# What Are Some Artifacts, Artworks, Treasures, etc. That Are Probably Somewhere, But No One Knows Where? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2023, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825 "2023-11-08T14:56:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![ThisOneGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@ThisOneGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisOneGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/121 "2023-11-22T16:33:12Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > Japanese swords… they disarmed all the Japanese people, so guns and swords of all sorts were confiscated… and no matter their value or if they were mainly ceremonial … the swords got confiscated and destroyed… Many were destroyed (dumped into the ocean, I’ve seen a picture of swords being fed into a furnace) but many thousands more were not. Each GI in the occupation could ask for a pistol, rifle or sword that had been confiscated. The pistols were the most popular but many brought home swords. I have heard that back in the 1960s any pawn shop near a military base would have a barrel full of swords. Even today if you go to a bigger gun show in the US there will usually be at least one old Japanese sword that is a GI bring back. So it is quite plausible that the missing Masamune is in somebody’s attic. Or it was given to the grandkids to play pirate and rusted away to nothing. Could go either way. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/122 "2023-11-22T16:40:57Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > No one could think that her remains would survive, given shallow burials in the tropics… but parts of her aircraft could survive somewhat recognizable form. She was not buried. Her bones were allegedly found only 3 years after she disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/123 "2023-11-22T17:06:32Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > The whole thing is so outlandish I’m shocked they could find anyone to believe or invest in it. I think that was a pretty common scam back in the day. Someone would come along saying that he knew there was buried treasure on your land because he could tell by the features, or he had a secret map, or he saw it with his magic peep stone that only works for him, and all you had to do was pay him today with some of the riches you’d have tomorrow. Joseph Smith did this for a few years and then turned it into a whole religion. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/124 "2023-11-22T20:40:22Z")
It wasn’t sent as registered mail (or whatever the equivalent in Canada is), just as an ordinary parcel, supposedly to save a few dollars. Plus dies for both sides were sent in the same box; the mint’s budget must have been really tight. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/125 "2023-11-22T20:47:44Z")
You would have thought sending a Mint staffer by Air Canada would have been the best. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/126 "2023-11-22T20:52:20Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > the swords got confiscated and destroyed… Many, GIs on that front took home a sword or two as a souvenir. > [@ThisOneGuy](#): > > Each GI in the occupation could ask for a pistol, rifle or sword that had been confiscated. The pistols were the most popular but many brought home swords. I have heard that back in the 1960s any pawn shop near a military base would have a barrel full of swords. Even today if you go to a bigger gun show in the US there will usually be at least one old Japanese sword that is a GI bring back. Right. ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/127 "2023-11-22T21:15:49Z")
The Hope wasn’t the only large diamond sent via the post [Cullinan Diamond - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cullinan_Diamond#:~:text=Cullinan%20was%20sent%20to%20the,went%20unsold%20for%20two%20years). > Due to its immense value, detectives were assigned to a [steamboat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat) that was rumoured to be carrying the stone, and a parcel was ceremoniously locked in the captain’s safe and guarded on the entire journey. It was a diversionary tactic – the stone on that ship was fake, meant to attract those who would be interested in stealing it. Cullinan was sent to the United Kingdom in a plain box via registered post. ---
**Author:** ![merrick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@merrick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merrick)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2023, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/128 "2023-11-22T21:17:56Z")
On a slightly-related note, the Great Mogul Diamond, at the time the largest cut diamond in the world, disappeared following the sack of Delhi in 1739 and has been called the most valuable object ever lost. Many scholars believe it was recut and is now part of the Russian crown jewels as the Orlov Diamond, but proof is lacking. The larger but less famous Nizam Diamond has not been seen since the Indian annexation of Hyderabad in 1948. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/129 "2023-11-25T14:26:58Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > > > That reminds me of this: > > > > [‘Led Zeppelin IV’ Cover Photo Mystery Man Identified After 52 Years – Deadline](https://deadline.com/2023/11/led-zeppelin-iv-cover-photo-1235596856/) > > Hey, that’s one of our posters here! Remembered the name of the poster who used that pic as their avatar: @TeroSunbear ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/130 "2023-11-25T20:28:04Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > > [@Schnitte](#): > > > > A shockingly large percentage of the Moon rocks that have been brought to Earth are unaccounted for - up to the point of a criminal justice professor routinely giving the search for rocks as assignments to students. [Stolen and missing Moon rocks - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_and_missing_Moon_rocks) > > Did they ask [Cave Johnson](https://theportalwiki.com/wiki/Cave_Johnson)? or Putin? (cue in superbowl music) ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2023, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/131 "2023-11-27T18:33:09Z")
> [@ThisOneGuy](#): > > Each GI in the occupation could ask for a pistol, rifle or sword that had been confiscated. The pistols were the most popular but many brought home swords. I have heard that back in the 1960s any pawn shop near a military base would have a barrel full of swords. Even today if you go to a bigger gun show in the US there will usually be at least one old Japanese sword that is a GI bring back. My late friend was a Korean war veteran (interesting stories) who spent time in Japan for rehab. He had a Samurai sword - I probably still have a picture of it somewhere. Not sure what its provenance was. He had tall tales about haow easily it went through anything. Researching it, I found there was a category of “samurai sword” that was a mass-produced Japanese Officer’s sword that all the army officers received before WWII. A genuine historical sword would be worth serous bucks, but apparently these mass-produced swords looked similar but have nowhere near the historical value. Also, some old families might have sold their ancestor’s sword in order to eat, times were tough after WWII. I’m not sure which he had. I don’t know what his sister’s family did with it when he died. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/132 "2023-12-02T20:18:36Z")
I think this fits here. [https://www.cnn.com/style/lost-botticelli-masterpiece-found-italy-intl-scli](https://www.cnn.com/style/lost-botticelli-masterpiece-found-italy-intl-scli) > Rome > CNN > — > A painting by the 15th-century master Sandro Botticelli, recorded as missing since the 1980s, has been found at a home in southern Italy. > > The depiction of the Virgin Mary and infant Christ was discovered in a home in the town of Gragnano, near Naples, according to the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Naples. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2023, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/133 "2023-12-02T20:27:12Z")
Or, twice. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/134 "2023-12-05T11:12:28Z")
I have to think maybe they are still somewhere, but the recent passing of Apollo astronaut Frank Borman reminded me of an interview with Jim Lovell, during one of their crew reunions, unbeknownst to anyone onboard (as a kind of attaboy for a truly historic exploration), there were three apertifs or brandy rations hidden in their food locker, think small airline bottles of hooch. Borman nixxed anybody drinking on Apollo 8, and I’m not sure what happened to them after that. Probably on display somewhere? They would be collectible, as “space flown” items with good provenance can be worth some bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/135 "2023-12-05T11:53:55Z")
“… a mind is a terrible thing.” Jim Lovell, though Frank wouldn’t let him drink his hooch ration onboard, he apparently took it home with him, and auctioned it off in 2008. So the mystery deepens, there should be two more out there. So my own post reminded me of another missing artifact - Buzz Aldrin had a watch, maybe the watch he wore on the lunar surface turn up missing. He mailed it to NASA or the Smithsonian or somebody (too lazy to look it up) at some later date, and that was the last anybody saw of it. ---
**Author:** ![EnolaStraight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/136 "2023-12-06T17:28:57Z")
Admiral Byrd’s Snow Cruiser. [Where’s the Antarctic Monster-Truck? - Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-antarctic-monster-truck/842301) Sometime in the 60s, a naval ship happened to notice a big chunk of ice broken off the Ross Ice Shelf, which exposed a buried Little America exploration station abandoned since the beginning of WW2. The Snow Cruiser was parked nearby, and also buried by snow and ice. I’m 99% sure the cruiser sand to the bottom of the sea when the iceberg melted, but there is the possibility the Soviets recovered the vehicle, and used it as a basis for _their_ antarctic vehicles… …The Kharkovchankas. [Oversnow heavy tractor Kharkovchanka - Kharkovchanka - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharkovchanka#/media/File:Oversnow_heavy_tractor_Kharkovchanka.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/137 "2023-12-06T22:44:50Z")
How about the camera that Andrew Irvine carried when he may, or may not, have summited Everest in 1924, nearly 30 years before it was officially conquered. The body of his climbing partner George Mallory (he of the “because it’s there” quote) was found in 1999 but Irvine’s body, and the camera, has proved elusive. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/138 "2023-12-06T23:28:20Z")
I have a friend who is the daughter of one of the Apollo astronauts. She and her mother have several pieces of jewelry that have been made from moon rocks that he brought back. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/139 "2023-12-07T00:09:55Z")
As a climber in my past life, this would a fabulous find - if it’s ever made. But this isn’t as much of a mystery as a needle in a haystack. We know what happened to it - we even have a good idea where. With climate change being what it is, maybe they will re-surface someday. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825/140 "2023-12-07T00:29:53Z")
> [@EnolaStraight](#): > > Admiral Byrd’s Snow Cruiser. [Reminds me of the Soviet subterrene Battle Mole.](https://www.rbth.com/arts/2015/06/16/khrushchev_ordered_battle_moles_to_blow_up_america_43677) > **[The Soviet Nuclear Battle Mole: An Underground Cold War Battleship?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBYkcgBe2No%2F)** > > Subscribe to Dark Docs: http://bitly.com/DarkDocsDuring the Cold War arms race, both the US and USSR were testing top-secret, cutting-edge technologies that ... I had an idea for a sci-fy story about a crew of one of these things emerging 40 years later, having spent all that time underground. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-artifacts-artworks-treasures-etc-that-are-probably-somewhere-but-no-one-knows-where/992825.md?page=8)