Finding Cash and Treasures

Yes, you can find cash and treasures that have been hidden away and forgotten. Most hidden treasure is not in a pirate's stash, and there is no map to it. It is in almost ordinary places, left there by ordinary people. The bottom line is that hiding things is human, and money is one of the things hidden most often.

For example, a relative of mine hid cash in books. He had learned to mistrust the banks during the great depression, so this was how he saved his money. This was more common than you might think. It may still be a common practice.

He never told anyone that he was doing this, so after he died it was discovered by accident. As his things were being packed up and readied for removal, a relative saw a bill drop out of a book. That got her thinking, and soon she was taking the books back out of the boxes and leafing through them all. When she was done she had a pile of thousands of dollars in currency.

Now, you have to wonder what would have happened if she hadn't found that first bill. I don't know if all of those books were thrown away at some point, or ended up in a used book store somewhere. It does make me wonder if searching for hidden treasure in a used book store might be worthwhile.

Why There are Stashes of Cash and Treasures

People like to hide things. In fact, there is probably more out there than ever, for the simple reason that there are more people around than ever before. But why is it that so much is still hidden and waiting to be found? One basic reason: those who buried it cannot dig it up.

Sometimes the person forgets where they buried their valuables or cash. Remember that margarine tub full of coins and "treasures" we buried as children. We should have marked the location better.

Sometimes they are not able to get at it because they moved to another state or country. The person who buried a stash may even be in prison - possibly for life! This accounts for the buried cash that some treasure hunters report finding in or near rest areas along highways.

The most common reason treasures remain buried is the easiest to understand: The man or woman who put it in the ground is also in the ground. Remember the story at the start of this chapter, about my relative who hid money in books. People die all the time with many secrets. Some of those secrets have to do with where they have hidden things.