St. Patrick’s day brings to mind the Irish legend of the pot of gold guarded by a leprechaun at the end of the rainbow. The pot of gold is simply unreachable because its location changes as soon as the treasure hunter’s location changes to investigate. The refracted light on water droplets that creates the rainbow effect is replaced with a different rainbow effect with even a single step towards it.
Perhaps there is some gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow, just waiting to be found. In the style of uncovering and cracking a code in Dan Brown’s novels, here are two interesting treasure hunts that Americans are undertaking to find gold:
- The Beale Cipher. There was a pamphlet sold in 1885 containing three ciphers, with one decoded that described the treasure, including gold coins buried in Virginia (estimated value of $43 million). The other two ciphers described the location and heirs for the treasure that was allegedly buried in 1820. Many attempts have been made to break the cipher, but none with recognized success to date. Several books and TV shows have mentioned the topic. Want to try to crack the code? It can be found on Wikipedia here.
Perhaps it’s real, or perhaps a ploy to sell pamphlets to eager treasure hunters.
- The Fenn Treasure. Noted millionaire author Forrest Fenn allegedly has hidden a treasure box of gold coins in the Rocky Mountains worth over $1 million, with the clues to find it buried in his book, The Thrill Of The Chase. The mountains can be dangerous, and Fenn has reportedly urged caution upon seekers. He suggested that the treasure is not hidden in a dangerous place, because it must be somewhere an 80-year-old man can access. Nevertheless, four hopefuls have lost their lives since the book was published, as they have been identified by authorities to be seekers of Fenn’s treasure.
Perhaps it’s real, or perhaps a ploy to sell books to eager treasure hunters.
At Garden State Trust Company, we’ll stick with focusing on a reasoned and conservative approach to building and preserving wealth for our clients rather than chasing rainbows or buried treasure.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
