allen_idaho
Hero Member
Bill Sneed's Treasure - Lakeland, Florida
Here is a treasure legend I came across that I thought you Florida dwellers might be interested in.
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The world is replete with legends of lost treasure. It really is an impressive list too - you have the secreted Oak Island bounty, the entire city of El Dorado, and even the secretly buried results of Captain Kidd's years of high-seas plundering. The problem with all those is - no one really knows where to look.
One treasure, though, has a pretty specific location - the old Wilmary Motel in Lakeland, Florida. Bill Sneed used to operate that motel, and he's said to have hidden some $625,000 in gold bullion somewhere on the property.
Sharpen your shovels and prepare to kick down some drywall - hecklerspray's sending you treasure hunting. And literally too - for $625,000 in gold bullion. The glittering-take was discovered by treasure hunter Bill Sneed, who also operated the Wilmary Motel in Lakeland, Florida during the 1950s.
Sneed claimed he found the loot in the mouth of the Suwannee River, and the small bit he stumbled-upon was only a portion of a lost $5,000,000 jackpot. Coin World says:
"F.L. Coffman reported that "an old treasure hunter, Bill Sneed," found $625,000 in gold bullion and coins at the mouth of the Suwanee River, a part of a treasure of gold coins valued at $5,000,000. The present writer knew Bill Sneed, who in the 1950s operated the Wilmary Motel in Lakeland, Florida."
Word on the street is Sneed didn't spend a dime of that bullion. He kept it all, showing people samples only occasionally. Further word on the street is the treasure hunter hid his find either in the Wilmary Motel, or on its premise somewhere. Seems like a quick investment in a metal detector should pay off pretty easily then, right?
Well not quite. A quick Switchboard.com search for a Wilmary Motel address resulted in zero returns - meaning the motel must have switched names, traded hands or been demolished altogether. As if that's not discouraging enough, Coin World also says of the old treasure hunter who found the bullion:
"[Sneed] enjoyed regaling his acquaintances with tall tales, but had relatively few rare coins as evidence to verify his finds."
On the bright side, 'relatively few' is a far cry from none. Of course this doesn't mean the treasure verifiably exists.
Here is a treasure legend I came across that I thought you Florida dwellers might be interested in.
----------
The world is replete with legends of lost treasure. It really is an impressive list too - you have the secreted Oak Island bounty, the entire city of El Dorado, and even the secretly buried results of Captain Kidd's years of high-seas plundering. The problem with all those is - no one really knows where to look.
One treasure, though, has a pretty specific location - the old Wilmary Motel in Lakeland, Florida. Bill Sneed used to operate that motel, and he's said to have hidden some $625,000 in gold bullion somewhere on the property.
Sharpen your shovels and prepare to kick down some drywall - hecklerspray's sending you treasure hunting. And literally too - for $625,000 in gold bullion. The glittering-take was discovered by treasure hunter Bill Sneed, who also operated the Wilmary Motel in Lakeland, Florida during the 1950s.
Sneed claimed he found the loot in the mouth of the Suwannee River, and the small bit he stumbled-upon was only a portion of a lost $5,000,000 jackpot. Coin World says:
"F.L. Coffman reported that "an old treasure hunter, Bill Sneed," found $625,000 in gold bullion and coins at the mouth of the Suwanee River, a part of a treasure of gold coins valued at $5,000,000. The present writer knew Bill Sneed, who in the 1950s operated the Wilmary Motel in Lakeland, Florida."
Word on the street is Sneed didn't spend a dime of that bullion. He kept it all, showing people samples only occasionally. Further word on the street is the treasure hunter hid his find either in the Wilmary Motel, or on its premise somewhere. Seems like a quick investment in a metal detector should pay off pretty easily then, right?
Well not quite. A quick Switchboard.com search for a Wilmary Motel address resulted in zero returns - meaning the motel must have switched names, traded hands or been demolished altogether. As if that's not discouraging enough, Coin World also says of the old treasure hunter who found the bullion:
"[Sneed] enjoyed regaling his acquaintances with tall tales, but had relatively few rare coins as evidence to verify his finds."
On the bright side, 'relatively few' is a far cry from none. Of course this doesn't mean the treasure verifiably exists.
