Kediri Junior High School Boy Discovers Treasure Worth Rp23 Billion
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — Intending to earn money to pay for school, a junior high school boy from Kediri named Seger instead discovered a fantastically valuable treasure. This accidental find changed his life and once caused a public stir.
This story is not a new event. It occurred in 1989, but to this day it is still remembered as one of the most surprising treasure discoveries in Indonesia.
The tale began when the class promotion holiday arrived. Seger was filled with two feelings: happiness because he didn’t have to go to school, but also anxiety because he was unable to pay his education costs.
To cover those needs, he chose to work as a farm labourer around his home in East Java. He used the holiday time to hoe other people’s rice fields, even though he had to endure the heat from morning until evening.
“I worked as a labourer because I needed money to pay the SPP that was two months overdue. My report card was even held back,” Seger told the Suara Karya daily (2 December 1989).
Since early June, he hoed and levelled other people’s rice fields every day from morning until dusk under the scorching sun. The work was not easy, but Seger had no choice.
Until finally, fate said otherwise. On 21 June 1989, while hoeing soil to a depth of half a metre, Seger’s hoe suddenly struck something hard. Not a stone, but the clang of unfamiliar metal, like the sound of gold clashing.
Curious, Seger dug deeper. He was shocked when he found a flat object layered with pure gold, adorned with gems and diamonds. Then he called two of his friends and together they brought the mysterious object to the police station.
This discovery immediately shocked the public. National media extensively reported on Seger and his incredible story. The village boy who initially used his holiday time and struggled to pay for school was now known for discovering treasure.
Majapahit Treasure
After examination by the relevant authorities, the object Seger found had dimensions of about 25x35 cm and weighed 1.2 kilograms. The object was known to be made of pure gold and adorned with 48 gemstones and diamonds.
On some parts, reliefs depicting the sun and the Garuda bird were visible. Referring to a Kompas report (2 December 1989), experts suspected the object originated from the late Majapahit Kingdom period.
This suspicion was based on the ornaments engraved on the gold’s surface, namely the sun relief symbolising Majapahit and the Garuda bird known as the vehicle of the god Vishnu in Hindu mythology.
If valued from a material perspective, Seger’s find was extremely high. Gold weighing 1.2 kilograms alone was worth billions of rupiah. Not to mention if the value of the gems, diamonds, and accompanying historical factors were calculated.
Using the current gold price reference, the gold’s value was at least equivalent to Rp2.3 billion. This figure could be much larger if artistic and archaeological values were also considered. However, Seger could not enjoy the full value of the treasure.
In accordance with regulations, the historical object was immediately handed over to the state and is now stored in the National Museum. As a form of appreciation, President Soeharto at the time gave compensation of Rp19.4 million to Seger, as well as guaranteeing a scholarship for education up to university level.
Although he failed to become a young billionaire, Seger did not regret it. For him, he gained an unrepeatable life experience, namely finding treasure during school holidays. In fact, from that treasure, his name went viral and he could continue school without worrying about costs.