“We confirm that the countermark of the Golden Owl was dug up last night. » Michel Becker, co-organizer of a game which has held thousands of people in suspense for years, declared this Thursday morning that this treasure hunt undoubtedly ended during the night. “A potentially winning solution is being verified,” he explains on Discord. “It is therefore useless to travel to dig on the location that you assume to be that of the cache (…) We are checking the validity of the proposed solution.”
This treasure hunt, “on the trail of the golden owl”, was launched on May 15, 1993. Since then, thousands of researchers had tried to decipher the eleven enigmas which would make it possible to discover this bronze countermark, hidden somewhere leaves for France. Its discovery made it possible to acquire the real treasure: an owl in gold and silver, set with precious stones, worth, at the time, 150,000 euros (or one million francs in 1993).
The longevity of the game and the insoluble nature of the eleven puzzles have given it a legendary character. This treasure hunt was launched by Régis Hauser (aka Max Valentin) and Michel Becker. The first died sixteen years to the day after the launch of the game. After a long legal battle with his heirs, Michel Becker was able to recover the solutions to the puzzles in the early 2020s and delivered new clues, arousing the disapproval of a part of historical players.
“It would be fabulous for treasure lovers if it were never found. It would become a legendary treasure,” Michel Becker projected in June 1993, on the set of “Coucou c’est nous”, a program by Christophe Dechavanne. Tonight’s discovery may have put an end to a 31-year-old myth. Researchers are waiting for only one thing: to know the solutions to the puzzles they have been struggling with for so long.