The Treasure Report

State lays claim to demolition diamonds

duane — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 03:00:52 +0000

Officials in Bangalore are laying claim to a cache of diamonds discovered in the walls of a house that was recently demolished. A man working at the house found the diamonds, and sold them before the officials could get their hands on them.

According to local “Treasure Trove” law, any treasure that is over 100 years old is property of the state and must be reported. Following a judges ruling, the diamonds were seized and turned over to the government. One unhappy workman, I can tell you that.

The diamonds had a value of Rs. 1 “crore”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crore, which I understand to mean 1 million rupees, which is worth about $21,700 US. Somebody who knows what they are talking about please correct me if I’m wrong.

Via The Hindu

Colombian soldiers find $16 million in rebel cash

duane — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 04:25:13 +0000

While patrolling the jungles of Columbia, a platoon of government soldiers stumbled upon a cache of rebel loot worth over $16 million. It’s not clear where the FARC (Columbia’s lovable rebel fighters) got this money, but what is clear is that the soldiers were _supposed_ to turn the money in to their superiors.

Instead, the soldiers went on a spending spree of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll from all reports. One soldier even spent his share on a sex change operation, but we won’t go there.

Their exploits have even lead to a new movie, “Dreaming doesn’t cost anything”. But the soldiers probably won’t be able to see it — they’re on trial, at least the ones the government has been able to catch.

Via OhMyNews

Roofers find (and steal) $720,000 in antique cash

duane — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 03:38:07 +0000

Workmen in Salem, Massachusets found something a lot more interesting than dead bats in 75 year old Sylvia Littlefield’s barn. While repairing her roof they uncovered a hidden cache of 1,800 bills from the early 1900’s. The bills were stuffed into tin cans and hidden under the gutters.

The face value of the bills was $7,000, but their numismatic value exceeds $720,000. The workmen didn’t turn in the money however. Instead, they concocted a story about discovering the money buried in a friend’s backyard. One man spilled the beans and they were arrested for larceny, against a senior citizen no less.

The case is still pending because the workmen are arguing that the money is abandoned property and therefore rightfully theirs.

Via The Union Leader