The Seven Most Expensive Treasures Found Around The World

  


There are many places around the world where treasures can be found and sold on the black market for a high price, especially if it’s an item that has been stolen from an ancient burial site or museum. In this article, we’ll take a look at seven of the most expensive treasures that have been discovered in recent years. Each of these has since been returned to its rightful owner, whether it be Egypt or China, but it wouldn’t surprise us if there were more hidden treasures just waiting to be discovered...and then sold on the black market to the highest bidder!

The Seven Most Expensive Treasures Found Around The World
 

1) Xian Terracotta Warriors

Of all of China’s archaeological finds, none come close to rivaling those of Xian. In 1974, farmers in Shaanxi Province were digging a well when they came across a large cache of life-sized clay soldiers. These statues date back to between 209 and 206 BC and are arranged in battle formation; at least eight different terracotta warrior figures have been found since then. It is believed that these warriors were buried with Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor. This is one of many mysteries surrounding these artifacts—the true reason for their existence has yet to be determined. Experts believe that they may have served as guards or even assassins; another theory suggests that they may have been used for rituals or burial ceremonies rather than actual warfare. Regardless of their purpose, it is clear that these terra cotta warriors represent an incredible feat of craftsmanship and artistry—and would cost any buyer millions upon millions of dollars!

 

 

2) Gold from the SS Central America

Discovered in 1984, gold from SS Central America is valued at $400 million. This treasure was found by Columbus-America Discovery Group off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. In total, there were 18 tons of gold and silver that was used to purchase supplies during the California Gold Rush in 1857. This wreck remains one of history’s most famous shipwrecks. While a salvage firm was contracted to recover parts of it, they ended up taking all but 500 bars of gold worth $50 million because they could not raise it with their equipment. Since then, many other companies have tried to get back into sea and remove it but with no success yet because they are unable to find where it lies exactly underwater.

 

3) T206 Honus Wagner baseball card

In February 2018, a rare T206 Honus Wagner baseball card was auctioned off by SCP Auctions for $3.12 million, making it one of most expensive treasures found in recent times. This particular card is only one of fifty in existence and is considered to be among the most iconic sports trading cards ever produced. It depicts Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame player Honus Wagner; interestingly, its values actually increase as it gets older due to limited availability (it’s a non-sports trading card). In other words, a vintage Honus Wagner is more valuable than a modern version—because there are fewer available—and since only fifty were ever printed and distributed at all, it’s extremely rare indeed.

 

4) Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt

When Austrian authorities recovered a stolen Klimt painting from an art-smuggling ring in 2006, they were faced with a dilemma: Find Bloch-Bauer's heirs and return it, or put it up for auction? They decided to auction it off—and after eight minutes of fierce bidding at Christie's, an anonymous bidder paid $135 million for what became known as the woman in gold. At $206 million total, including fees, it remains one of history's most expensive paintings. It is currently on display at Vienna's Belvedere Palace.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia: While there are many ancient treasures still missing (such as King Tut's tomb), there are plenty that have been found over time. In 1864, French soldiers stumbled upon one such treasure while digging trenches near Paris: An enormous Greek statue of Zeus, which was created sometime between 460 and 430 B.C., during Greece's Golden Age.

 

5) The Mona Lisa

In 1911, an art thief disguised as a priest broke into Da Vinci’s The Louvre in Paris and stole it. In 2015, special agents from Scotland Yard recovered it from a small flat in London. As of 2016, its current value is $758 million. The theft was executed so smoothly that no one noticed until lunchtime when Leonardo himself popped by to inspect his handiwork and found his painting missing. It took just two years for detectives to discover where it was and for Scotland Yard to recover it with help from French officials, who planned to send their own investigators over anyway in order to bring back their most famous work of art.

 

6) Fabergé eggs

In 1885, Michael Fabergé was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III to create a gift for his wife, Maria Feodorovna. He created an Easter egg in honor of her favorite saint, Seraphim of Sarov. The egg is made of gold and jeweled with diamonds, sapphires and emeralds—the most valuable eggs ever made. It was bought at auction in 1990 for $9 million by an anonymous buyer who then had it donated to President Boris Yeltsin as a gift to Russia. Four years later, it was stolen from its display case in Moscow's Kremlin Palace. It has never been recovered. The second-most expensive Fabergé egg, also owned by a Russian oligarch, sold at auction in 2004 for $8.3 million.

Fabergé egg: 

This diamond-encrusted platinum egg was created by Peter Carl Fabergé for Czar Nicholas II's wife Alexandra Fyodorovna in 1897. It is one of only two such eggs made, and it took a year to create. It sold at auction in New York City in 1998 for $5 million, and it is now owned by an anonymous private collector.

 

7) Marie Antoinette’s diamond necklace

The most expensive treasure ever found was once owned by Marie Antoinette. This 17th century necklace included over 6,200 diamonds and pearls in an ornate floral design. The French queen had owned it for less than a year before being forced to wear it as she walked to her death at age 34. In 1911, her necklace was sold to pay off some of France’s national debt—and even still it brought in nearly $7 million (about $175 million today). That’s one expensive bling! Today, though, you can get your hands on a similar piece with half that price tag: Forevermark offers their Antoinette Necklace with 2.6 carats of white round brilliant diamonds and more than 50 round brilliant-cut white diamonds totaling just under 3 carats set in 18k gold. We think they might have missed an opportunity here to call it Marie instead...

 

8) Travertine marble bathtub in Nero’s Domus Aurea villa

One of a series of twenty-five 'wet rooms' in Rome's ancient imperial baths, Nero's Travertine marble bathtub once sat in his Domus Aurea (literally, Golden House) villa. This opulent home was built for Caesar Octavian as a retirement home on land seized from Nero. Tiberius continued to use it after Octavian died and until he moved to Capri. He abandoned it, leading to its eventual decay and conversion into an amphitheater in 19AD by his successor Caligula. Later emperors removed architectural elements like columns and mosaics for their own homes, leaving what remained an embarrassment that was demolished during renovations under Emperor Nerva in 97AD.

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