A Second Chance at Finding Fenn’s Treasure

When I was in the process of selling the Forrest Fenn Treasure, there appeared at one time an opportunity to sell the whole thing to someone who planned to put it back out in nature to start a new hunt.

I could think of no greater gift to all those who loved the first hunt than to see it put back out there to be found again. Unfortunately, what seemed like a firm offer eventually fizzled out.

But at around the same time, a man named Jon Collins-Black let me know he was preparing a treasure hunt of his own, inspired in part by his own love of Forrest’s hunt, and wanted to include some of Forrest’s treasure in with his own.

I’m thrilled to now see his plan has worked out.

Jon’s book, There’s Treasure Inside, is out tomorrow, and among the millions of dollars worth of treasure he has apparently hidden is a box of items from the original Fenn treasure chest, including gold and the jarred autobiography. Most exciting for me is that it contains what I considered to be the most magical treasure in the bronze box, the necklace of Tairona and Sinu animal fetishes.

Just as Forrest described in his book, these ancient crafts seem to emanate a special power, and I compulsively put the necklace on myself the first time I laid eyes on it. It was a profound moment I don’t think I’ll ever forget. At that moment, I had sense of my tiny place in the sweep of humanity’s history and our place in the universe. I was connected to the past in such a tangible way I had never experienced looking through the glass at artifacts in a museum, and suddenly I understood why these things had such a draw for Forrest.

I’ll be buying Jon’s book, and while I can’t promise I won’t come out of treasure-hunting retirement to go looking for some of his riches, I will leave the box with Forrest’s treasures for another person to find. I hope it will be found by someone who searched for it the first time, and I hope their second chance is just as sweet as my find was.

Thank you to Jon for putting this out there in the world. To the searchers, have great adventures, stay safe, and remember what it’s all about — it’s the thrill of the chase.