IN THE mid-19th century, hundreds of thousands of Americans flocked west in search of gold. Today those with an appetite for treasure head to the Rocky Mountains, where Forrest Fenn, an octogenarian art collector, claims to have hidden a bronze box containing gold coins, Chinese jade, emerald jewellery and other riches, including two gold nuggets “as large as chicken eggs”. Mr Fenn first had the idea to stash away the treasure nearly 30 years ago, when he was diagnosed with aggressive kidney cancer and told his chances were slim. Over the decades he spent hawking art to the likes of Steve Martin, an actor, and former President Gerald Ford from his gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Mr Fenn had built up an enviable personal collection of art and artefacts. He decided to pack as much as he could carry and hike to his favourite spot to die. The only way to track him—and his cache—would be to solve the riddle he would leave behind.
Mr Fenn’s cancer later vanished, but the idea of hiding the treasure continued to grip him. “When I hid my treasure about six years ago, this country was in a deep...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/2fJikKr
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