According to the co-organizer of this treasure hunt, Michel Becker, the countermark corresponding to the treasure was “unearthed” on the night of Wednesday October 2 to Thursday October 3.
The end of a 31-year wait? Michel Becker, co-organizer of “On the trail of the golden owl”, the oldest treasure hunt in the world still in progress since its launch on May 15, 1993, indicated Thursday, October 3 that “the countermark of the Owl d’Or was unearthed last night (October 2 to 3, 2024, Editor’s note).”
“It is therefore useless to travel to dig on the location that you assume to be that of the cache. As previously announced, we are verifying the validity of the proposed solution,” he indicates in the official conversation of “ owls” on the Discord platform.
Eleven riddles
Since its creation by Max Valentin, also called Régis Hauser who disappeared in 2009, thousands of researchers have set out to decipher the eleven enigmas which made it possible to find this countermark.
The latter, in bronze, allows access to the real treasure: a gold and silver owl set with precious stones worth, at the time of the game’s launch, one million francs (or 150,000 euros, Editor’s note).
Over the years, the treasure hunt, due to its difficulty, its longevity and its insoluble nature, has become legendary and entered the collective imagination. In 2024, she was the subject of a documentary produced by Canal+, “In Pursuit of the Golden Owl.”
