Have you ever dreamed of becoming a treasure hunter? Exploring new places while on the prowl for your bounty? Writer and musician Jon Collins-Black wants to allow you to live out that dream with the new book “There’s Treasure Inside.”
But this isn’t just any novel. This book contains clues to find five chests, worth over $2 million, that Collins-Black has hidden all over the USA.
The Planning Process
Being a lifelong fan of fantasy adventure games like Dungeons & Dragons, Collins-Black was looking for a way to bring a real-world adventure to fruition. In 2015, he hatched a plan to hide chests all over America.
“I wanted to have the chests spread out to give people the optimistic, adventurous possibility,” Collins-Black explains.
This plan led him to pen “There’s Treasure Inside,” which seeks to entertain everyone, not just those seeking loot. Each chapter contains clues to help you find one of the hidden chests. Given the nature of the book, the author can’t say much about it. Aside from assuring anyone willing to take up the hunt; “All the clues you need are in the book.”
He severely limited the number of strategists and editors working with him on the project to prevent leaks. He even hid the locations and planning from his wife. “I couldn’t really consult other people because I didn’t want (them) to have the burden,” he said.
The Hunt Is On
Internet sleuths and treasure hunters are already all over “There’s Treasure Inside.” Creating dedicated spaces for discussion about it on places like Discord. Some users believe they’ve already found the states where the bounties are hidden.
Thankfully, Collins-Black ensured that the hunt was safe for anyone of average health. There is no underwater exploration, climbing, entering private property, or digging required to find the chests. Making a hunt that is challenging but also as inclusive as possible.
“I do hope and think it might take a little while, but I don’t need this to take forever,” he says. If the quest takes a few years, he may release more clues annually.
The Treasure
Collins-Black crafted the treasures in the chests to hit a wide range of interests. Going to auctions until he felt he had curated a one-of-a-kind collection. These items range from rare Pokémon cards, shipwreck bounty, sports memorabilia, gold, and precious medals.
Some items were owned or made by Pablo Picasso, George Washington, and Amelia Earhart. While he is tight-lipped on specific items (the image above is not all of the items he amassed for this project). However, he did spill that the haul contains a brooch once owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, a 96-carat emerald, and Wilma Rudolph’s 1960 Olympic gold medal.
The nice thing about collector’s items like these is they tend to appreciate over time. So taking a while to be discovered may make the loot even more valuable.
You can read more about “There’s Treasure Inside,” here. We will bring you updates once the chests start being recovered. Best of luck to anyone out hunting for them!
