An entrepreneur and early crypto investor recently announced a public treasure hunt for five different treasure chests containing valuable items allegedly worth around $2 million.
Jon Collins-Black once dreamed of finding valuable treasure, but he managed to become rich by investing in Bitcoin early, so he has spent the last five years planning an epic treasure hunt for other treasure hunters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the crypto investor started acquiring a collection of valuable items to fill five different treasure chests with before burying them at undisclosed locations across the US. None of the chests are on private property, so technically, anyone can find them, although Collins-Black points out that you need to follow a series of clues and have a sharp mind in order to find even one of the chests.
The crypto investor claims that he is the only one who knows where the treasure chests are hidden, so there is no point in trying to quiz his family and friends about clues. All the information a treasure hunter needs to embark on “the greatest treasure hunt in American history” is conveniently laid out in Collins-Black’s book, There’s Treasure Inside, although he made sure to make them as difficult to decipher as possible. Each chest is also a puzzle box that needs to be opened, but while Collins-Black urged people not to force them open, as his book includes instructions on how to open them, we doubt anyone would let a puzzle stand between them an life-changing wealth.
Jon Collins-Black told Business Insider that among the valuables sealed inside the five treasure chests are a Casascius bitcoin (the first physical bitcoin ever made), a green Colombian emerald, a 2002 Shining Charizard Pokémon card, antiques from a shipwreck, and George Washington’s jelly glass, and he showed the American publication the receipts for all the items to prove that he really did buy them all.
“I was actually trying to figure out what the sweet spot would be as far as how big to make this without making it too big, I didn’t want people to go too crazy, ” Collins-Black said, adding that the value of the treasure was estimated at between $2 million and $3 million, and only expected to grow with each passing year.
“If Bitcoin goes to $500,000 or $1 million or these treasures are worth $10 million in five to seven years and someone finds them, then I think I’ll just celebrate that and be happy for it,” the crypto investor added.
In case you end up buying Jon Collins-Black’s book but find the clues inside to be insufficient or hard to decipher, don’t despair, as the author plans to eventually release more clues if the treasure isn’t discovered. He said that he didn’t want the treasure hunt to outlive him, so he may release new clues in 8 or 10 years.
“I don’t have this desire for me to be long gone and there to be the legend of the Jon Collins-Black treasures,” he said. “I don’t want to drag it on forever.”