

He went on to write that he hid the chest “in the mountains somewhere north of Santa Fe”. He described a treasure chest that he said contains gold nuggets, rare coins, jewelry, and gemstones. He recovered from the illness and in 2010 self-published The Thrill of the Chase: A Memoir, a collection of short stories from his life. He considered using the location as his final resting place as well. This inspired him to hide a treasure chest in an outdoor location with the purpose of creating a public search for it. In 1988, Fenn was diagnosed with cancer and given a prognosis that it was likely terminal.

The gallery reportedly grossed $6 million a year. The gallery was located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and sold a variety of Native American artifacts, paintings, bronze sculptures, and other art, including forged copies of works by Modigliani, Monet, Degas, and other artists. He retired from the Air Force and ran the Arrowsmith-Fenn Gallery with his partner Rex Arrowsmith, which became the Fenn Galleries which he operated with his wife, Peggy. It was found approximately a decade later in 2020, in Wyoming.įorrest Fenn was a pilot in the United States Air Force, obtaining the rank of Major and awarded the Silver Star for his service in the Vietnam War where he flew 328 combat missions in 365 days. The Fenn Treasure was a cache of gold and jewels that Forrest Fenn, an art dealer and author from Santa Fe, New Mexico, hid in the Rocky Mountains of the United States.
