Whereabouts Unknown Trivia Quiz

Answer: Flor de La Mar

The Flor de La Mar was laden with vast amounts of gold that had been confiscated from Malacca as well as from the King of Siam. She left Malacca in 1511 headed for Portugal when she ran into a storm, and is believed to have sunk off the coral reefs near Sumatra.

Her exact location may never be known due to the inaccuracies inherent in maps made at that time. The golden treasures of the Flor de La Mar are estimated to be worth 2.6 billion dollars. It is often thought to be the most valuable lost treasure in the world, monetarily.

Answer: False

Carl Faberge created 65 of these miniature works of art, and the location of 57 of them was known at the turn of the 21st century. The location of the eight lost eggs is unknown and theories abound. There are photographs of only two of the lost eight eggs. The missing eggs with their year of creation are as follows:
(1886) The Hen Egg with Sapphire Pendant
(1888) The Cherub with Chariot Egg
(1889) The Necessaire Egg
(1896) The Egg with Alexander III Portraits
(1897) The Mauve Egg
(1902) Empire Nephrite Egg
(1903) The Royal Danish Jubilee Egg
(1909)The Alexander III Commemorative Egg

It should be noted that in 2007 a Faberge egg was sold at Christies Auction House. This one egg, created in 1902 and known as "The Rothschild", sold for 8.9 million dollars.

Answer: False

While the original fossil remains of Peking Man have been lost since 1941, they were not on the Titanic when it sank. They were not found until the 1920s during a dig near Beijing, China. In November of 1941, in the middle of World War II, the Chinese decided to send these priceless remains to the U.S. until the end of the war.

The fossils vanished while being transported to the Chinese port of Qinhuangdao. Their fate remains unknown, but many scholars believe that they were on the Awa Maru, a Japanese ocean liner that was sunk the same year. All that remains is three teeth, multiple castings and the original notes made during the find.

Answer: St. Petersburg, Russia

The Amber Room is best described as an 11-foot-square room made of amber and other semi-precious stones. When Hitler's army invaded the castle in 1941, they dismantled the jeweled room, packed the contents up into crates and shipped the whole thing to Kalingrad. After the war, the Germans claimed the components of the Amber Room had been stored in a castle which had burnt down during the war. A Soviet investigator found some charred fragments at the castle's remains that appeared to have been part of the Amber Room.

Some scholars doubt this story, believing instead that this treasure is lying on the bottom of the Baltic Sea along with the torpedoed steamer on which it had been stashed. Others believe it was hidden in an abandoned mine in Thuringia. It should be noted that both a small mosaic and an inlaid chest from the room have been recovered in the following decades and were turned over to the Russian government in a gesture of good faith. So just where is the mysterious Amber Room? Is it gone forever? Will we ever know?

Answer: Florida

In 1555, the Santa Maria Del Camino set sail for Panama in order to pick up a large treasure from South America. She picked up 1.8 millon pesos in gold and silver while in Panama and then sailed for Cartagena, Columbia. After picking up and additional load of gold, emeralds and pearls she set sail for Spain.

A hurricane drove the ship ashore and tore it to pieces near St. Lucie Inlet, located on the east coast of Florida. Local natives massacred most of the survivors, but did keep a few of the younger ones alive as slaves.

This is just one of the many treasure ships believed to lie of the coast of Florida that are laden with silver and gold. Gold and silver coins do occasionally wash up on Florida beaches, and the state is an extremely popular destination for treasure hunters.

Answer: Oak Island

Oak Island, a 140 acre island found on the south shore of Nova Scotia, is just one of the many islands in the area. What makes it special is the mysterious "Money Pit" found on the southeastern part of the island. For over 200 years speculators have been digging out this unusual hole and its many layers of logs and stones, only to have the hole flood with sea water. Most of these people believe that Captain Kidd or Blackbeard buried large amounts of gold at this location, and this supposition is hard to prove or disprove. Is there a missing or hidden treasure at this fascinating spot? Or has a fortune been spent trying to find that which is not there?

Answer: Dutch Schultz

Dutch Schultz was a prohibition-era mobster who is believed to have amassed a great fortune from his criminal behavior. When federal prosecutors began putting on the heat, he gathered his massive fortune and hid it at an unknown location in the Catskill mountain range in New York state.

When Schultz was gunned down in 1935, the location of his treasure went with him. Tourists and treasure seekers regularly visit the area hoping to get lucky and find this lost treasure which is estimated to have a value of over ten million dollars if it was to be found.

Answer: The Lima Treasure

The Lima Treasure consists of gold, silver and precious stones that were removed from the city of Lima, Peru in 1820, amid the multiple battles of independence occurring on the continent at this time. Most of the treasures had been hoarded by the Catholic Church during its conquests in South America. When it looked as if Lima might become involved in a war for independence, the Viceroy of Lima decided it was time to transport this golden treasure out of city. Two of the most valuable artifacts were two life-size solid gold statues of the Madonna holding the baby Jesus.

The treasure was put on a ship bound for Mexico. When the crew learned of the treasures aboard, they decided to kill the accompanying guards and priests and set sail for the Cocos Islands where they presumably buried it, with plans to recover it after the situation calmed down. After burying the treasure the ship was captured and the crew was tried and convicted of piracy. Thousands have combed the Cocos Islands in the years since looking for this treasure. Is the treasure really there? Or did the crew fool everyone by burying it on a different small island, where it may never be found?

Answer: Raphael

Missing for over 50 years, "Portrait of a Young Man" is believed to be a self-portrait by Raphael. One of the many treasures to be plundered in wartime, this wonderful piece of art was "discovered" in a bank vault in 2012. The Polish government has been very vocal that they expect this treasure to be returned to them. Estimates on the value of this painting usually range around a hundred million dollars. Where is all the artwork plundered during the Second World War? Is it lost forever in abandoned mines which have since caved in; was all the gold melted down; and were the gemstones recut? We will probably never know.

Answer: Johannes Vermeer

With an estimated value of over 200 million American dollars, "The Concert" is often considered to be one of the most valuable lost or stolen paintings in the world. Stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the painting by Johannes Vermeer depicts two musicians and a singer.

This is not the first time the painting has gone missing. After being sold in Amsterdam in 1696, the painting disappeared and its location was not known until 1780. Displayed in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1903 the painting was immensely popular. On 19 March 1990, thieves disguised as the police broke into the Museum and stole thirteen paintings. The value of the artwork taken was over 500 million dollars. Twenty years later all of this artwork has entered the realm of lost treasures.