Jeweler Johnny Perri, who owned J&M Jewelers in Washington Township, Michigan, decided to close his business after it was basically shut down because of the pandemic.
Instead of just cashing in his inventory and retiring, Perri and his wife Amy hatched a fun plan: create a treasure hunt. “I said, ‘Amy, we can take everything out and retire or we can bury it across the state of Michigan," Perry said in an interview. Perri and his wife then scoured Detroit antique and jewelry shops, and along with store inventory, ended up burying about $1 million in valuables, which included rare coins, jewelry and fine dining ware.
They plan to hide several cachés of treasure worth around $4,000 each, one of which includes bulk silver, which goes for about $20 per ounce. They are now offering treasure hunters the chance to sign up for Johnny's Adventure Quest, which begins August 1. For $49, participants will receive clues as to where the treasure is stashed.
People who dig up the buried treasure, which Perri said he is tracking with GPS devices, can either keep the items they find or return them to Perri in exchange for their cash value.