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Jewellers Buries $1 Million Of Valuables For Treasure Hunt

Jewellers Buries $1 Million Of Valuables For Treasure Hunt

The store was forced to close following lockdown

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

A jewellery store forced to close because of lockdown has buried $1 million (£794,296) in valuables as part of a mega treasure hunt.

The owners of a store in Washington Township, near Detroit, Michigan, had to take the difficult decision to close for good following the temporary closure during the pandemic.

But they've decided to go out in real style, burying most of the business's stock, including gold and silver, as well as rings and precious coins, around the state to mark the end of the line.

Writing on social media, Johnny Perri, from J&M Jewelers, said he had never really been happy despite his success and that the idea just came to him one day.

He wrote: "This epiphany occurred after being forced to shut down my business for several months during Covid-19. At first I was going stir crazy being at home with nothing but time on my hands and literally pacing back and forth anxiously wanting to do something but with nothing to do.

Johnny Perri said he was inspired to share some of the store's history.
Johnny Perri

"One day I got up and came across a news article while sipping coffee and scrolling the news on my phone. The article was about an anonymous person claiming to have finally deciphered the infamous riddle and discovered the Forrest Fenn treasure."

Speaking to Fox, Mr Perri said: "I said Amy (his wife), we can take everything out and retire or we can bury it across the state of Michigan."

And they chose option two, with the couple spending around four months burying everything.

He went on: "We went through waterfalls, streams, we kayaked everywhere. As soon as I release the clues the race is on."

The couple are now selling tickets for their 'Treasure Quest', with those who purchase them given a set of clues to follow in order to find the booty.

Each ticket leads to around $4,000 of jewellery.
Johnny Perri

Tickets are, however, limited, with each set of clues leading to treasure worth around $4,000 (£3,184).

"You follow the riddle, you got a little wit, a little adventure in you, you'll find it quick - I don't expect it to go more than a week," Mr Perri said.

"This one is about approximately $4,200 with the price of silver at $20 an ounce."

Adding: "Giving people adventure is giving them something to believe in again, besides this Covid crap."

On the Facebook page dedicated to the treasure hunt, Mr Perri said he was giving away his store's history.

He said: "I have buried not only my entire jewelry store but thousands upon thousands of dollars of gold, silver, diamonds & antiques in various locations in Michigan from the bottom to the upper peninsula.

"Everything I have buried has a history and many memories attached to them that I have let go and placed in the ground for you to discover."

Featured Image Credit: Google Street View

Topics: US News