Beast of Busco – Indiana’s Elusive Giant Turtle

A quiet lake becomes the setting for an unlikely monster hunt on Intaglio Mint’s Beast of Busco round. The design imagines the giant turtle known as Oscar floating ominously in Fulk Lake, turning a regional tale into 2 troy ounces of .999 fine silver. Its 39 mm format places the creature and its watery setting at the center of the story.

The Hunt for Oscar

The Beast of Busco belongs to Indiana folklore. Reports of an enormous turtle in Fulk Lake near Churubusco attracted attention in the late 1940s. The Indiana History Blog records how lake owner Gale Harris and other searchers tried divers, equipment and attempts to drain the water, without producing the legendary animal. Nicknamed Oscar, the creature became a lasting local story rather than a verified giant specimen.

A Real Animal Behind the Mystery

The legend is often described in terms of an oversized alligator snapping turtle. The real species is remarkable enough: the Smithsonian’s National Zoo describes a wormlike appendage on its tongue that attracts prey toward its open mouth. This ambush-hunting adaptation helps explain why such an unusual-looking turtle provides fertile ground for a larger-than-life lake story. It does not establish Oscar’s identity or prove the reported size.

Design Details

The obverse depicts the Beast of Busco floating in the middle of Fulk Lake. The water setting is essential to the mystery: it offers a visible surface while suggesting everything that might remain hidden below. This is an artistic treatment of a reported creature, preserving the suspense that made the story memorable.

The reverse carries the large Intaglio Mint logo inside a plain border. “TWO TROY OUNCES” appears above and “.999 FINE SILVER” below, flanked by stars. The round brings a distinctive freshwater legend to a collection of folklore-inspired silver.

Specifications

• Weight: 2 troy ounces
• Purity: .999 fine silver
• Diameter: 39 mm
• Thickness: approximately 6 mm
• Edge: Reeded
• Finish: Brilliant Uncirculated

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