King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table searched for it... The cup from which Jesus drank wine at the Last Supper and that was later filled with his blood, at Golgotha. Legend says this "Holy Blood", also known as "the Holy Grail" (Sang Real = San Greal = Saint Grail) was brought to Britain, but it has never been found there. Treasure hunters are searching the Holy Grail in places like Glastonbury and that is very strange, because the one and only Holy Blood was found by the Knights Templar and the Count of Flanders on Christmas Day 1148, in the Holy Grave in Jerusalem! They brought it to Bruges, the Venice of the Nord, where you still can see it in the Chapel of the Holy Blood. But some say that it is a false relic, and that the one and only real Holy Grail was hidden somewhere in a house in Bruges. Eat your heart out, Dan Brown!... And do it when Visiting Bruges-la-Morte, a medieval ghost city!

 

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The Stolen Panel of the Mystic Lamb

The polyptych known as "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" was painted in the 15th century by the "Flemish Primitives" Jan and Hubert Van Eyck. It is regarded as one of the artistic highlights of Western civilisation and you can still visit it in the Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. But one of the many oak panels is missing: "The Just Judges" was stolen in April 1934. A certain "D.U.A." wrote a letter to the bishop of Ghent, stating he would return the panel if he could receive a "fee" of 1 million Belgian francs. Instead of 1 million francs, the bishop only would pay 25.000 francs... Some months later, Arsène Goedertier collapsed after a speech at a political rally. Before succumbing, he could tell a friend that he was the only man who knew where the stolen painting was situated. He had a file on that crime at home. The police investigated the file and did find something that looked like a code, but could not break the code. If you visit the city of Ghent, make sure you go to the Cathedral of Saint Bavo and see its most treasured piece of art, The Mystic Lamb... with the replica of the Just Judges. The whole story is here, and only during the city game that we organize in Ghent, the invaluable treasure can be found by true treasure hunters:

The Treasure of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

In the spring of 1791, the King of France was a prisoner in his own country.  Marie Antoinette, his wife, begged her brother, the Austrian Emperor, to save them from the revolutionary forces. She wrote her letters in a code that was borrowed from the Prophecies of Nostradamus. In fact they wrote a lot of "new prophecies" that were attributed to Nostradamus, but were meant to communicate with other royalists in order to save the royal family and their "war chest". The royalist general de Bouillé had an army at his disposition in the fortress town of Montmédy, in northern France. Just across the border with the Austrian Netherlands was the Abbey of Orval, a perfectly safe place for Louis XVI and his family. De Bouillé thoroughly prepared the flight of the royal family from the revolutionary Paris, but he couldn't possibly imagine at the moment that Louis, his wife and his children would be arrested in Varennes. The French Revolution would lead Louis and Marie Antoinette to the bloody axe of the guillotine, but the fortune of the Bourbons and the jewels of Marie Antoinette reached the Abbey of Orval... where they disappeared without leaving a trace. 

I wrote a book about the whole story (in Dutch), titled Nostradamus in Orval - but you'll find the highlights here: Nostradamus and the Lost Treasure of the Bourbons.

The Curse of the Superstitions

In many of the legends concerning the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, an Apache curse protects the sacred burial ground and the treasures of the Indians, including the famous Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. According to the author R.G. Babcock, this fabulous treasure was nothing else but the Lost Aztec Treasure of Montezuma. The Legend of the Lost Dutchman goes way back to the 1840's, when a Mexican family developed some gold mines in the Superstition Mountains and was ambushed by Apaches. Two Peralta's escaped, they buried their mines with rocks and since then, numerous treasure maps have surfaced... but all the treasure hunters became the victims of all sort of troubles, caused by the Curse of the Superstitions. In the 1870's, the "Dutchman" Jacob Waltz, who was in fact a German, would have located the mine. He gave the place a name, but he and his partners again had to deal with the Curse of the Superstitions... The whole story starts here: The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. Or here:

Treasure Island, for real!

Undoubtedly, everybody knows "Treasure Island", the adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of pirates and gold, buried on an island.  But is this fictional island based on a real place? Sure it is. The German treasure hunter August Gissler used an old treasure map that once belonged to the infamous pirate Benito Bonito, and searched Cocos Island from 1889 to 1909.  Since then, many treasure seekers have visited Cocos Island, among them Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Felix von Luckner, who had a Cocos treasure map tattooed on his thigh. You'll find Cocos Island 400 miles off the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica, latitude 5°32'57" N and longitude 87°2'10" W. Or you can make a short TouTube trip here:

Nazi Treasures, The Amber Room

In World War II the Nazis looted many grand houses in Europe and stole countless art treasures. Some are said to be hidden in underground tunnels in the Russian city of Kalingrad (Königsberg). But this city has now been completely rebuilt over the tunnels. The famous "Amber Room" - a whole room decorated with pictures made entirely from semi-precious stones - also got stolen from a palace near Saint Petersburg. It hasn't been seen since 1943 and may have been destroyed in the war. Searches were held on the ground, underground and even underwater. In 2003 it was recreated and unveiled in St. Petersburg. But the real thing is still hidden... and waiting for you!

 

The Gold of Custer's Last Stand

The Battlefield of General George A. Custer's Battle of the Little Big Horn (25 Juni 1876) is now a United States National Monument. Major-General Custer, whom the Indians knew as "Long Hair", was killed alongside his men, almost certainly on what is today known as Last Stand Hill. Just the day before Custer's Last Battle, a supply boat called the "Far West" was making a difficult upstream journey to the junction of Montana's Big Horn and Little Big Horn, for a pre-arranged rendez-vous with Custer's commanding officer General Alfred H. Terry. And about the same time, some fifty miles to the west, a mule-drawn freight wagon from Bozeman, Montana, with a very valuable load of miner's gold was making its way towards Bismarck, North Dakota. The day after the Custer massacre, Captain Marsh of the supply boat discovered he had missed the rendezvous point. He met the badly frightened driver of the freight wagon, who pleaded Marsh to take over the shipment of gold and silver and deliver it to Bismarck, as he seriously doubted his own chances of getting through alive. Marsh agreed, but because of the continued danger from the Indians, the gold was hidden at some suitable spot on shore... and was never retrieved. Read here more!

This is the worlds most expensive TV and has the staggering price tag of $130,000 dollars. This YALOS Diamond LCD TV is well worth its price tag due to all of its brilliant features. The features include 160 diamonds that total up to at least 20 karats, extraordinary brightness, a great contrast ratio, a great response, and unbelievable pixel resolution. Oh yeah I forgot, this thing also happens to be plated in white gold.

Worlds Most Expensive Phone

GoldVish Luxury Communications of Geneva sold this phone for the huge price of 1.3 million dollars in 2006. This phone, nicknamed Le Million, is covered with 18 karat gold surrounded by 1,800 diamonds with a total of more than 120 karats. This one of a kind phone was purchased by a Russian man that gave it as a gift. That is one gift that I know wasn't returned.

Worlds Most Expensive Perfume

This perfume is called Imperial Majesty and is the most expensive bottled perfume in the world. This bottle sells at the whopping price of $215,000 dollars and must smell, oh so good. Imperial Majesty is actually a limited edition signature scent of Clive Christian and sells for $2,150 dollars an ounce. In this case the bottle costs so much because a British designer poured 16 ounces of it into a crystal bottle covered with diamonds and an 18-carrot gold collar. This is one blinged out perfume bottle.

Worlds Most Expensive Gameboy

This out-of-date toy is the world's most expensive Gameboy with a staggering price tag of $25,000 dollars. This limited edition Gameboy was created by Aspreys of London and is made out of 18 karat gold with a display screen surrounded with diamonds. I wonder what lucky kid got this toy from Santa?

Worlds Most Expensive Pen

This is the world's most expensive pen and was designed by Caran d'Ache in 1999. He designed this very extravagant and blinged out pen to show respect for a famous architect named Antoni Gaude who passed away in 1926. This pen, known as La Modernista Diamonds Fountain Pen, was sold to a Swiss company for a cool $265,000 dollars. The pen contains solid silver parts, a 18-karat gold tip, and is enveloped in 5,072 specially cut diamonds. This pen also contains 96 rubies which form an emblem on the pens cap top.

Worlds Most Expensive Cup of Tea

This is actually the world's most expensive tea bag and has the gigantic price of $13,941 dollars. This special tea bag was created by PG Tips Tea Company to celebrate their 75th anniversary. It took three months to make and was entirely hand crafted with over 280 diamonds. I can't wait to see how they celebrate their 100th anniversary.

Worlds Most Expensive Water

This is Kona Nigari water and is the world's most expensive water at $16.75 dollars an ounce. This water is packed with minerals and comes from the deep seas near Hawaii. The water has first been desalted of course. This water is not just meant to be drunk. You are instead supposed to dillute it with more regular water. This water is specially known for the healthy vitamins and minerals that come in each bottle.

Worlds Most Expensive Christmas Tree

This is the World's Most Expensive Christmas Tree and valued at over half a million dollars. This tree is made from 5 pounds of 18 karat gold, is decorated with round briolette diamonds, and has a platinum star with a 4.54 karat diamond on top. This tree will be sold at an auction and all of the proceedings will go to the American Cancer Society. I wonder what kind of gifts Santa would leave under this tree?

Worlds Most Expensive Fishing Lure

That's right, this is an iced-out fishing lure that is valued at 1 Million Dollars. This $1,000,000 fishing lure consists of three pounds of Platinum, Gold, Diamonds, and Rubies. This lure took months to create and was totally hand crafted. I am not sure who owns this lure now, but I hope he is bringing in some big fish.

Worlds Most Expensive Skull

I know you're probably sitting in your chair googly-eyed and with your mouth hanging open, but trust me this skull is real. This 90 Million Dollar skull was created by the notorious artist Damien Hirst. This one-of-a-kind piece of art is titled “For the Love of God” and is the most costly piece of contemporary art ever made. This piece is encrusted with over 8,601 diamonds and has a total of 1,106.18 carats. It weighs 63 pounds and is made from a real skull and teeth. This is my new favorite piece of art and Damien is my new favorite artist. Damien is not planning to sell this piece of art and created it with his own bank account. Now all he has to do is stick this skull on top of a cane and become the ultimate Puff Daddy.