Three numeric ciphers are said to hold the key to a fortune worth $47 million. I'm Adam from Ripley's.com and this is your Weird Minute. Once in 1818, and again in 1821, Thomas J. Beale hid massive troves of gold, silver and jewels. He hid close to £3,000 of gold and over £5,000 of silver. A fortune mine from the present state of Colorado,
but at the time was a part of Mexico. Thirty men had mined the vast riches, and Beale was charged with transporting their assets to Virginia. Because he had planned to return to the mine, he hid them in a stone-lined cave, packed in iron pots. Then he wrote three ciphers, one detailing the treasure's location, one describing the contents, and a third detailing how it was to be divided.
He left the ciphers with innkeeper Robert Morris, instructing him to only open the box if no one returned within 10 years. He promised to send the key to the ciphers later, but it never arrived. Decades passed and the box fell into the hands of an unknown friend, who solved the second cipher using the Declaration of Independence as a key, but had no luck with the others. Eventually, the ciphers were published publicly, asking anyone to help solve the puzzle.
To this day, the other two ciphers remain unsolved, and some even doubt their legitimacy. Either way, no treasure has been found. For more stories of lost treasure, visit ripleys.com, rate The Weird Minute if you haven't already, and tune in tomorrow for another Minute of Odds.