The Great US Treasure Hunt IS ON!
12 Coins, 12 Short Stories, $12,000 to win
FIRST DAY...FOUR SOLVES!
What an amazing first day we had in The Great US Treasure Hunt 2026! Four coins found by four Solvers with no competition...that is, nobody else had solved the locations that they had solved. Four solves, four locations!
Details to follow, but here's the recap:
1. Sean Cronin, Solver, Jamie Jones, Finder, Belcher Park, Wapakaneto OH, The Golden Disc GPS solution
2. Amy Waugh, Solver, Courtney "Yes I'm Sean's Sister" Cronin, Finder, Cerritos Heritage Park Spiral Staircase, El Mapache and the Golden Coin story, letters following Spanish dialogue
3. David Cohen, Solver, Finder's ID, pics and video to come, Scott Carpenter Park, Boulder, Step, solution via Dave and Jeff's dialogue in Quest for the Goblin's Gold.
4. The Ruiz Family Solver/Finders, Momma Amber and Son Michael grabbing the coin from under Mt. Bonnell Monument in Austin, just as chapter 6's reverse initials in The Yellow Coin of Texas revealed
OUR FIRST COIN IS FOUND!
Jamie Jones is the FInder, Sean Cronin is the Solver, decoding the GPS coordinates in The Golden Disc story, 40.572588, -84.193442, which is exactly at the playscape at Belcher Park, Wapakaneto, Ohio, the hometown of Neil Armstrong, the first human on the Moon.
Jones woke at 3AM with Cronin's call, and drove three hours to make it to the park at first light! This is Cronin's second win in The Great US Treasure Hunt, his first coming as the Solver in 2024 for the Knoxville TN coin.
Eleven coins remain! Congratulations, Sean and Jamie!
Happy 250th, America!
In our three previous Hunts, we have delivered nearly $60,000 in prize money to over 20 winning individuals and teams. And we're back just in time for American's 250th, with 12 more hidden coins, and over $12,000 in prizes!
Twelve Short Stories...Three Excerpts
Coin of Future Past
Six Characters in Search of a Treasure
Quest for the Goblin's Gold
Dr. Langford chuckled softly as he set his pencil down for a moment. “You were discovered wandering the woods and nearly incoherent. How would we find The Machine, as you call it, if we haven’t seen it ourselves?”
Elias shrugged, his face earnest. “Idk, but I’m sure I could find it, if you just take me back to where you found me.”
Dr. Lang
Dr. Langford chuckled softly as he set his pencil down for a moment. “You were discovered wandering the woods and nearly incoherent. How would we find The Machine, as you call it, if we haven’t seen it ourselves?”
Elias shrugged, his face earnest. “Idk, but I’m sure I could find it, if you just take me back to where you found me.”
Dr. Langford paused, his brow furrowing in mild confusion. “I beg your pardon. Did you say i.d.k.?”
Elias affirmed without hesitation. “Yes, idk how you will find The Machine, but I will be able to.”
Dr. Langford leaned forward, seeking clarity. “What is i.d.k.?”
Elias replied simply. “I don’t know.”
Dr. Langford’s exasperation flickered across his face, though he maintained his composure. “Then why did you say it?”
Now it was Elias’s turn to chuckle, a light, amused sound that eased the tension momentarily. “L.O.L. I.d.k. means I. Don’t. Know. I.d.k.”
Dr. Langford nodded slowly, absorbing the peculiarity. “Ah, I see. And what is L.O.L.?”
Elias explained with a grin. “It means That’s Funny.”
Quest for the Goblin's Gold
Six Characters in Search of a Treasure
Quest for the Goblin's Gold
As the camera PANS around, a DOOR is revealed.
Thief Emily steps forward, inspects the door as Sorceress Sarah holds her glowing staff in close.
CLOSE ON - THE DOOR - KEYHOLE
Thief Emily’s hands feel the metal surrounding the keyhole. A small tool appears in her right hand. She inserts one end of the tool into the keyhole. A tiny CLICK.
As the camera PANS around, a DOOR is revealed.
Thief Emily steps forward, inspects the door as Sorceress Sarah holds her glowing staff in close.
CLOSE ON - THE DOOR - KEYHOLE
Thief Emily’s hands feel the metal surrounding the keyhole. A small tool appears in her right hand. She inserts one end of the tool into the keyhole. A tiny CLICK.
THE PARTY REACTS TO THE CLICK
All freeze, but no other noise is produced.
BEHIND EMILY - CHRIS, TOM, and JEFF
Prepare their weapons and stances for battle.
THIEF EMILY - TURNS
She smiles to the men waiting behind her.
THIEF EMILY
She’s all yours, boys.
Emily pushes the door slightly open, then takes her place in the second row with Sarah.
PALADIN JEFF
Quick charge. We have the element
of surprise.
ASSASSIN TOM
What’s our favorite element?
ALL (loud whisper)
Gold!
Six Characters in Search of a Treasure
Six Characters in Search of a Treasure
Six Characters in Search of a Treasure
First there was Preacher Cole—once Reverend Cole, now just Cole, a tall man with a face carved from sorrow and a black coat gone green at the seams. He had not preached in seven years, not since the circuit had dried up and the Lord seemed to stop answering. These days he swept floors for the saloon and read Scripture to anyone who woul
First there was Preacher Cole—once Reverend Cole, now just Cole, a tall man with a face carved from sorrow and a black coat gone green at the seams. He had not preached in seven years, not since the circuit had dried up and the Lord seemed to stop answering. These days he swept floors for the saloon and read Scripture to anyone who would listen. Mostly no one did. But Rose listened. Rose, who worked upstairs, dark-haired and quiet, with eyes that had seen too much and still managed to hold light. Cole loved her the way a man loves rain after a ten-year drought—silent, fierce, and hopeful.
Across the room stood the Bar K boys: Rafe and Manuel, one pale, one dark, lean and hard as fence posts, riders for the biggest outfit in the valley. They wore their guns low and their hats low, and they looked at the dead prospector’s coins the way coyotes look at a fresh kill.
Leaning against the piano was Big Tom, owner of the Last Chance, two hundred and forty pounds of man with a laugh like gravel in a bucket. Beside him stood Sally, the other upstairs girl, and the piano player, Yun Chan, whose English was broken, but whose piano spoke fluently to all.
Seven people. One dead prospector. A handful of coins on the floor.