Where are The Secret Casque Locations Thought to be Buried, and Why?

Watch on Video or Read Below to discover where the Secret Casque Locations are thought to be ‘generally’ – City and State:

In 1982, The Secret: A Treasure Hunt by Byron Preiss was published.  This book included clues to 12 buried treasure casques, which once found, contained a ‘key’ used to claim a valuable gemstone.  Since the time of its release, only 2 3 casques have ever been found, leaving the remaining 10 9 yet to be discovered. (Boston has been found since the posting of this article)

Many searchers over the years have dissected the 12 Verses and Images inside the book. The Images and Verses are to be paired, and work together, to pinpoint final Secret Casque locations for the buried treasures.  Even though general locations for the Secret Buried Treasures have been proposed, and mostly agreed upon, exact dig spots for the casques continue to be elusive.

So where are the proposed general locations of the buried casques, today?  Why do most searchers feel confident there is a casque buried in San Francisco, or Houston, or Boston, or New York, or the other locations, and why?  

That is what the following summary investigates: The General locations, as in State and City, for each casque, and the clues which led to these determinations.

Let’s look at those two casques that have been solved.  What clues took those successful searchers to the general location, and can they take us to others? More detailed solutions, for each of the locations, can be found here: In Search of The Secret Casque Series – and in other articles on this website (some forthcoming).

Let’s go to the 12 locations. First, the two found.

The Secret Casque Location of Chicago, Illinois (Found): 

Image 5 and Verse 12 matched, and led to Chicago

The Chicago casque was found in 1983 by Rob Wrobel and friends.  A rough outline of the State of Illinois was clearly seen in the image, along with the outline of a significant landmark of Chicago. 

These two clues led searchers to the casque’s general location: Chicago, Illinois. 

Additional clues were found, both visual and in the Verse, that helped Rob and his friends discover the dig spot in Grant Park. (more on that here)

The Secret Casque Location of Cleveland, Ohio (Found):

The Cleveland casque was found in 2004 by Brian Zinn and Andy Abrams.  Image 4 matched with Verse 4 of the book (shown below)

Along with the outline of the State of Ohio, and a significant landmark of Cleveland, being found in image 4, Latitude and Longitude numbers were also realized within the image.  These confirmed this casque to be in Cleveland, Ohio. Again, additional clues to locate a dig spot were discovered in both Image and Verse. (more on that here)

So it might be asked, since the first two solutions included clear outline of States and significant landmarks, do they all? Or do the rest hold Latitude and Longitude numbers?  The answer is no, not all.  The Images and Verses seem to work slightly different from each other, and some are more difficult than others to conclude. For some, the ‘General’ locations are not fully confirmed by ‘just’ the Image, as you will see as we look at the 10 which have not been found. 

The Secret Casque Buried in St. Augustine

Like what was found for the first two found casques, an outline of the state of Florida can be noticed in Image 6. This image is thought to match with Verse 9. (shown below) 

The outline seems to solidify the state, along with a version of Florida’s State Seal (shown above on right), which closely resembles the rock and palm in the bottom right of the image. But what about a landmark to help identify a city? Here the city is hinted to differently from what was done in Cleveland and Chicago. It is not an outline of a landmark, but clue for it.

The character on top of the image is attired much like a Spanish Conquistador, and Ponce de Leon was one of the first known conquistadors. He was famous for his search for the Fountain of Youth- in St. Augustine, Florida.

This ‘clue’ to St. Augustine is strongly supported by the matching Verse. The words, ‘The First Chapter’, found in the Verse, are also found at the entrance to The Fountain of Youth, in St. Augustine. So this led searchers to believe the casque is buried in St. Augustine, Florida. (more on other clues on the Florida Casque here)

The Secret Casque in Roanoke Island, North Carolina

While not an outline of a state, there is found an outline of Roanoke Island in Image 3. This Image seems to work very well with Verse 11, and leads a searcher to Roanoke Island. The line ‘Ride the man of oz’ is believed to refer to the Washington Baum Bridge which takes travelers to Roanoke Island (Frank Baum wrote Wizard of Oz). This basically confirms the general location. (more on other clues to The Secret’s Roanoke Island casque here)

(This image also held numbers believed to be Longitude/Latitude (36 and 75), which would have directed a searcher to the larger general area along the east coast. However, it is the outline and verse which solidifies searchers being led to Roanoke Island.)

The Secret Casque in Charleston, South Carolina

Image 2 with Verse 6

The previous outlines were strong matches, and so are the outlines found in Image 2 (which matches with Verse 6). The first of which is an outline of the Charleston peninsula.

When working together as a whole, it is then noticed the ‘home plate’ shape seen towards the bottom is a match for Fort Sumter. This, with other supporting clues from image and verse, help confidently identify the general location for a buried casque of The Secret to be in Charleston, South Carolina. (other thoughts on Charleston)

The Secret Casque of New York City, New York

Image 12 matches Verse 10

While not as indisputable as the above outlines, there do seem to be outlines, along with identifiable matches to significant landmarks in Image 12. The flowing gown of the lady are believed to hold outlines of Staten Island and Manhattan of New York (shown below). Additionally, the Lady’s face holds a strong resemblance to the Statue of Liberty and the bird seems similar to either that on the Chrysler Building in Manhattan or one on Ellis Island. For these reasons, and supporting lines in the Verse, it is believed there is a Secret Casque buried somewhere in New York. (more on New York clues here)

The following Images are thought to hold Latitude and Longitude numbers which directed a searcher to a location, and then with their matched Verses, and other outlines or clues (less identifiable on their own), a general location is able to be determined.

The Secret Casque of New Orleans, Louisiana

Image 7 with Verse 2

It’s thought Image 7 holds an outline of the state of Louisiana, but it’s not as clear cut as the above outlines for Ohio, Illinois, or Florida. The outline is found in one of the checkered squares. What works along with this outline, however (besides the style of the image) and helps solidify New Orleans as a general location, are numbers. On the corners of the clock are seen the numbers 29 and 90. These happen to be basic Lat/Long numbers for New Orleans.

The other major clue, working with the others, is the word PRESERVATION across the top of the clock. And there is Preservation Hall in New Orleans. Together, the outline, the lat/long numbers, and the word Preservation, seem to conclude a Secret casque is buried in New Orleans, Louisiana. (more on NOLA here)

The Secret Casque in San Francisco, California

While the outline of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco is assumed to be given in Image 1, this rectangular outline on it’s own is not concrete enough to conclude the general area. There are lots of rectangular shaped land masses. But other supporting clues are found to help determine the location, like what was noticed for the believed New Orleans casque just mentioned before. These are, not only the Latitude and Longitude numbers found in the lady’s hair, but features, like Strawberry Hill within the outline (and park) seem hinted to. Together these clues seem to indicate a casque is buried in San Francisco, and most likely Golden Gate Park. (more on clues for this casque here)

Image 1 matches Verse 7

The Secret Casque in Houston, Texas

Again, for Image 8, which matches with Verse 1 (shown below), Latitude and Longitude numbers, identifying the Houston area, were found. These are in the branches and leaves. The Verse helped solidify the location with the number 982 mentioned. It was discovered to link to Hermann Park and a train which was displayed there. (more clues for Houston Casque here)

The Secret Casque in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The clues for identifying the general location of the next Secret casque is a bit unique. Below is Image 10 with Verse 8. Some of the items the lady is juggling forms a rebus to give ‘Milwaukee’. There is a MILL stone, a WALKing stick, and a KEY. It is this clue which seems to confirm the general location. The outline of a significant landmark of the city is also in the background. It is of the Milwaukee City Hall. (More on other clues here)

The Secret Casque in Boston, Massachusetts : UPDATE Fall 2019: CASQUE FOUND

Image 11 matches Verse 3, and is believed to link to Boston. That is basically all that is agreed upon for this pair. Boston seems to be the most difficult in terms of confidently identifying the general area by using the image. The Verse, in this case, seems to be key. The first lines ‘If Thucydides is North of Xenophon’ relates to a letter by Horace Walpole which states:

The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. 

From this reference, we can assume Verse 3 indicates Boston. And by process of elimination, matches with Image 11. It is possible a Zip Code is found within the image further identifying the general area and connecting it to Verse 3. But this is debated. The numbers 31120 can be made out, and when reversed, are a Zip Code for the North End of Boston. This is not conclusive, though. (more on the Boston Clues here)

The Secret Casque in Montreal, Canada

Image 9 with Verse 5

While there is very strong evidence Image 9 leads to Montreal, it doesn’t seem to hold as many smoking guns as some of the others. Somewhat like Boston. But the one smoking gun it does hold is indisputable. It’s what is called the ‘Legeater’. Within the image is a strange looking item in the right corner of the person’s collar. This item was discovered as the base of a lamp at the George Stephens House/(Le Mount Stephen) in Montreal. Another of its kind has not been found in North America, and since Preiss indicated there was a buried casque in Canada, most feel it is in Montreal because of this ‘Legeater’.

While there are proposed outlines, like the Trafalgar School, which is close to Mont Royal Park, and possibly even an outline of Montreal (both shown below), they are not as concrete as say the Ohio State or Charleston peninsula outlines.

And since Verse 5 matches basically by default, it has been difficult to discern an exact dig spot. Still in all though, searchers do feel confident, a Secret Casque is in Montreal. (other thoughts for clues for Montreal here)

When might it, or any others, be found?

Conclusion:

It seems the Images for the casques of Chicago, Cleveland, St. Augustine, Roanoke Island, Charleston, New York, and even New Orleans, held outlines of either States, Landmarks, or other land masses of a pretty solid nature. Working with other clues in their Paired Image and Verse, these locations are considered to be pretty accurate.

The solidifying clues for the casques in San Francisco and Houston seem to be latitude and longitude numbers– again while working with other linking clues found in their images/verses, they are believed correct. Milwaukee is considered solid with its unique Rebus style clue stating ‘Milwaukee’.

The last two, Boston and Montreal, seemed the most difficult to find strong supporting links for a general location. However, clues were found and the general areas mostly agreed upon today, as well.

But it is important to remember. While most searchers feel quite confident with the above locations and Image/Verse Matches, they are not ‘CONCRETE’. The only way to ‘know’ beyond doubt is to unearth a casque. HOWEVER, finding a lone outline to some obscure park feature, no matter how fitting in itself, and with only other weak connections won’t suffice to change opinions. Only stronger finds will do so.

So until stronger discoveries of other locations (if any locations are wrong), it seems the above sites for the buried casques are where most searchers work on determining the exact spots to dig for the buried casques of The Secret Treasure Hunt.

Join discussions on the MW Forum or Discord Channel.

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Best of luck with all that you seek! Always Treasure the Adventure!

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