5 million*
Year Disappeared: 650-675 A.D.
Year Discovered: 2009
An amateur treasure hunter discovered the Staffordshire Hoard in a field in Staffordshire, England. The hoard is the largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever found, consisting of 4,600 precious items and metal fragments comprising 11 pounds of gold, 3 pounds of silver, and thousands of pieces of garnet cloisonne bracelets, necklaces, rings, and other jewelry.
The Staffordshire Hoard @britishmuseum / Twitter.com
The artifacts are martial and made by high-quality craftsmen. The hoard was thought to be buried in 650-675 A.D., and it likely belonged to a high-ranking military noble. At the time of its deposition, the hoard was located in Mercia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of great historical import.
68. The Lincolnshire Treasure
Est. Value Today: $500,000*
Year Disappeared: 300s A.D..
Year Discovered: 2019
During the ancient Roman empire, the aureus, a basic gold coin, was used, along with denari (silver) and asses (bronze). Over the centuries, explorers, excavation companies, and lucky people with metal detectors have found hoards of these coins. The Lincolnshire Treasure is an example of such a find.
The Lincolnshire Treasure @bbc.com/
Someone with a metal detector found a hoard of 10,000 Roman coins. The coins were ensconced in two pottery containers, one inside the other, in Cambridgeshire. The value of the hoard is possible around $500,000, depending on the condition of the coins, which comprise one of the largest coin hoards ever found.
69. The Sroda Treasure
Est. Value Today: $149.67 million*
Year Disappeared: Mid-1300s
Year Discovered: 1985-1988
The Sroda Treasure is yet another trove on this list that was found by accident. In the 1980s, contractors were conducting renovations on Sroda, Slaska, Poland, a Silesian town. While excavating an old building, the workers discovered buried treasure dating back to the mid-1300s.
The Środa Treasure @chimran55/Twitter
The fourteenth-century trove was full of 3,000 pieces of silver coins. It was hard to put a value to the items, as they were unlike any other treasure pieces in the world. Some estimated the Sroda Treasure’s worth well into the nine-figure and eight-figure ranges. Most of the items from this hoard are on display at a local museum in Sroda.
70. The Bactrian Gold
Est. Value Today: Incalculable
Year Disappeared: 0-100 A.D.
Year Discovered: 1978
According to Smithsonian Magazine, the Bactrian Gold “shook the world of archaeology.” The gold’s value is so immense that it is nearly priceless and definitely incalculable, says the Wall Street Journal. The Bactrian Gold was found at Tillya Tepe, a site in Northern Afghanistan. The treasure was unearthed by a Soviet-Afghan team of historians.
The Bactrian Gold ©H Sinica/Wikimedia Commons
The hoard consisted of 20,600 ornaments made from gold, ivory, silver, and other precious metals. They were discovered in the burial mounds for one man and five women, all of whom were likely high-ranking members of first-century A.D. society. The closest pieces to these items are the Scythian gold artifacts, which were recovered thousands of miles away on the banks of the Chersonese and Bosphorus.
71. The SS Georgiana
Est. Value Today: $12 million*
Year Disappeared: 1863
Year Discovered: 1965
It’s not often that you hear of ships being purposely scuttled by their captain. It’s the ultimate last resort to avoid capture. Sadly for the crew on The SS Georgiana, there was no other option. To avoid such a situation on her maiden voyage, the ship was deliberately damaged in 1863.
The SS Georgiana ©Wikiwand.com
In 1965 it was discovered by E. Lee Spence, who also found many things of note laying in the once lively ship, such as plenty of medicine and other items like munition. Believe it or not, these rescued sundries came in at a value of over $12 million.
72. The Vrouw Maria
Est. Value Today: Unknown
Year Disappeared: 1771
Year Discovered: 1999
Art has been precious for years, even back in 1771. While the art scene may have changed a fair bit since then, the value of a good painting was still well respected. The Vrouw Maria was tasked with ferrying a hull full of paintings and other art objects when it ended up sinking just off the shore of Finland.
The Vrouw Maria @Human Freeman / Twitter.com
Amazingly, despite the ship being discovered in 1999, no one has yet looked inside the cargo hold. Therefore, the condition of the art that has been lying there for hundreds of years remains entirely unknown. It could be pristine, or it could be mulch.
73. The Awa Maru Treasure
Est. Value Today: $5-$10 billion*
Year Disappeared: 1945
Year Discovered: Undiscovered
The fate of The Awa Maru is particularly tragic. Despite sailing as a relief ship under the service of the Red Cross in 1945, the huge vessel was attacked by a US ship. Torpedoes made quick work of The Awa Maru. Out of over 2,000 on board, only one survived.
The Awa Maru @ptillery / Twitter.com
Although the ship itself was discovered in 1977, the Japanese government didn’t start to salvage it until 1980. There were rumors that there was over $5 billion in platinum on board, but when the ambitious salvage project was complete, the government denied there was any treasure to be found.
74. The Dmitrii Donskoi
Est. Value Today: Unknown
Year Disappeared: 1905
Year Discovered: 2018
The Dimitrii Donskoi came face to face with the bottom of the ocean in 1905. The Russian naval ship has been serving for quite some time before it eventually ended up scuttled after it was badly damaged during a battle.
The Dmitrii Donskoi @jesslit / Twitter.com
In 2018 a treasure hunting company claimed to find the wreck of the ship, and what’s more, reported that it had over $133 billion in gold on board. After fundraising $53 million to complete the retrieval mission, it turned out to be a giant scam. According to officials, there is no evidence that gold really exists on the wreck.
75. The Hội An Shipwreck
Est. Value Today: $1 million*
Year Disappeared: 1450-1499
Year Discovered: Early 1990s
Sometime between the mid- and late-1400s, the Hoi An was carrying a massive cargo of Vietnamese ceramics. The kilns from the Red River Delta were rare, but they would never make it to their destination. In the 1990s, a group of fishermen discovered the site after they dragged up a massive haul of ceramic fragments.
The Hội An Shipwreck @Cantonimports / Facebook.com
The Vietnamese government attempted to excavate the Hoi An wreck, only to be thwarted by the 290-foot water depth. Looters took over when the government gave up, and they dragged nets across the site to catch pieces of the kilns. Finally, Ong Soo Hin, a Chinese businessman, hosted his own excavation at the cost of $14 million. They were able to recover 250,000 intact artifacts.
76. The RMS Republic
Est. Value Today: Over $1 billion*
Year Disappeared: 1909
Year Discovered: 1981 (Rediscovered)
The RMS Republic was one of the wealthiest liners in history and some historians estimate that, adjusting for inflation, her total cargo onboard would be worth over $1 billion if unearthed. Republic sank after she collided with another ship. Luckily, the Republic was equipped with a brand-new Marconi telegraph.
The RMS Republic @rafaelarmada20 / Pinterest
Republic crew issued a CDQ distress signal, which saved 1,500 lives. The “Millionaires Ship,” as she was known because of how many rich Americans traveled onboard, was the flagship of Boston’s White Star Line. The Republic is significant because she was the first marine rescue made via radio, ushering in worldwide attention to the use of Marconi’s brilliant invention.
77. Nuestra Señora de Las Maravillas
Est. Value Today: $400 million*
Year Disappeared: 1656
Year Discovered: 2022
You might have seen this one in the headlines recently as, after a nearly four-hundred-year disappearance, the Nuestra Senora de Las Maravillas has been found. The Spanish galleon sank on its way back to Spain while passing through the Bahamian Channel.
Nuestra Senora de Las Maravillas @dailymail/Pinterest
It was there, in these unmapped reefs, that Las Maravillas lost its bearings and sank, taking $400 million worth of treasure down with it. Centuries later, in 2022, the shipwreck was found forty miles from the Little Bahama Bank after a few years of searching. These modern-day treasure hunters achieved what the Spanish government in the 1600s failed to do, despite attempt after attempt: bringing Maravillas’ treasures back from the depths of the sea.
78. The Ship of Gold
Est. Value Today: $100-$150 million* (Gold Recovered)
Year Disappeared: 1857
Year Discovered: 1988
Around one-thousand Gold-Rush era treasures have been recovered from The Ship of Gold, and these treasures are now, fittingly, on display in Reno, Nevada. These remarkable findings have piled up from the 1980s until 2014, and the Ship of Gold’s treasure includes mysterious daguerreotypes, a pair of original Levi Jeans, and, of course, a lot of gold.
The Ship of Gold @rgj/Twitter
The Ship of Gold sank in 1857, and it has had a fascinating history ever since—the sinking was not the end of the Ship’s story. The shipwreck was first officially found in 1988 by an explorer named Tommy Thompson, who has remained imprisoned by the federal government of the U.S. for refusing to reveal the whereabouts of five hundred gold coins that he took from the wreck.
79. The Coraliarium
Est. Value Today: $50 million*
Year Disappeared: N/A
Year Discovered: 2018
The Coralarium is a massive underwater art installation that makes the seafloor look as though it has come from another planet. Artist Jason de Caires Taylor created this project, which cost $50 million to create, in a remote, turquoise-water Maldivian lagoon.
The Coraliarium @rellz61/Pinterest
In the waters of the Indian Ocean were the sculptures of many different people and strange hybrid coral features. The Coralarium was intended to mimic the surrounding coral reef, giving sea creatures a chance to explore a new habitat. Unfortunately, in 2018, just months after Taylor made his project, the Maldives government ordered the Coralarium destroyed because it was deemed a threat to “the peace and interests” of the Maldives.
80. MV Dona Paz
Est. Value Today: $3,500* (Restitution Money To Victims)
Year Disappeared: 1987
Year Discovered: N/A
It has been decades since the MV Dona Paz sank. This ferry collided with a nearby tanker, and it burned and sank below the waters of the Philippines just five days before Christmas. The Dona Paz remains the deadliest shipping incident in history, adding a dark page to the Philippines’ maritime track record.
MV Dona Paz ©lindsaybridge/Wikimedia Commons
The ferry was built in Japan and launched on April 25, 1963, twenty-four years before it sank. Years later, there was a huge debate over what the survivors of the Dona Paz’ sinking were owed—eventually, the restitution ended up being just a few thousand dollars.
81. The Mary Rose
Est. Value Today: Unknown
Year Disappeared: 1535
Year Discovered: 1971
King Henry VIII, the head of the Tudor Navy, launched the Mary Rose in 1511. This carrack warship was substantially rebuilt in the 1530s, and she saw her last action nine years after that rebuild on July 19, 1535. The Mary Rose went down after launching a vicious attack on a French invasion fleet.
The Mary Rose ©Olivia Harris /Getty Images
She did some damage, though she would later sink in the Solent on the Isle of Wight. In 1971, the wreck was located, and it was raised by the Mary Rose Trust eleven years later. The findings included sailing equipment, weapons, naval supplies, and other objects used by the crew. You can see these remarkably well-preserved artifacts in England’s Mary Rose Museum.