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== Anime and Manga ==
* In the ''[[Fruits Basket]]'' manga, Akito's prized box contains... {{spoiler|nothing. Akito was told that it contained her father's soul, but it was a lie from the person who gave it to her.}}
* ''[[Ranma ½ (Manga)|Ranma One Half]]'':
** There is a rather silly subversion in the story where he finally reveals himself to his mother. The other half of the story is the attempt to keep his father from taking a family treasure, hidden in a box the whole time, and pawning it. When Genma finally gets the treasure and takes it to the pawnshop, it's only a single slip of paper. The slip of paper was a pawn ticket: one of their ancestors had already sold it. It didn't really matter, as it was apparently worth about twenty bucks.
** Also subverted in the ''Ranma'' movie ''Big Trouble In Nekonron, China''. Two halves of a scroll that was long ago cut in half are reunited to reveal a precious secret -- which turns out to be a pickle recipe. However, the pickle recipe ''is'' greatly prized by the couple who reassembled the scroll. Mostly because the male, Prince Kirin, literally ''can't'' eat anything ''but'' pickles.
** Nodoka herself pulled this on Ranma and Akane (and their suitors) accidentally. She gives her son a gift to give Akane, and after opening it, everyone believes it's an engagement ring. Cue the chases, battles, claims and flying weaponry before Ranma can ''finally'' give it to her. Turned out to be a pill box with a unique design, for the aspirin and antacids for the hardships that a woman in the Saotome family must endure.
* Played straight in the ''Lupin III'' film ''[[The Castle of Cagliostro (Anime)|The Castleof Cagliostro]]'': the big "Treasure of Cagliostro" that the Count was after turns out to be some sunken ruins at the bottom of a man-made lake, which prompts Lupin to remark, "This is a treasure for all mankind. Too big for my pocket, anyway." Presumably, the princess in this story will be able to parlay this find into a profitable tourist attraction.
** A number of ''[[Lupin III]]'' movies and TV specials that followed, such as ''Operation: Return the Treasures'', have had similar non-treasure "treasures" -- possibly largely as a [[Shout-Out]] to ''Cagliostro'' which continues to influence the franchise heavily. In ''The Stolen Lupin'', {{spoiler|Lupin rents out a village from its occupants for a day for the sole purpose of tricking the baddies into thinking the "Lupin Treasure" is stored there. One of the guest characters then concludes that the real "Lupin Treasure" is his friendships with the rest of his gang.}}
** Subverted in the ''[[Lupin III]]'' OVA ''[[Anime/Secret Of Twilight Gemini|Secret Of Twilight Gemini]]'', Lupin finally assembles the titular [[MacGuffin|split diamond]], allowing a long-suppressed Moroccan tribe the chance to access its ancestral treasure. It turns out to be an empty cave with a message on the wall stating that community is the real treasure. The tribe's princess is content with this, but Fujiko yells in frustration and kicks the wall... causing its facade to crumble. The real secret? The cave's walls are ''covered'' in diamonds under the facade.
* ''[[Detective Conan]]'' has played with this a few times. {{spoiler|Episode 137}} had a mansion where the treasure was the view from a hidden window. On Conan revealing this, the villain had a complete breakdown over all they had done to find it - including mass murder and disfiguring their own face. Another episode had the treasure be the experience of the journey to find it... except there was also a real treasure, as some robbers had been hiding their gains in the same spot.
** In the 11th [[Non-Serial Movie]], ''Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure'', the "pirate treasure" of Anne Bonny and Mary Read turns out to be {{spoiler|a hidden but empty pirate ship, built by Anne while waiting for Mary to get out of prison, which crumbles to bits upon being exposed to outside air.}}
* Subverted in ''[[Dirty Pair (Light Novel)|Dirty Pair]]'' episode 15. A treasure hunter looking for treasure in the ruins of an alien planet has hired Kei and Yuri to help him find the treasure and fight off a rival treasure hunter in exchange for a share of the profits. It turns out that the treasure is a piece of paper with writing in the alien language, which Kei and Yuri can't read but the treasure hunter can. He claims that it says is "there is a value in cooperating with each other", referring to it taking three people to open the door to the room where it was. Yuri [[Lampshade Hanging|comments that "this is the typical ending to a treasure hunt"]]. However, the writing was actually instructions on how to use some [[Lost Technology]] and thus highly valuable; the treasure hunter lied about it to avoid paying them. He does later send them flowers - an entire roomful of roses.
* The ''[[Area 88]]'' manga had a chapter where the base's pilots go mad combing the desert after an intercepted radio transmission mentions a convoy carrying gold. It turns out to be the enemy's top tactician, General Gold, who died in an attack on the convoy. The pilot who made the attack (who had been missing for a day or two) had burned half of Gold's papers and used the other half as tissues, since he couldn't read them. The base commander bursts out laughing upon hearing this, since deciphering them could have ended the war.
* ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]'': Near the end of the Greed Island arc, the group defeats Razor and goes up a tower to gain an ultra-rare card. Their NPC guide talks about how there was no treasure in a particular cave and that its beauty and holiness was the real treasure... which immediately becomes a card.
** Doesn't...doesn't that completely defeat the point?!
* The episode of ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga)|Cardcaptor Sakura]]'' with the Shield card explains that the spirit of said card has, appropriately, an instinct for guarding things and will, in the absence of proper guidance, find some treasure, latch onto it, and protect it from all comers (including, in this case, the very annoyed rightful owner). The treasure it selects is not revealed until Sakura breaks through the shield and captures the card, and turns out to be of purely sentimental value {{spoiler|a bouquet of flowers in memory of Sakura's late mother, treasured by her cousin aka Tomoyo's mom.}}.
** In this same episode is a similar example, revealing Tomoyo's most prized possession. Tomoyo is filthy rich, has her own bodyguards, cool high-tech toys, and a seemingly limitless budget to dress up Sakura in cute costumes and film her. Her most prized possession is {{spoiler|a child's eraser, in the shape of a bunny rabbit, worth maybe ten yen, given to her by her best friend Sakura on the day they met and lovingly cherished for years afterwards}}.
* [[Subverted]] in ''[[Transformers Robots in Disguise]]'': after an adventure in some ruins, Koji and the Autobots find the mysterious treasure Skybite was after, which turns out to be a picture of Koji and his dad. However, it soon turned out that the picture was placed to disguise the ''real'' treasure, a microchip containing information on Fortress Maximus' location.
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* Subverted in [[Mahou Sensei Negima]], after the <s>Baka Rangers</s> low-ranking students in the class go on a quest for a magic book that will let you pass any test. The book exists, but a complicated series of events leads to a [["Friend or Idol?" Decision]], and they spend a few days studying the old fashioned way. They all pass, and learn a lesson about hard work or something.
* Pulled twice in an episode of [[Mahoraba]], when the residents of Narutakisou go on a treasure hunt. What they pulled out turns to be photos of the residents three generations before, along with a note saying that the earlier group went on the same hunt and found nothing but a note that said "Good Job".
* Frequently serves as the [[Aesop]] to many episodes of ''[[Guardian Fairy Michel (Animation)|Guardian Fairy Michel]]''--mostly due to the fact that the Black Hammer Gang seem completely unable to understand [[Literal Minded|the metaphorical use of the word "treasure."]]
* [[Double Subversion|Double Subverted]] in ''[[DragonballDragon Ball]]'': the leader of the villainous Red Ribbon Army sends his [[Mooks]] after the title artifacts so that he can make a wish, something that could potentially grant the army vast powers and resources. His subordinates are not pleased to discover that his planned wish is {{spoiler|to be taller}}.
* In [[One Piece]], man-stuck-in-a-chest Gaimon has spent at least twenty years obsessing over a few treasure chests sitting on the top of a small peak he can't climb up. Luffy offers to go up and fetch them, but when he does refuses to give the chests to Gaimon. Gaimon realizes that the treasure he had been looking forward to is already gone, but soon decides that at least now he can get on with his life, and really enjoy the island he's been trapped on.
 
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* Back when ''3-2-1 Contact'' published a magazine in conjunction with their series, they ran a comic art serial titled "Cosmic Crew", which managed to do this trope both ways. After obtaining the final piece of their treasure on earth, the crew received a message about the importance of knowledge... which also added that they had been left some scholarship money.
* One of the original ''[[Richie Rich]]'' comic books plays with the trope. Richie puts something he feels is valuable in a safe while ''explaining to his dog'' that valuables should be kept somewhere safe. So Dollar the dog has the bright idea of digging up his favorite bone and replacing Richie's treasure in the safe with his own. Later, robbers crack the safe...and find the bone. They assume it's a valuable fossil. Their boss disabuses them of the notion ("It's a two-day old soup bone") by abusing them. Back at the Rich mansion, Dollar is heartbroken...until Richie's dad has the butler toss a few soup bones at him.
* ''[[Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog (Comic Bookcomics)|Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' does this in issue 7. The Freedom Fighters find a treasure map belonging to Uncle Chuck, but aren't impressed -- since Robotnik conquered Mobius, money has no value. Sonic suggests that the treasure might be an invention Chuck made that could help in the resistance, so they go anyway. Robotnik hears about the hunt, and at the end of the story, gets away with the treasure. However, Sonic isn't too upset, having at that moment remembered what the treasure is, and how sentimental Uncle Chuck was. Robotnik was not amused.
{{quote| ''(While Robotnik is having a tantrum)''<br />
'''SWATbot:''' I suggest we stay out of his way for few days... Until he calms down...<br />
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== Film ==
* Lost Heirloom example: [[It Was His Sled]]. And in ''[[Citizen Kane (Film)|Citizen Kane]]'', it gets tossed into the incinerator along with the wealthy protagonist's other worldly possessions. Nobody in the story ever finds out what his lost love/lost treasure "Rosebud" meant, though the audience gets the reveal.
* ''[[Felix the Cat: The Movie]]'' had this. The Duke of Zil is outraged to discover that the magical treasure he's spent the movie searching for is nothing more than a book with the words "Truth, Love and Wisdom" written on the pages.
** Played with in that the book ''still'' has the power to kill the Master Cylinder when Felix throws it at him.
* In the ''[[Casper the Friendly Ghost]]'' movie, Casper's father's treasure, which is sealed in an unbreakable vault, is only a baseball and glove with sentimental feelings (but no signatures) attached.
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'''Van Dough''': [to Mook] Shoot them! Shoot them now, please! ''[Cue [[Big Damn Heroes|Richie showing up]]]'' }}
** Another fine example of [[Tropes Are Not Bad]] (and [[Pragmatic Adaptation]] while we're at it): the world's richest family wouldn't be the world's richest family for long if they kept all their assets in a vault hidden away somewhere.
* Used straight in ''[[Indiana Jones and Thethe Kingdom of The Crystal Skull (Film)|Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of Thethe Crystal Skull]]'' - while there ''is'' plenty of gold (among other valuables) in El Dorado, the real treasure turns out to be {{spoiler|knowledge that makes your head explode - literally!}}.
* Subverted at the end of ''Duplicity'', when {{spoiler|the protagonists realize they've been duped out of $35 million by their bosses.}}
{{quote| {{spoiler|'''Ray:''' At least we have each other.}} <br />
{{spoiler|'''Claire:''' It's really that bad, isn't it?}} }}
* A variation was used in ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'', where the dusty old lamp provided near-infinite possibilities. The various treasures were not only just the tip of what the lamp could do, but [[Schmuck Bait|not touching them]] was enforced by the cave.
* Inverted in ''[[Race for Thethe Yankee Zephyr]]'' (1981). The protagonists think they're after a crashed [[WW 2]] aircraft with a cargo of medals worth a few thousand at most, and are puzzled as to why a gang of well-armed mooks is so determined to find it. Unknown to them the plane contains ''the entire payroll for the US South Pacific fleet'' -- approximately $50 million in gold bullion.
* A relatively recent movie used it straight, not once but twice: ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'' {{spoiler|has the 'secret ingredient' be nothing at all, and the scroll detailing the ultimate technique is blank.}} In both cases, it's not the secret that's valuable, it's the journey and growth needed to earn the secret that really ends up being useful.
{{quote| "For something to be special, you just [[Magic Feather|have to believe it to be special]]." }}
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'''Jack''' (presumably thinking about Elizabeth): Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate. }}
* ''Escape to Athena'' (1979). The head of the Greek Resistance goes with some escaped POW's to loot a mountaintop monastery of gold plates worth $2 million. {{spoiler|Instead they find the Germans have converted the monastery into a V2 missile silo, and the only plates they find are a crate of cheap metal ones with Hitler's face on them. At the end it's revealed the Resistance leader had the gold plates stashed at his headquarters (the local whorehouse) the entire time -- he just wanted their help in blowing up the German base.}}
* In the ''[[Popeye (Filmfilm)|Popeye]]'' movie, Popeye spends the duration of the movie searching for his father's hidden treasure; when it is found, it is revealed to be . . . keepsakes of Popeye's childhood, kept and treasured by his father.
* [[Discussed Trope|Discussed]] in the 1982 version of ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'': A wealthy king hires Conan and his band to [[Rescue the Princess|retrieve his daughter]], who was brainwashed by [[Big Bad|Thulsa Doom]], explains why he is willing to pay them any price they ask for the rescue of his daughter:
{{quote| ''There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a father's love for his child.'' }}
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** In ''Loamhedge'', Bragoon and Saro go hunting for the secret which will supposedly cure Martha's inability to walk. When they find the tomb where the secret was supposed to be buried, it has rotted away and they can't find it. They make up a piece of doggerel to bring back and make Martha feel better. In the meantime, it turns out that {{spoiler|her disability is purely psychosomatic, brought on by the obligatory childhood trauma, and she managed to stand up to fight back when she and the head of the Order were attacked.}}
* The novel ''[[The Hero From Otherwhere]]'' used this in an odd way. When the two boys who have become friends through {{spoiler|saving the world}} come back to claim the reward promised them, they're not only told that the true treasure is friendship, but they're given a ''choice'': they can either keep the "reward [they] already have" -- or they can {{spoiler|go back to their own world with the gold and jewels they were expecting, but as enemies, either because of magic or because [[Humans Are Bastards]] and the treasure would have gotten in the way of their friendship}}.
* The old ''[[The Three Investigators (Literature)|The Three Investigators]]'' children's novels contained versions of this periodically. One that comes to mind lacked a clear moral: a sunken riverboat holding a watertight chest contained millions of dollars--in worthless Confederate money. It may have worthless when the book was written, anyway. But these days, preserved Confederate money is worth more than US currency of the same denomination, with mint-condition bills of $100 and $500 worth tens of thousands of dollars. The real irony, of course, is that Confederate money is so valuable now because most of it has been destroyed because it was considered worthless.
* The novel ''[[Tarzan]] and the Forbidden City'' features a hunt for a fabulous treasure known as 'The Father of Diamonds'. In the final chapter, the casket is opened to reveal a lump of coal.
** [[They Might Be Giants|"Carbon in its ordinary form is coal,]] [[Viewers Are Geniuses|crush it together and diamonds are born."]]
* The [[Bionicle]] kids book ''Secret of Certavus'' has Glatorian Gresh searching for the treasure of a famed Glatorian of the past, apparently the secret to his success. What he finds is a book saying that a warrior's mind is their sharpest tool.
* In ''The Last Treasure'', there was a family treasure (silver spoons made and signed by Paul Revere) at the end but the main characters found out that there was a greater treasure hidden: the first names of the original family's children spelled out SMITH TREASURE, signifying that the children of the original family and the descendants were the real treasure of the family. Also explained by the very reason why the family patriarch built the treasure houses in the first place: the first two was for his twin 8-year old sons who died in a fire and his son who fought and died in the Civil War. The father's last words to the son was that he goes to fight without his blessing. An aunt explained that the patriarch probably buried the treasures as a way to tell his son that he loved him.
* Played straight in [[The Boxcar Children (Literature)|The Boxcar Children]] book ''The Mystery of Pirate's Map''. The children find the last piece of a famous treasure map and try to get to the treasure before a greedy millioniare, who's spent his whole life trying to find it and stepped on a lot of people in the process. As they're digging for the treasure, they tell him that he can have whatever they find. The treasure chest contains a single coin, and a note from the pirate about "real treasure."
* The early [[Star Wars]] spinoff novel ''Han Solo and the Lost Legacy'' involves Han and Chewie getting involved with a bunch of treasure-hunters looking for the lost treasure of Xim the Despot, a pre-Republic warlord who once ruled a mighty empire and reputedly left behind an immense (but possibly mythical) treasure. They wind up finding the "treasure", but it turns out to be a large stockpile of stuff that was vital and hard-to-find strategic war supplies back in Xim's day, but has long since become obsolete or common as dirt. Another example that is not as bad as some others--what people consider valuable depends greatly on their circumstances.
* In [[James Thurber]]'s ''The Wonderful O'', the island's treasure turns out to be the word "freedom". At least in this case the islanders did their best to make it clear from the outset that there were no real jewels.
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* ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' once had Xena and Gabrielle, along with the master thief Autolycus, hunt for what proved to be the Ark of the Covenant. Finding the Ten Commandments inside, Xena and Gabrielle got the message; Autolycus didn't, finding prohibition against theft and covetousness to be rules no one could live by.
* ''[[MacGyver]]: Lost Treasure of Atlantis'': A villain is forcing MacGyver and friends to find the titular treasure, and they succeed. However, the treasure is simply a cache of ancient scrolls of lost knowledge. The villain is extremely upset and, apparently, too stupid to realize that this find tops the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Collectors, museums, and governments would pay through the nose to buy them.
* [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] in the ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "Who Mourns for Morn?" Quark gets his hands on Morn's treasure, only to find that it's nothing but bricks of [[Worthless Yellow Rocks|worthless gold]]; all the valuable, unreplicatable [[Unobtainium|latinum]] had been drained out. (Thanks to 24th Century replicator technology, gold lost a lot of its financial value; only its aesthetic appeal remained.) It's not, however, a total loss for Quark: for his help Morn gave him no small amount of latinum, and as he notes, some "backward" worlds still use it for money.
** Played straight in the ''[[Star Trek: theThe Next Generation|TNG]]'' episode "The Chase". The ''Enterprise'', the Klingons, the Romulans, and the Cardassians all piece together a long and convoluted mystery and end up finding... a message recorded by the last of the Master Race that created all of them, hoping that it means they have united in peace... and nothing else. It does lead to a [[Not So Different]] moment (of a different sort) between Picard and the Romulan commander, but still...
*** This was an in-universe explanation for Trek's [[Rubber Forehead Aliens]]. Of course, they're all bipedal humanoids and have similar enough physiology to interbreed - they all come from the same source. One reviewer called the episode "more Roddenberry than Roddenberry," as the Great Bird was very fond of "[[Not So Different]]."
* Subverted on ''[[Top Gear]]'': When a challenge ends with something other than success, the presenters try to claim the 'experience' of participating was worth more than actually winning it. Considering Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond are two of the most competitive men..... ''in the world''.... you can imagine tongue is firmly in cheek when they say this.
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== Radio ==
* ''[[Adventures in Odyssey (Radio)|Adventures in Odyssey]]:'' The treasure hunt in the episode "The Treasure of LeMonde" leads to a cave with a box that contains "the greatest treasure" -- a Bible. But that was okay because the one in the party who found it was a greedy jerk who left the girls tied up in an attic to get to it first.
 
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== Theater ==
* ''[[Cat Onon a Hot Tin Roof]]'': This occurs during the pivotal scene where Brick confronts his father Big Daddy in the basement of their Southern mansion. In it there is a treasure trove of items that his father had bought over the course of his career as a businessman. Big Daddy discusses the value of these items, then goes on to say how his overall business empire is worth over 10 million dollars, and how he plans to one day turn it all over to his family to control. Brick, outraged at Big Daddy's love of personal wealth, destroys a great deal of these items to show it means nothing to him and that he only wanted his father's love. Big Daddy tells his son that he does love him and that he would do anything for him or give him anything he ever wanted; the reason he is giving all these things away is because he grew up in humble origins where his father was poor and all he ever left him before he died was a useless uniform from his time served in the Spanish-American War and that he will leave behind a more valuable legacy than his father left him. Brick argues that Big Daddy's father left him more than just an old uniform, he left behind many happy memories and love for his son and that maybe the reason he died laughing was because he was happy that he had his son by his side. The realization that the true gift he needed to leave behind for his family was love-- and that he didn't resent his father for leaving behind nothing of value, since love was something that he always had-- reduces Big Daddy to tears.
 
== Video Games ==
* In ''[[Final Fantasy XII (Video Game)|Final Fantasy XII]]'', after obtaining Raithwall's first Esper, Ashe describes it as "A treasure whose value is beyond measure" (or words to that effect). Balthier, who always thinks in monetary terms says "Call me old fashioned, but I was hoping for treasure whose value we ''could'' measure."
* ''[[Skies of Arcadia (Video Game)|Skies of Arcadia]]'' did this. Daccat sets up an entire dungeon filled with monsters, traps, twin fire-and-ice elemental spirits, and a complicated clockwork mechanism; Daccat's treasure is a single gold coin and a note that tells the heroes that they already have the greatest treasure, [[The Power of Friendship]] (the dungeon leading to the treasure chest depends on two teams working together and could not possibly be completed by a single hero). Then it's subverted when you find out that the coin's age and previous ownership makes it worth plenty of money.
* The plot of ''Sonic Riders'' ended in a variation on this when the treasure they raised a legendary city for and fought a nearly-all-powerful genie for turned out to be a single flying carpet. It's the one time Eggman technically wins: he wanted the legendary treasure, and he got it. Too bad it can't help him conquer the world...
* In Chapter 4 of ''[[Disgaea Hour of Darkness]]'', Flonne offers Laharl a gift if he helps her find her stolen pendant. The reward turns out to be [[Pet the Dog|"the opportunity to realize [his] kindness"]]. Laharl is not amused.
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== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Duck Tales (Animation)|Duck TalesDuckTales]]'' used this trope fairly often (not surprising considering the wealthy/avaricious nature of the main character).
** In the Valentine's Day special, Scrooge is disappointed to find that a chest in some sunken Grecian ruins purportedly containing "the greatest treasure" has nothing in it but a Greek word for "love" written on the bottom (for the record, it's ''philia'', as in dispassionate, platonic love).
** In one episode, after searching for the Golden Fleece, Scrooge and company realize that the reason it has remained lost for so long is that it smells too bad for anyone to want to spend any length of time around.
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** Subverted in "Tralla-La", where a primitive village that lacked the concept of money was introduced to (and corrupted by) it when villagers started lusting after the bottle caps from the health drinks Scrooge was drinking during a rest cure there.
* Used in an ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' spoof in ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'', in which "Pasedena Jones" (Buster) had gone through all the usual Indy adventures to get to a treasure chest purportedly containing "the Secret of Life", which turned out to contain Babs, Plucky and Hamton - the secret of life is friendship. He wasn't impressed: "In the sequel, I'm going after some gold."
* ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]'':
** Spoofed in "Bart to the Future". Marge and Homer go out to hunt for Lincoln's Gold. They eventually find a chest and inside it is a sheet of paper saying "my gold is in the heart of every American". Marge thinks it's sweet. Homer thinks it's a con.
** Parodied in a [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]] episode Homer -- the father of President Lisa Simpson -- digs up the White House lawn looking for [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s "secret gold." Homer finds a [[Treasure Chest]] containing a note written by Lincoln that says that the true "gold" is the unity of America...and decides he just hasn't found the ''real'' gold yet.
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** When Homer and Mr. Burns are in the cabin buried by an avalanche, Lenny suggests that maybe "the cabin" they were supposed to find was that special place in their hearts that they go to when they work together. Carl points out that Burns had promised there would be sandwiches there though...
* Seen on ''[[Recess]]'', when "the treasure of Third Street School" turns out to be a collection of beloved toys left behind by former students (one of whom happens to be the principal of their school). However, it's not ''quite'' as [[Anvilicious]] as it sounds on the surface -- the hiders of the treasure were, at the time, children themselves, who really ''would'' find such things precious, and really ''would'' be likely to play an elaborate game by "hiding" it as though it were treasure. (Who didn't do similar things as a child?)
* ''[[Gargoyles (Animation)|Gargoyles]]'' featured the hunt for Merlin's journals... which proved to be ordinary journals, not deep, dark mystic secrets. MacBeth is disappointed to find no powerful spells, but the Gargoyles -- particularly the ones that [[Very Special Episode|had just learned the advantages of learning to read]] -- understood their historical value. MacBeth, of course, subverts his role as the villain: He understands their value too (and in fact, already has a copy), and lets the Gargoyles leave with them once he learns they don't have any spells.
* Played straight in "The Treasure Hunt" episode of of ''[[Jem]]''. Jem's "Starlight Girls" face off with Pizzazz's "Misfit" girls over a treasure at the end of a rich man's contest. The prize turns out to be books, much to Pizzazz's dismay. These were rare, leather bound, first editions that any serious book collector would kill for - but the only serious collector in this universe was the rich man that held the contest.
* ''[[MASK|M.A.S.K.]]'' plays this trope straight on rare occasion.
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* An episode of ''[[The Replacements]]'' did a subversion of this, where escaping a trap required discovering the 'real' treasure, knowledge. The trick was, there actually ''were'' piles of gold and jewels waiting for whoever solved the puzzle, and the main characters happened to miss the reveal -- a one-off gag character came in time to grab it, though.
* Filmation's animated version of the novel ''[[Tarzan]] and the Forbidden City'', described above.
* Part of the ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (Animationanimation)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]'' episode "The Last Leprechaun" revolves around obtaining Darby Spree's magic pot of gold this way.
* In a fantasy-dream episode of ''[[Darkwing Duck]]'', Gosalyn hates studying for a history test and fantasizes about going on a quest for the magical Fountain of Knowledge with her favorite comic-book hero. After a long quest, many bad jokes, and a climactic confrontation with a [[Big Bad]], she discovers the Fountain is ... a cardboard prop. As the villain said, "What? You thought you could drink from a fountain and get smarter?" It turns out that the stuff she learned in the quest was what she needed to learn for her history test.
* Parodied in the ''[[Phineas and Ferb (Animation)|Phineas and Ferb]]'' episode "The Ballad of Badbeard", where Phineas, Ferb and their friends try to find the treasure of Badbeard the pirate, and eventually end up lost in a cave.
{{quote| '''Baljeet:''' Perhaps the real treasure is true friendship, and the spirit of adventure.<br />
''([[Beat]])''<br />
'''Phineas:''' Nah, there it is over there. ''(points to a door with a big red "X" on it)'' X marks the spot! }}
* ''[[Futurama (Animation)|Futurama]]'':
** Parodied when a space pirate's ship has been shot and is spinning out of control; before it blows up the captain is seen morosely looking out a port window and saying "Too late do I realize that me children are me only real treasures".
** Also suggested by one of the monks trying to find God by looking through a telescope (in the same episode, oddly enough). "Maybe the love that this 'Fry' feels for his friend is God." "[[Sarcasm Mode|Oh, how convenient!]] An explanation for God that doesn't involve looking through a giant telescope. Get back to work!"
* In the ''[[My Little Pony]]'' episode "The Magic Coins", after [[Be Careful What You Wish For|their ill-thought out wishes]] made on the coins cause trouble, the ponies turn to the coins' crotchety creator, Niblick the troll, for help. Niblick refuses to help unless they bring him a treasure of equal or greater value than that of the coins. The ponies risk their necks to bring him three treasures, but Niblick rejects them all. Just as things look hopeless, Megan thinks to use the last of the coins to wish for [[The Power of Friendship|a friend for Niblick]], and despite the [[Odd Couple]] dynamic between the two, they hit it off and Niblick agrees to help.
* Zig-zagged with Disney's ''[[Atlantis: theThe Lost Empire (Disney)|Atlantis the Lost Empire]]''. Most of the exploration crew going to Atlantis expect to find some fabulous treasure there {{spoiler|and are willing to kill the remaining people in Atlantis to get it}}. Milo, on the other hand, is completely looking forward to the knowledge he'll gain on such an ancient and advanced civilization. {{spoiler|Both happen. The crew learns the value of the culture of Atlantis, but in saving the people they unearth a honking big treasure, which they are given as a reward.}}
* In one episode of ''M.A.S.K.'', the villains are after a large cache of money hidden during the [[American Civil War]]. Unfortunately for them, it's in "worthless" Confederate money. [[Critical Research Failure|No one in the story seems to consider that this might still be valuable to collectors.]]
* An episode of ''[[Gadget Boy and Heather]]'' has Spydra stealing the "most priceless treasure in the desert" that an emir planned to give to his son. It turned out to be a bottle of water, which would have been a valuable lesson for the boy.
* In ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' episode 'Buried Treasure', it's revealed that the titular buried treasure that the cast has been fighting over is actually a small barrel full of bananas that Donkey Kong hid while playing pirates as a child. Bananas that have now spoiled with age.
* In the ''[[Scooby -Doo (Animationanimation)|Scooby Doo]], Where Are You!'' episode "A Night of Fright Is No Delight", the money Scooby inherits turns out to be worthless Confederate currency.
 
 
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