Yamashita's Gold - Imelda Marcos’ jewelry

In the closing months of World War II General Yamashita Tomoyuki was in charge of hiding tons of Japan's looted gold and treasure. Expert teams accompanying Japan's armed forces systematically striped anything of value from conquered territories. An effective US blockade prevented shipment and at one time there were more than 175 Imperial treasure sites hidden in caves and tunnels throughout the Philippines. With US forces closing in, the chief engineers of all the vaults were called together with General Yamashita 67 meters underground in Tunnel 8 in the mountains of Luzon. They became drunk on sake and sang patriotic songs.

At midnight, General Yamashita Tomoyuki and his aids slipped out. Dynamite charges were set off in the access tunnels, entombing the engineers. The General escaped to Tokyo by submarine and three months later surrendered to American troops.

Yamashita's driver led the Americans to more than a dozen treasure vaults in the rugged country north of Manila. What they found astounded everyone. In November 1945, General MacArthur strolled down row after row of gold bars stacked two metres tall during a tour. In another 500 meter tunnel west of Mindanao, 12.5kg Gold bars were stacked 1 meter high.

After discussions with his cabinet, President Harry Truman kept the recovery efforts a state secret.

After surrendering on September 2, 1945, General Yamashita was charged with war crimes. During his trial there was no mention made of plundered treasure or of Japanese looting during the war. On 23 February 1946, at Los Baños, Laguna Prison Camp, 30 miles (48 km) south of Manila, Yamashita was hanged. In 1992, Imelda Marcos claimed that Yamashita's gold accounted for the bulk of the wealth of her husband, Ferdinand Marcos. Despite the best efforts of treasure hunters, no gold hoards have ever (officially) been found.

Former First Lady Imelda Marcos’ jewelry and real estate are among the P18.2 billion worth of recovered ill-gotten assets of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The Hawaii collection comprises jewels seized by the United States Bureau of Customs from the Marcoses when they fled to Honolulu during the 1986 People Power revolt.

The government still holds about 760 pieces of Mrs. Marcos’ jewelry in three collections, valued at a total of $6 million. That includes 300 pieces of jewelry retrieved from the Malacanang Palace right after People’s Power Revolution, 400 items confiscated in Hawaii, and 60 items seized by the Philippines’ Bureau of Customs from a Greek national accused of smuggling the jewels out of the country.

Angkorian gold

Angkorian gold jewelry that found its way to London in 2017 was returned to Cambodia after the government intervened to stop a planned sale. Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts petitioned to return the Angkorian artifacts.

They originated from the Khmer empire, a power in Southeast Asia from A.D. 802 to A.D. 1431. It once included much of today’s Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and southern Vietnam. After decades of war, Cambodia lost countless priceless historical artifacts to looters and smugglers who targeted ancient sites. The Khmer Rouge and other military groups often controlled looters in their areas. Looting artifacts has a history almost as old as the items themselves. The earliest known trial of looters in Egypt took place in Thebes in 1113 B.C.

Kerala’s Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple

The Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple has great religious significance to Hindus. The temple is known for its six subterranean “kallara” or vaults. In 2011 five of the temple’s six vaults, designated A, B, C, D, E and F, were opened. In them lay around 3,000 tonnes of gold, coins, sacks of diamonds and jewellery. Treasures include gold in the form of pots and jars, crowns, religious iconography, as well as gold coins from civilizations around the world including the Romans, French, Dutch, Venetians and the Mughals. Some of the items in the vaults date back to 200 BC. All this does not include what is thought to be stored inside vault B. Ancient legend said if the vault were ever opened it would bring devastation to the world.

Vault B has indeed been opened several times in recent history as is evident from the many missing items, according to inspectors.

$56 Chinese vase found in a cat-filled house goes for $9m

Once sold at auction for £44 ($56), the vase was made specifically for the Qianlong Emperor and went under the hammer for over 70 million Hong Kong dollars ($9 million) after being discovered in an elderly woman's country home. Described by Sotheby's as a "lost masterpiece," the rare 18th-century artifact survived the last 50 years in a remote house in central Europe surrounded by the owner's pet cats. The "double-walled" item is just one of a handful of similar designs, which were only attempted under the guidance of imperial kiln supervisor Tang Ying in the years 1742 and 1743. Described by Sotheby's as a "technical tour-de-force," the pear-shaped vase is an example of a style of porcelain known as "yangcai," or "foreign colors."

High status mummies discovered in an ancient temple

The mummies of two high-status ancient Egyptians discovered in a temple on the Nile delta may bring researchers a step closer to finding the remains of Cleopatra. The mummies are in a poor state of preservation because water had seeped into the tomb. They were originally covered with gold leaf – a luxury reserved for only the elite – meaning they may have interacted with Cleopatra in her time. Experts believe Cleopatra made plans for herself and Anthony to be buried at a temple called Taposiris Magna in order to imitate the ancient myth of Isis and Osiris.

According to the myth, Osiris was killed and hacked into pieces that were scattered across Egypt. After finding all of the pieces and making her husband whole again, Isis was able to resurrect him for a time. 200 coins bearing Cleopatra's likeness links the pharaoh ruler directly to Taposiris Magna, which was founded in the third century BC.

Ancients doing well in uncertain economic times

Heritage is offering rarities and prices aren't going down as interest surges. Featured is a Titus as Augustus (AD 79-81). AE proto-contorniate sestertius. NGC VF 5/5 - 1/5, double holed and plugged. Rome, AD 80-81. Extremely rare and one of the most sought after architectural type of Roman coin. Septimius Severus (AD 193-211). AV aureus. NGC Choice MS 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. Rome, AD 200-201. Julia Domna.

Aurelian (AD 270-275). AV binio or heavy aureus. NGC AU 5/5 - 3/5, brushed. Siscia. IMP C L DOM AVRE-LIANVS AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust of Aurelian right, seen from front / CONCORD-IA AVG, Concordia seated left, patera in right hand, double cornucopia in left. RIC V.I 164. Calicó 3982. Extremely rare - only example known.

Unique ancients

Sicily, Aitna (Catania) Silver tetradrachm c. 465 BCE obverse: bearded Silenus right AITNA ION, “of the people of Aitna.”, beetle below, reverse Zeus enthroned.

The value of ancient coins is determined by three factors: historical interest, eye appeal, and rarity. Any unique coin of Alexander the Great or Cleopatra would be important (read expensive) no matter how battered. But a unique provincial copper of an obscure ruler would likely carry a modest price tag.

Alexander III of Macedon, double daric, Mobile mint moving with Alexander’s Army in India, after 326 BCE 16.75 grams.

In 1922 workmen in northern France unearthed a hoard of gold and silver buried c. 315 CE. Buried was a unique 10-aureus (52.88 gram) gold medallion of Constantius I, father of Constantine the Great. It commemorates his defeat of the British usurper Allectus in 296 CE. A gold stater of Abydos, issued around 330 BCE. Abydos was located at the narrow crossing point of the Hellespont. Alexander the Great established a mint at Abydos that struck a very few gold staters c. 330 BCE.

The ancient city of Patara

The ancient city of Patara on Turkey’s coast is located in the Kaş district of Antalya province. Patara is known as the capital of the ancient Lycian civilization, from about the middle of the first century B.C. Carthaginian general Hannibal fled Rome and took refuge in Patara. Pontic King Mithradates VI, another famous enemy of the Romans, also set foot in Patara. Julius Caesar's assassin Marcus Junius Brutus also lived in Patara.

Alexander the Great wanted to seize Patara harbor after conquering Lycia, and during excavations bronze projectiles with the words "belonging to Alexander" were found.

Patara harbor was the center and focus of many wars, which is why the city is historically significant.

Ruling on Scythian gold from Crimea postponed

Moscow accused the Netherlands of seizing the gold artifacts.

In February 2014 a collection of ancient gold was shipped from four Crimean museums to a museum in Amsterdam on loan. After Crimea reunited with Russia the museum decided against sending the collection to either Crimea or Ukraine pending a court ruing.

That ruling has been delayed.

A Dutch court ruled that Ukraine was the rightful owner of the ancient treasure and it should not be returned to the territory while it is occupied by Russia. Moscow claims that as Crimea is part of Russia and the artifacts should be returned.