$40,000 in Coin Prizes Are Hiding in Four U.S. Cities This October
A five-day scavenger hunt in each city will send collectors searching Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Boston for numismatic prizes worth as much as $3,500 each.
For generations, coin collectors have dreamed about finding treasure in an old house, beneath the ocean, or buried somewhere nobody thought to look.
This October, Stack’s Bowers Galleries plans to make the hunt real.
The numismatic auction firm has announced Treasure Hunt 2026, a four-city scavenger hunt that will put $40,000 in numismatic prizes up for grabs during October. The hunt starts in Miami on October 6 and ends in Boston on October 31. Philadelphia and San Francisco will host the two stops in between.
Moreover, collectors will not simply walk into a gallery and enter a drawing. They will have to solve clues, track down locations, and find the prize certificates first.
How the Stack’s Bowers Treasure Hunt Works
Stack’s Bowers has selected several locations in each participating city. During each five-day hunt, the firm will hide one prize certificate per day at a different location.
That creates five chances to win in every city.
Stack’s Bowers will post clues and riddles through its main Instagram account and the individual Instagram pages connected to each participating gallery. The clues will draw on each city’s history and local character.
Once someone finds the certificate, the rules call for the finder to take a photograph with it at the discovery location. The winner then scans a QR code and sends the photograph to Stack’s Bowers before heading to the local gallery to claim the prize.
Each city will offer $10,000 worth of numismatic collectibles. Individual prizes carry approximate retail values starting near $300. The largest prizes reach roughly $3,500 or more.
Winners can keep their prize and add it to a collection. Stack’s Bowers also says winners may consign the item to a future auction or consider a cash buyback offer from the company.
Miami Starts the Hunt With Sunken Treasure
The hunt begins in Miami from October 6-10.
Stack’s Bowers has built the Miami clues around Florida’s long association with shipwrecks and recovered treasure. That gives the first stop a natural numismatic connection. Spanish colonial coins recovered from wrecks off Florida have fascinated collectors for decades.
Hunters should follow @StacksBowers_Miami for local clues and updates.
Philadelphia Goes Back to the Birth of the U.S. Mint
Next comes Philadelphia from October 13-17.
Few American cities offer a stronger numismatic backdrop.
Congress established the United States Mint in Philadelphia through the Coinage Act of 1792. During that year, workers produced experimental coinage and 1,500 silver half dismes while the first Mint facility took shape. The Mint delivered its first coins intended for circulation, 11,178 copper cents, on March 1, 1793.
Therefore, Philadelphia gives Stack’s Bowers plenty of material for riddles tied to the beginnings of federal coinage.
Local clues will appear at @StacksBowers_Philly.
San Francisco Brings Back Gold Rush Fever
Treasure Hunt 2026 then moves west to San Francisco from October 20-24.
Here, the theme shifts to gold.
The discovery of gold in California in 1848 transformed San Francisco almost overnight. The National Park Service notes that fewer than 1,000 people lived there before the Gold Rush. By 1849, the population had surged to roughly 25,000 as fortune seekers poured into California.
That history makes San Francisco an obvious setting for a modern treasure hunt.
Participants can follow @StacksBowers_SF for clues.
Boston Gets the Final $10,000
Finally, Stack’s Bowers brings the hunt to Boston from October 27-31.
Boston dates to 1630, making it one of the oldest cities in the United States. Its streets, historic sites, and centuries of American history will provide the backdrop for the final five days of clues.
Hunters should monitor @StacksBowers_Boston during the final round.
Collectors can also follow the main @StacksBowers Instagram account and sign up through the official Treasure Hunt 2026 page for updates and early clues.
More Than Nine Decades in Numismatics
Stack’s Bowers traces its numismatic business history to 1933. Today, the firm handles live, internet, and specialized auctions of U.S., world, and ancient coins and currency. It also conducts retail and wholesale business.
Over the decades, Stack’s Bowers and its predecessor firms have cataloged and sold many celebrated American collections. They include the D. Brent Pogue, John J. Ford Jr., Louis E. Eliasberg Sr., Harry W. Bass Jr., Joel R. Anderson, Norweb, Cardinal, Sydney F. Martin, and Battle Born collections.
Its world-coin and currency sales have included the Pinnacle Collection, Eliasberg Collection of World Gold Coins, Kroisos Collection, Alicia and Sidney Belzberg Collection, Salton Collection, Wa She Wong Collection, Augustana Collection, Richard Margolis Collection, and Thos. H. Law Collection.
The firm also won the assignment to auction the extraordinary L. E. Bruun Collection, a roughly 20,000-piece Scandinavian cabinet insured for 500 million Danish kroner. Stack’s Bowers has described it as the most valuable collection of international coins ever to come to market.
Stack’s Bowers maintains its headquarters and Griffin Studios auction facility in Costa Mesa, California. Its current public locations include galleries in New York, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, along with operations in New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Paris, and Vancouver. Company materials have also listed Sacramento and Virginia offices.
The firm conducts its Global Showcase and serves as an auction partner for major numismatic events. These include the New York International Numismatic Convention, Whitman Expos, Hong Kong events, and the Maastricht paper money shows. Stack’s Bowers continues to serve as the Official Auctioneer of the Whitman Expos and, in September 2026, served as Main Sponsor and Official Auctioneer of the MIF Paper Money Fair in Maastricht.
For October, however, there is no auction paddle required.
Collectors just need to follow the clues and get there before someone else does.
