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After the 1917 revolution, Russia’s new rulers debated what to do with the crown jewels. This 1925 photo shows the collection. However, a 1922 album at the U.S. Geological Survey includes photos of four items that are not described in the official 1925 inventory.
http://www.usgs.gov

Well after the communist revolution of course the crown jewels of Russia (known as the Diamond Fund) went missing. Right? Well no actually. There was much debate by the communist after they took over. Many saw the Diamond Fund as symbols of exploitation of the people and wanted them sold. But, the curators at the Kremlin in Moscow were able to convince the leaders of the communist revolution that the Diamond Fund had great historical significance saving the jewels. Some minor pieces of the Diamond fund were sold and auction records of the sales have been kept. There was also an official photographic record made of the Diamond Fund which was published in 1925. The book and records of the Kremlin match. So then there are no missing jewels from the Diamond Fund – right? Not so fast.

About a half dozen years ago Richard Huffine, the director of the US Geological Survey Library was in the rare books section when he came across an odd book. This book had no markings on the cover or spine. When they opened it up the title page was an elaborate hand-drawn page. They had the title translated into English “The Diamond Fund.” Now you are saying “so?” This hand-made book was published in 1922, three years before the official book was and it has photographs of four pieces of jewelry (a brooch, necklace, diadem and bracelet) not in the official 1925 edition.

So the USGS Library called in the experts. They found out that the brooch was sold at an auction in London in 1927. No one knows what happened to the other three pieces. The man who originally acquired the book was George Kunz. He was a mineralogist who worked for Tiffany & Co. and in the 1890’s he traveled extensively in Russia.

Another expert brought in was historian Igor Zimin, (head of the history department at the St. Petersburg State Medical University). He is skeptical of the book though because it was dated in 1922 and the first official photographic inventory of the Diamond Fund was taken in 1925. If you would like to see photographs of the missing pieces and learn more about this remarkable 1922 book you can go to the USGS website.

Photo of Russian royal regalia on display in the Kremlin Armoury, Moscow, photograph taken August 2003 by Stan Shebs

With summer almost on us in the northern hemisphere, how would you like to go on a vacation – have fun and get rich?

Today’s WayBack Wednesday takes you to a treasure that has still not been found. So, get your suitcase packed, grab a map, a thermos, and let’s go look for Nothing Says Elegance Like Fabergé (Lost Treasures Part 2).

Lake Toplitz is an alpine lake in Western Austria. The lake is a mile long and three hundred feet deep. Sunken logs in the lake make diving very dangerous and many divers have died in the lake’s depths. Visibility is good only to about thirty feet and below sixty feet there is no oxygen in the waters. During 1943-44 the German navy used the lake for testing. Early in 1945, as the Third Reich crumbled Nazi trucks stopped at the Weisenbecker home waking up the occupants. They ordered the people to harness their horses to wagons in order to take a cargo to Lake Toplitz. The horses were harnessed and wooden crates were transferred from trucks to the wagons.  Ida Weisenbecker is still alive and has been interviewed many times about what she saw. On the third and final wagon trip to the lake she saw Nazi officers dumping the creates into the lake.

Since that day treasure hunters have scoured the lake in search of lost Nazi gold. Hundreds of millions of dollars, possibly billions, were missing after the fall of Nazi Germany. Many believe the Nazis hid gold, silver, and jewels throughout Europe and some of that is hidden in Lake Toplitz. To date only counterfeit banknotes and papers have been taken out of the lake. But the treasure hunters continue their search. Even the news program 60 Minutes gotten into the act.

So what is really on the bottom of Lake Toplitz? Most likely more creates of counterfeit banknotes and documents the Nazis wished to keep out of the hands of the allies. Some of those documents may contain the bank account information to Nazi bank accounts in various countries.

What of the Nazi gold? While it is true that the Nazis stole tons of gold and took the gold teeth from concentration camp victims (melted down into bars) that gold was most likely deposited in Swiss bank accounts and transferred into financial vehicles much easier to transport than gold bars. Some of that gold may still be in Swiss banks. For decades the Swiss have sought to hide their role as bankers for the Third Reich. But, documents continue to surface indicating more and more Swiss involvement in the affairs of Nazi Germany.

Swiss gold coins minted in the mid 1940s have mercury levels ten times the level expected in gold coins. Mercury was used in the gold used to create, fillings, crowns, and teeth. It is suspected those Swiss gold coins may have been made from gold fillings, crowns, and teeth of people killed in the Nazi concentration camps. But we will never have solid evidence to tell us what happened to all the Nazi gold and silver.

So, is there Nazi gold at the bottom of Lake Toplitz? Probably not, but maybe ….

60 Minutes Special part 1

60 Minutes Special part 2

With summer almost on us in the northern hemisphere, how would you like to go on a vacation – have fun and get rich?

Today’s WayBack Wednesday takes you to a treasure that has still not been found. So, get your suitcase packed, grab a thermos, pick, and a shovel and let’s go look for Yamashita’s Gold (Lost Treasures Part 1).