Fenn treasure

The Fenn Treasure was a cache of gold and jewels that Forrest Fenn, an art dealer and author from Santa Fe, New Mexico, hid in the Rocky Mountains of the United States. It was found approximately a decade later in 2020 in Wyoming by an anonymous treasure hunter later revealed to be former journalist and medical student Jack Stuef. In attempting to honor what he perceives to be Fenn's wishes after his death in September 2020, he has refused to reveal the location of the treasure. An auction of items from the treasure chest in December 2022 resulted in $1.3 million in sales.

Forrest Fenn (August 22, 1930 – September 7, 2020) was born in Temple, Texas to William "Marvin" Fenn, a teacher by profession and Lillie Gay Simpson, who had worked as a nurse before her marriage .

The middle child of the three children born to the couple, Fenn attended Temple High School in 1947, after which he studied at Temple Junior College. Struggling academically Fenn preferred to spend his time outdoors with friends, rather than studying.

Fenn left school after graduatingand enrolled in the Air Force on September 6, 1950.  During his time as a pilot in the United States Air Force, Fenn obtained the rank of Major. He was awarded the Silver Star for his service in the Vietnam War where he flew 328 combat missions in 365 days.

He retired from the Air Force and ran the Arrowsmith-Fenn Gallery with his partner Rex Arrowsmith, which became the Fenn Galleries which he operated with his wife, Peggy. The gallery was located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and sold a variety of Native American artifacts, paintings, bronze sculptures, and other art, including forged copies of works by Modigliani, Monet, Degas, and other artists. The gallery reportedly grossed $6 million a year.

In 1988, Fenn was diagnosed with cancer and given a prognosis that it was likely terminal. This inspired him to hide a treasure chest in an outdoor location with the purpose of creating a public search for it. He considered using the location as his final resting place as well. He recovered from the illness and in 2010 self-published The Thrill of the Chase: A Memoir, a collection of short stories from his life. He described a treasure chest that he said contained gold nuggets, rare coins, jewelry, and gemstones. He went on to write that he hid the chest "in the mountains somewhere north of Santa Fe". Fenn said that the stories in the book included hints to the chest's location and that the poem found in the chapter "Gold and More" contained nine clues that would lead a searcher to the chest. Fenn's book and story prompted a treasure hunt in the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. The value of the chest was estimated to be as high as $2 million, depending on the appraisal of the items. In December 2022, after the treasure had been found, an auction of items from the treasure chest resulted in $1.3 million in sales. Fenn claimed to make no money on the sale of the self-published books out of concern for being labeled a fraud by critics.

Before the treasure hunt, Fenn came into conflict with authorities over federal antiquities law during Operation Cerberus Action. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents raided his home in 2009 as part of an investigation into artifact looting in the Four Corners area. Items in his possession reportedly included pieces of chain mail from the Pecos National Historical Park, human hair, a feathered talisman, and a bison skull, some of which were confiscated by federal authorities; no charges were filed. Two people targeted in the case died by suicide, and Fenn blamed the FBI for their deaths.

Fenn died a few months after his treasure was found, on September 7, 2020, at the age of 90.