These Famous Treasures Disappeared and Have Yet To Be Found

As far back as any recorded history can recount, people have created and collected treasured items, from ancient masks and intricate jewelry to ornately painted Bibles and cultural relics. Unfortunately, however, such collections don’t always last forever. Countless missing treasures were lost to wars, natural disasters, conquerors, and skilled thieves. While these treasures are sometimes recovered, many are still missing while others remain in danger of being destroyed. ( Here are 25 cultural treasures destroyed forever by war .)

Since the earliest civilizations, armies have been plundering treasure. In the first century A.D., the Roman army took the menorah, a seven-branched candelabrum, from the Second Temple in Jerusalem. They transported it to Rome, where it eventually vanished. Other treasures such as Japan’s Honjō Masamune sword, the Royal Casket of Poland, and Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Man were lost in the chaos of World War II.

Whether stolen like the Crown Jewels of Ireland, inexplicably vanished like the Romanov Fabergé eggs, or lost at sea, countless precious artifacts have gone missing over the centuries. Ships like the São Vicente , the Flor de la Mar , and the Beatrice sank to the bottom of the sea with untold treasure and irreplaceable artifacts like Incan relics or an ornate sarcophagus from Egypt. (These are the most famous shipwrecks ever found .)

By reviewing information on sites including the Monuments Men and Women Foundation , 24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of renowned treasures that remain missing today.

Here are lost treasures that have never been found :

Menorah from the Second Temple

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Second Temple, Jerusalem, 1st century.

The menorah, a seven-branched golden candelabrum, was taken from the Second Temple in Jerusalem to Rome after a revolt in the province of Judea was quelled in the year 70. It was paraded through the city center in a triumphal procession to celebrate the victory of Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus. After the parade, most of the Temple’s treasures, possibly including the menorah, were deposited in the newly built Roman Temple of Peace.

The menorah is mentioned in records when a rabbi reportedly saw it in Rome in the second century. However, after the Temple of Peace burned down around 192, the whereabouts of the menorah became unknown. Although one account has it taken to Carthage by the Vandals in 455, it remains unidentified. A representation of the menorah is the emblem of Israel today.

Treasure of Thibaud de Castillon

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: On the ship São Vicente near Cartagena, Spain, 1357.

De Castillon, the bishop of Bazas in France, was given a position in Lisbon, where he reportedly used various wiles and influences to amass a huge fortune, including gold, silver, jewels, tapestries, and more. After his death, a Portuguese ship called the São Vicente was transporting his treasure from Portugal to France when it was ambushed by two pirate ships near Cartagena, on the Spanish coast. The ships, led by captains Antonio “Botafoc” and Martin Yanes, used overwhelming firepower that forced the vessel to surrender the treasure.

Later, Botafoc and his crew were captured near Aigues-Mortes, France, and the portion of the treasure they were carrying was used as gifts and payments for royalty, soldiers, courtiers, and staff. However, the second pirate ship, commanded by Yanes and probably carrying a number of rare items, disappeared for good along with whatever treasure it was carrying.

Treasure of the Flor de la Mar

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Off the coast of Sumatra, 1511

The Flor de la Mar , an immense Portuguese sailing ship, had undergone several major repairs and was barely seaworthy when it embarked on its final journey. Caught in a storm near the northeastern coast of Sumatra, it tried to seek refuge on the coast but crashed into shoals, split in two, and sank.

The ship was carrying a treasure – riches stolen by the Portuguese from the Sultan of Malacca – which was never found. While it is impossible to verify the exact contents of the treasure, modern speculation suggests that it amounted to more than $3 billion worth (in today’s dollars) of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, coins, jewels, and rare hand-drawn maps by Javanese artists.

Library of the Moscow Tsars

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Moscow, Russia, 16th century.

The rulers of Moscow before the Romanov dynasty are said to have built up a large library of ancient Greek and possibly Roman and Egyptian texts, called the Golden Library or the Library of the Moscow Tsars. The earliest reference to this library comes from a scholar who visited the collection in 1518.

Legend says that Ivan the Terrible, who ruled from 1533 to 1584, hid away the library’s manuscripts. For centuries, people have tried unsuccessfully to find this legendary lost library. While its existence remains questionable – some scholars consider it a myth – there are many old texts in Greek and other languages located in archives in Moscow and St. Petersburg today that may or may not have come from the mysterious library.

Scepter of Dagobert

Gérald Garitan / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Basilica of Saint-Denis, France, 1795.

The Scepter of Dagobert was part of the ancient French Crown Jewels and possibly the oldest piece in that collection, dating back to the 7th century. It was named after the French King Dagobert I and said to have been made by goldsmith Éloi de Noyon, subsequently canonized as Saint Eligius.

The scepter was kept in the Basilica of Saint-Denis until 1795. During the chaos of the French Revolution, it was stolen from the basilica. Despite being such an important historical relic, the Scepter has never resurfaced.

The Esperanza’s Treasure

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Spanish ship Esperanza off Peru’s Pacific Coast, 1816.

The Esperanza was a Spanish ship that set sail from Callao in Peru in 1816, headed for the West Indies around Cape Horn. It is said to have been carrying a treasure, including 1.5 million gold escudos, an equal amount of silver, and possibly some Incan artifacts, all looted from the Viceroyalty of Peru.

According to one survivor’s account, the ship was damaged by a storm and then looted by pirates. The pirates were in turn ravaged by a storm and struck a reef on Palmyra Atoll, about a third of the way between Hawaii and American Samoa. Legend has it that the pirates distributed some of the treasure amongst themselves and buried the rest on the island, but it has never been found.

Ornate Sarcophagus of Pharaoh Menkaure

Travelers in the Middle East Archive (TIMEA) via Strassberger, B. / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Merchant ship Beatrice , off the coast of Malta, 1838.

In 1837, British soldier and Egyptologist Howard Vyse discovered what may or may not have been the sarcophagus of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Menkaure inside the smallest of the three Giza pyramids. The following year, he shipped the sarcophagus to England aboard the merchant ship Beatrice – but it sank after leaving port in Malta with the sarcophagus aboard.

In 2008, Spanish and Egyptian archaeologists collaborated to try and locate the sunken vessel. Dr. Zahi Hawass, then head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, believed the wreck would be found not near Malta but off the Spanish city of Cartagena. However, it did not turn up and the search continues for Menkaure’s ornate sarcophagus.

Crown Jewels of Ireland

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Dublin Castle, 1907.

The Irish Crown Jewels were not linked to royalty, but rather to the elite Order of St. Patrick, an Anglo-Irish knighthood established by King George III. The jewels included a star with Brazilian diamonds, a diamond badge, and five decorative gold collars. However, in 1907, they vanished.

The jewels were last documented in a safe in Dublin Castle on June 11th but were missing by July 6th, with various security breaches in between. Despite intense investigation, the jewels were never recovered and remain lost over a century later. The prime suspect was convicted fraudster Francis Shackleton, brother of explorer Ernest Shackleton, though theories abound involving both Republican groups and Unionist groups, and even the British monarchy itself.

Romanov Fabergé Eggs

Shakko / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: St. Petersburg, Russia, 1917.

Some of the most famous missing treasures were the Romanov Fabergé eggs, colorful gem-encrusted and illustrated Easter eggs made of silver, gold, and other precious metals. Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé created 69 of these eggs for the Romanov royal family between 1885 and 1916.

After the Romanovs were executed in 1917 during the Bolshevik Revolution, six of the eggs – belonging to Maria Feodorovna, the onetime Empress of Russia – went missing in the chaos and are still unaccounted for. The remaining eggs are worth millions of dollars apiece. One, made of 18k gold and encrusted with sapphires and diamonds and containing a gold-and-diamond lady’s watch inside, sold for an estimated $33 million in 2014.

Stolen Aztec Gold

Millionstock / Shutterstock.com

When Hernán Cortés and his crew of Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico in 1519, they covertly took over the thriving Aztec Empire. However, when the Aztec ruler Montezuma died under mysterious circumstances the following year, his people revolted and Cortés attempted to sneak away with a great deal of Aztec gold. Unfortunately for Cortés, much of the treasure was lost when one of his ships sank in a nearby canal.

Mexico City now stands upon the ruins of the Aztec capital, which was once surrounded by water. In the 1980s, construction workers discovered a massive and ancient golden brick. This gold bar has now been officially confirmed as a piece of the Aztec gold stolen by the Spanish conquistadors. Unfortunately, the rest of the missing treasure remains lost.

The Florentine Diamond

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Bank vault in Switzerland, 1918.

The Florentine diamond is one of the great missing treasures with a long and mysterious history. The 137.27-carat gem likely originated in India and came to Europe in the 15th century. One theory is that Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, acquired it and had it on his person when he died in battle. The gem later went to the Habsburgs of Austria-Hungary around 1743. The last Habsburg emperor, Charles I, took the diamond and fled to Switzerland after being deposed. He gave the diamond to Austrian lawyer Bruno Steiner to sell, along with other royal jewels.

What happened next, however, is unclear. A 1924 report said that Steiner was charged with fraud in connection with the diamond’s disappearance, but he was acquitted. One rumor is that the diamond was sold in the U.S. in the 1920s and cut into smaller stones.

The Just Judges Panel of the Ghent Altarpiece

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, 1934.

The Just Judges or The Righteous Judges panel was part of the 15th-century Ghent Altarpiece painted by Jan Van Eyck or his brother, Hubert, for Saint Bavo’s Cathedral in Belgium. It shows mysterious figures on horseback, possibly representing the Duke of Burgundy.

In 1934, this priceless 33-foot panel was stolen from the cathedral and never found. A thief named Arsène Goedertier claimed as he was dying that he had taken the masterwork and that its location would go with him to his grave. It was never found, but tips about its location still come in from time to time. Art historian Noah Charney says that the unsolved case file is 2,000 pages long and remains open today.

Honjō Masamune Sword

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Mejiro police station, Tokyo, 1946.

The legendary Honjō Masamune sword was won in battle by General Honjō Shigenaga in 1561. It passed through many owners before coming into the possession of the Tokugawa family, where it remained for over 260 years. Its last known owner was politician Tokugawa Iemasa at the end of WWII.

However, when the U.S. occupied Japan, families had to surrender their weapons. In December 1945, the Tokugawa family gave 14 swords, including the Honjō Masamune, to the Mejiro police station in Tokyo. In 1946, the sword was allegedly handed over to a U.S. soldier named Sgt. Coldy Bimore, but no record of such a person has been found.

Amber Room

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Catherine Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1941.

The Amber Room was a chamber in the Catherine Palace in Saint Petersburg, decorated in amber panels, gold leaf, and mirrors. Its walls were later discovered hidden behind wallpaper at the Catherine Palace by the Nazis. Believing it was of German origin, Hitler wanted to reclaim it as a symbol of German pride, so he sent the walls to Königsberg Castle in what was then Germany and is now Kaliningrad, Russia.

As Germany was losing the war, Hitler ordered looted items moved from Königsberg to safer locations. However, the city was heavily bombed by the Allies and the castle was damaged by Soviet artillery. It’s widely believed the Amber Room was destroyed, but some believe it survived. Like many missing treasures, its ultimate fate remains a mystery, but in 1979, Russian artisans, with financial support from Germany, began reconstructing it at the Catherine Palace. It took 24 years to complete the job.

Peking Man fossils

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Vanished while transported to New York City, 1941.

In 1923, fossils of Peking Man, an ancient hominid possibly dating back as much as 750,000 years, were discovered in a cave near the village of Zhoukoudian outside Beijing. The fossils went missing in 1941 during the Japanese invasion of China when they were taken by U.S. Marines from Peking Union Medical College to be loaded onto a ship sailing to New York.

Their whereabouts after leaving the school are unknown, but some theories suggest the fossils were lost at sea while being transported to the U.S., while others think they may be buried under a parking lot back in China.

Royal Casket of Poland

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Kraków, Poland, 1939.

The Royal Casket was a treasure box containing gold and silver relics of various monarchs of Poland and elsewhere. The box was moved to the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków, Poland, for protection during the November Uprising of 1830 and hidden behind a brick wall on the palace grounds.

During the Nazi occupation in WWII, the casket’s location was revealed by a German employee of the Czartoryski family, and the Nazis found and looted its precious contents. Some museum items were recovered after the war, but the Royal Casket itself, as well as most of the valuable royal treasures inside, have never resurfaced.

Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Man

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: A Nazi official’s chalet in Neuhaus on Lake Schliersee, Germany, 1945.

The Italian Renaissance artist Raphael painted Portrait of a Young Man around 1513. Its subject is unknown, though some think it might be a self-portrait. Like the Royal Casket of Poland, the painting was housed in the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków, but it too was found by the Nazis during their 1939 invasion. They planned to install it in the projected Führermuseum in Hitler’s hometown of Linz, Austria, but the museum was never built.

Another one of the famous missing treasures, the painting was last seen in 1945 in the chalet of a German official who was later executed for war crimes. Raphael’s looted masterpiece remains missing over 75 years later, though the Czartoryski Museum has offered a $100 million reward for its return.

Michelangelo’s Mask of a Faun

I, Sailko / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Near Forli, Italy, 1944.

The Mask of a Faun (also called the Head of a Faun ), a marble sculpture of the mythological creature who was half-man and half-goat, has long been thought to be the work of Michelangelo, who may have sculpted it when he was only 15.

The piece belonged to the Bargello Museum in Florence until it was looted by the Nazis in 1944. German soldiers stole the mask and transported it away on a truck last spotted near the Italian town of Forli. Despite searches after the war, the masterpiece has never resurfaced.

Caravaggio’s Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Chapel in Palermo, Sicily, 1969.

Caravaggio’s masterful Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence , stolen in 1969 from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo, Sicily, remains one of the world’s most sought-after missing treasures and artworks. The notorious theft is believed to have been orchestrated by the Mafia, with the painting eventually given to mob boss Gaetano Badalamenti.

Though the parish priest was contacted to broker its return, the painting has never resurfaced. Experts fear rolling up the fragile, centuries-old canvas likely caused irreparable damage. After more than 50 years, investigators still chase leads on the lost treasure, most recently following an informant’s tip to search in Switzerland, because Badalamenti may have sold it to a Swiss dealer.

Tucker’s Cross

mmmavocado / Flickr

• Last seen: Bermuda Maritime Museum, 1975.

The prized Tucker’s Cross, a glittering 22-karat gold cross studded with seven emeralds, was discovered in 1955 by treasure hunter Teddy Tucker amid the wreckage of a 16th-century Spanish galleon off Bermuda’s coast. Considered one of the most valuable pieces of sunken treasure ever recovered, the dazzling relic was temporarily housed at the Bermuda Maritime Museum for Queen Elizabeth II’s visit in 1975.

Before the monarch arrived, however, Tucker realized that a plastic replica had been swapped for the priceless original. Though local police, the FBI, and Interpol investigated, the cross was never recovered and no arrests were made.

Jules Rimet World Cup Trophy

Keystone / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Last seen: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1983.

The stolen trophy was a 12-inch statuette of the Greek goddess Nike, made in 1929 by French sculptor Abel Lafleur and awarded every four years to the winner of soccer’s World Cup. Though called the “Golden Trophy”, it was not solid gold, but gold-coated silver.

In 1966, the trophy was stolen from an exhibition hall in London but quickly recovered. In 1970, Brazil was given the trophy permanently after winning its third World Cup, but in 1983 it was stolen from the Brazilian Football Confederation (BFC) headquarters. Four suspects were arrested, but all escaped. Two died before they could be apprehended and two served jail sentences, though not for the trophy theft. No one knows what happened to the trophy, but a replica was given to the BFC in 1984.

13 Famous Masterpieces

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts, 1990.

Thirteen masterpieces with a total value of $500 million were brazenly stolen from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990 by two thieves posing as police officers. They overpowered guards and spent 81 uninterrupted minutes cutting precious works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, and Manet from their frames.

Per Gardner’s will, the empty frames still hang in the museum, to be filled only by the original missing treasures. Investigators have chased leads suggesting that the art came under the control of local mobsters who moved the priceless works to Philadelphia for black market sale in 2002, but not a single item has been recovered. With a $10 million reward still offered, the Gardner theft remains one of the most notorious unsolved art heists.

Antwerp Diamonds

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Antwerp Diamond Center vault, 2003.

In one of the most daring heists ever, a group of thieves bypassed multiple layers of top-tier security to steal $100 million in diamonds from an ultra-secure vault in Antwerp’s Diamond Center, the heavily fortified hub of the global diamond trade. Over a single weekend, the robbers systematically dismantled security measures and breached over 100 safe deposit boxes brimming with diamonds and other valuables in the underground vault. Panic ensued when traders returned Monday to find the vaults ransacked.

Despite their meticulous planning and execution in penetrating the world’s most secure diamond depository, the perpetrators – led by a prolific thief named Leonardo Notabartolo – were caught, and served prison sentences. Notabartolo later claimed that a diamond merchant had hired him and his gang to steal the now-missing treasures as an insurance scam. Unfortunately, none of the loot was ever recovered, however.

Graff Diamonds Jewelry

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• Last seen: Graff Diamonds store on New Bond Street, London, 2009.

On Aug. 6, 2009, two men dressed in sharp suits robbed the exclusive Graff Diamonds store in London in broad daylight. Over 25 minutes, they forced staff at gunpoint to open display cases and stole 43 high-value jewelry pieces worth about $65 million total. To escape, they fired shots to create confusion and drove off in a waiting BMW, switching getaway vehicles twice before vanishing.

One robber left his cell phone behind, leading to the capture of the heist’s mastermind, Aman Kassaye, who was sentenced to 23 years. Three other men got 16 years each. Of the stolen jewels, only a 16-carat yellow diamond has been recovered. The rest of the missing treasures are believed to have been swiftly sold off to waiting international customers.

Ivory Coast Crown Jewels

ATV / Wikimedia Commons

• Last seen: Museum of Civilisations, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 2011.

During a battle in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, priceless cultural treasures were stolen from the country’s main museum, including ancient royal gold jewelry, masks, statues, and religious artifacts dating back to the 17th century. Around 80 irreplaceable objects valued at $6 million were taken.

The systematic nature of the heist, with no forced entry and display cases left intact, implied inside assistance. Some stolen pieces trace back to ancient Akan kingdoms, making them irreplaceable national relics. Expert thieves targeted and took the most valuable artifacts, though the whereabouts of these precious missing treasures remain a mystery today.

The post These Famous Treasures Disappeared and Have Yet To Be Found appeared first on 24/7 Tempo .