List of missing treasure

This is an incomplete list of notable treasures that are currently lost or missing.

Name Description Year lost Notes
Antwerp Diamond Heist Diamonds, and other jewels valued at $100 million. 2003[1] Dubbed the "Heist of the century"
Lufthansa heist $5.9 million in cash and jewels 1978 Robbery at John F. Kennedy International Airport and largest cash robbery in the US at the time
Awa Maru treasure Alleged $5 billion in treasure: gold, platinum, and diamonds.[2] 1945 Lost when the Japanese transport Awa Maru was hit by a torpedo and sank.
Yamashita's gold War loot stolen by Japanese and hidden in the Philippines. ca.1945 Alleged. Named for General Tomoyuki Yamashita
Amber Room Chamber in the Catherine Palace near Saint Petersburg ca.1945 Removed during World War II
Peking Man Fossil remains of Homo erectus pekinensis, dated ~500,000 years old 1941–1945 Lost during World War II: in China in 1941 or may have been on the Awa Maru when it sank in 1945.[3]
Royal Casket Memorial containing 73 precious relics[4] that had once belonged to Polish royalty. 1939 Looted during World War II
Eight lost Imperial Fabergé eggs 1922 or later
Confederate gold Gold ca.1865 Lost after the American Civil War.
Treasure of Lima Gold 1820 Estimated value of US$60 million
Polish Crown Jewels Polish crown regalia consisting of several crowns, sceptres, orbs, swords and jewels. 1795 Looted by the Germans after the Third Partition of Poland and destroyed on the order of Frederick William III of Prussia in March 1809.[5]
La Noche Triste treasure Gold looted from the palace of Moctezuma II. 1520 Occurred during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.[6]
Kusanagi A sword and one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan that legitimize the rule of the Emperor 1185 Lost at sea in the Battle of Dan-no-ura at the end of the Genpei War, according to the The Tale of the Heike.[7]
Ark of the Covenant Gold plated vessel, 2½ x 1½ x 1½ cubits (as 2+1⁄2×1+1⁄2×1+1⁄2 royal cubits or 1.31×0.79×0.79 m). 586 BCE Historicity disputed.

See also

References

  1. ^ Goldman, Russell (13 August 2009). "Stolen Jewels, Art and Cash: World's Biggest Heists". abcnews.go.com. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=8314545#.Ts0qa1aE8qM. Retrieved 23 November 2011. 
  2. ^ Seagrave, Sterling et al (2003). Gold warriors, p. 203.
  3. ^ "Sinking and salvage of the Awa Maru" (PDF). http://www.nsa.gov/public/pdf/sinkingawa_maru.pdf. 
  4. ^ (Polish) Barbara Kobielska. "Cenne, Bezcenne, Utracone (Valuable, Priceless, Lost)". Pagina. http://www.worldcat.org/issn/1428-6467. Retrieved 26 November 2009. 
  5. ^ "Crown Treasury and Armoury". www.wawel.krakow.pl. http://www.wawel.krakow.pl/en/index.php?op=8,1,5. Retrieved 16 February 2009. 
  6. ^ Prescott, William H.. History of the Conquest of Mexico. ISBN 0-375-75803-8. 
  7. ^ McCullough, Helen Craig (1988). The Tale of the Heike. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804714185.