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.
In fact, he was receiving so many guesses and pleas for clues that he started charging a $50 fee for replies. And now, he’ll just sell the entire answer to one person and be done with the whole thing.
“I no longer have the physical, mental or financial resources to maintain the 97-character K4 code section of my sculpture and continue my other projects,” Sanborn wrote in an open letter explaining his decision to sell the secret.
Sanborn hopes that the new owner will opt to keep the answer a secret, but ultimately, it will be up to that person to decide.
“The ideal outcome would be for the winner to become a guardian of the secret, not its revealer,” said Bobby Livingston, the executive vice president of RR Auction, which is organizing the sale.
Along with the answer, the winner of the auction will receive a signed letter from Scheidt, a 12-by-18 inch copper maquette submitted as a sample of the sculpture to the CIA in 1988, archival photographs of the art piece’s creation, the original dedication pamphlet, and copies of the coding charts used to develop the codes.
The auction will begin on October 17 and will be open until November 20. Portions of the purchase price will go to support programs for people with disabilities.
After reading about the auction to sell the answer to the K4 code, learn about the solution to the Zodiac Killer’s infamous Z340 cipher. Then, read about the sinister CIA program known as MK-Ultra.
