Secret Key to CIA’s Kryptos Code Finally Cracked—And It’s Going Up for Auction!
Picture this: a mysterious copper sculpture, snuggled right outside the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia — and it’s not your everyday art piece. Installed back in 1990, Jim Sanborn’s Kryptos is a 12-foot-tall, serpentine enigma engraved with four cryptic messages. Three? Solved. The fourth? Still playing hard to get, like that one unsolved crossword clue you swear you’ll crack one day. Now, get this—the solution to this elusive final code, known simply as K4, is about to be auctioned off. Yep, you heard that right. Who’s ready to drop up to half a million bucks to unlock a secret kept for over three decades? And here’s a cheeky question: if you owned the answer, would you spill the beans—or keep the mystery alive? Dive into the fascinating saga of Kryptos, the code that’s puzzled pros, amateurs, and conspiracy buffs alike… and find out why the biggest secret might just be sold to the highest bidder. LEARN MORE
In 1990, a sculpture known as Kryptos was installed right outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia — and it was inscribed with four encoded messages. While the first three codes were all solved within a few years, the final message has remained shrouded in mystery to this day.
Wikimedia CommonsInstalled in 1990, the Kryptos sculpture has fascinated the public for decades due to its four encoded messages.
Three of the four coded messages in artist Jim Sanborn’s Kryptos sculpture, famously placed at CIA headquarters in 1990, have been solved. Now, the solution to the fourth code, K4, will be going up for auction.
In 1990, Sanborn’s sculpture was installed in the courtyard of CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Ever since, countless people have tried to solve the codes carved into its surface, though the secret behind the fourth code has never been uncovered.
But when Sanborn sells the answer to K4, just in time for his 80th birthday in November 2025, the sculpture’s final mystery will be solved, at least for the one buyer who’s willing to pay what will likely be a very high price. In fact, the solution to K4 is estimated to sell for up to $500,000, a portion of which will go toward programs for people with disabilities.
The Enduring Mystery Surrounding The Final Kryptos Code, K4
RR AuctionsJim Sanborn with a piece of his famous sculpture.
The codes within Kryptos were developed by Sanborn and Edward Scheidt, former chairman of the Cryptographic Center at the CIA. The sculpture, which is named after the Greek word for “hidden,” is 12 feet tall and 20 feet long, an S-shape constructed of copper, petrified wood, water, and stones.
Sanborn and Scheidt met in secret more than 35 years ago to come up with the codes. Three of the four codes were solved at various points in the 1990s by intelligence professionals as well as amateurs. The fourth code, however, has remained unbroken — and helped keep Kryptos fascinating for countless people around the world.
“Every artwork strives to hold your attention for as long as possible,” Sanborn explained. “If it’s an artwork that contains something that keeps your attention for even 10 minutes, much less 30 years, I get a great sense of satisfaction from that. It’s become part of many people’s lives.”
Wikimedia CommonsThe Kryptos sculpture was installed outside CIA headquarters in 1990.
The answer to the fourth code likely builds upon the answers to the other three codes. The messages in the previous three codes all, fittingly, involve themes of secrecy and discovery.
The first decoded message reads:
“BETWEEN SUBTLE SHADING AND THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT LIES THE NUANCE OF IQLUSION” [with the word “illusion” purposefully misspelled]
The second code reads:
“IT WAS TOTALLY INVISIBLE HOWS THAT POSSIBLE ? THEY USED THE EARTHS MAGNETIC FIELD X THE INFORMATION WAS GATHERED AND TRANSMITTED UNDERGRUUND TO AN UNKNOWN LOCATION X DOES LANGLEY KNOW ABOUT THIS ? THEY SHOULD ITS BURIED OUT THERE SOMEWHERE X WHO KNOWS THE EXACT LOCATION ? ONLY WW THIS WAS HIS LAST MESSAGE X THIRTY EIGHT DEGREES FIFTY SEVEN MINUTES SIX POINT FIVE SECONDS NORTH SEVENTY SEVEN DEGREES EIGHT MINUTES FORTY FOUR SECONDS WEST X LAYER TWO” [with “WW” a reference to William Webster, head of the CIA when Kryptos was created]
The third code references the description that archaeologist Howard Carter gave of his discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922:
“SLOWLY DESPARATLY [sic] SLOWLY THE REMAINS OF PASSAGE DEBRIS THAT ENCUMBERED THE LOWER PART OF THE DOORWAY WAS REMOVED WITH TREMBLING HANDS I MADE A TINY BREACH IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER AND THEN WIDENING THE HOLE A LITTLE I INSERTED THE CANDLE AND PEERED IN THE HOT AIR ESCAPING FROM THE CHAMBER CAUSED THE FLAME TO FLICKER BUT PRESENTLY DETAILS OF THE ROOM WITHIN EMERGED FROM THE MIST X CAN YOU SEE ANYTHING Q ?”
But what about the solution to the final Kryptos message, K4?
Will The Solution To The Kryptos K4 Code Become Public Even After It’s Auctioned Off?
RR AuctionsA small sample of the infamous Kryptos code created by Jim Sanborn.
Sanborn has released three separate clues regarding the solution to K4 in 2010, 2014, and 2020. But reportedly, Sanborn is getting tired of being the keeper of the answer and dealing with questions from amateur sleuths.
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