35. The largest diamond in the world was found in Arkansas
Location: Murfreesboro (Arkansas)
Year of discovery: 1924
Est. Value: $1 million*
You probably associate diamond mining with Africa. There have been some unique diamond discoveries in America. One minor discovered the largest diamond in America in 1924, in Murfreesboro in Arkansas, during an early digging project.
This diamond, which was later named Uncle Sam, weighed 40.23 cts. A dealer in Boston sold it to a collector for $150,000 in 1971. It was white, with a pink tint. This diamond is worth about $1 million in today’s dollars. Arkansas State Parks called Uncle Sam a “one-in-a-billion gem.”
36. A Family Discovers Bags stuffed with $1M on the Road
Location: Caroline County, Virginia
Year Found: 202020
Est. Value: $1 million*
One family’s unglamorous hobby of picking up garbage on the side roads paid off. A family was traveling through Virginia when they saw what they thought were two white bags on the side. They threw what they believed to be litter into the back seat of their car, determined to fix it.
They opened the envelopes and discovered it wasn’t litterbugs’ castoffs, but a million dollars. The family did what was right and handed the money to the sheriff. Alas, the money doesn’t seem to have come from a glamorous or blockbuster-movie-esque source. The bags were allegedly the property of the Post Office, and they fell out of a truck while it was on its way to the Bank.
