Jean Vincent de lAbadie, Baron de St. Castine, was a French nobleman who inherited land on Penobscot Bay in what is now the state of Maine. He took possession in 1665 and ran a successful trading post at the village of Pentagoet for nearly 25 years, amassing a fortune.

During this time the French Canadians and New Englanders were engaged in fierce border skirmishes. Although de Castine fortified the village, it was plundered by the British several times. Sir Edmund Andros, Governor General of Massachusetts, led one such attack in June 1688. However, the baron had fled with his treasure.

In 1840, Captain Stephen Grindle and his son Samuel were hauling logs to the Narrows, about six miles from the village, when they found a coin, a French crown. The pair dug until dark, recovering 20 more coins. It was in late November, and during the night a severe blizzard struck, so digging was suspended until the spring of 1841.

Returning in the spring, the Grindles dug up nearly 500 coins from France, Spain, South America, Portugal, Holland, England, and Massachusetts. Was this the de Castine hoard, missing for 137 years?

Everyone believed that it was, and that there was much more to be found. The old rumors that the baron had been forced to bury his treasure as he fled were revived. Dying shortly after felling, in France, de Castine had never been able to return to America to retrieve his fortune. Now the Grindles had found at least some of it. In April 1841, Dr. Joseph Stevens, of Castine, Maine, named after the baron, visited the site and was present when more coins were unearthed. He purchased one of each type of coins dated between 1642 and 1682.

The collection also contained 150 Pine Tree shillings and sixpence dated 1652. This was the first coinage struck in the colonies. The Pine Tree shillings are valued up to $2000 each.

It was reported in 1855 that a man named Conolley, another Narrows resident, found an old chest with the remains of clothing and other goods.

Records show Baron de St. Castine fled with six money chests. Thus far, only one has reportedly been found. Records further indicate that a year before the Barons flight, a French visitor had estimated the treasure to be worth $200,000.

Over three hundred years have passed. What is the value of those five missing chests today?