Just about everyone has dreamed of digging up a buried treasure in their backyard and finding riches beyond their wildest imagination. For most people, though, it can never be anything more than just a dream. However, for Matthew Emanuel, living on Staten Island, this dream became reality in a way he never could have expected.

A Well-Hidden Secret

Matthew had lived in his house in Todt Hill, Staten Island, for several years with his wife and son. During that whole time, there was an old, rusty box sitting in his yard in plain sight. It had been there since before they moved in, so Matthew and his family had no way of knowing its origins.