You're standing in the middle of a damp Spanish village, Leon S. Kennedy’s leather jacket looks pristine, and you’ve just realized something painful. You are broke. It happens to everyone playing the remake. You see that shiny glint up in a bird’s nest or hanging from a windmill, and you think, "Cool, a bit of extra cash."
But it isn't just extra cash.
In this game, Resident Evil 4 treasure is the difference between struggling against a Zealot with a knife and absolutely obliterating a boss in three seconds because you could afford the Broken Butterfly upgrades. If you aren't hunting every gemstone and crown, you’re playing a much harder version of the game. Honestly, the economy in the remake is way tighter than the 2005 original. You can’t just wing it.
The Gemstone Color Bonus is the Only Thing That Matters
Most people just slap whatever shiny rock they find into a treasure and sell it immediately to the Merchant. Stop doing that. It's a waste. The game has this specific multiplier system for the "Inlaid" treasures—things like the Elegant Mask or the Ornate Necklace.
Basically, the Merchant is a sucker for color coordination. If you put three gems of the same color into a necklace, you get a higher multiplier than if you put three different colors. But! There’s a catch. The "Five Color" bonus (putting one of every color into a five-slot item like the Elegant Crown) actually gives you a massive $1.9x$ multiplier.
Think about that.
A raw Elegant Crown is worth a decent chunk, but a fully "perfected" crown with the right gem combo can sell for 100,000 Pesetas. That is a game-changing amount of money. You’ve gotta resist the urge to sell those individual Sapphires and Rubies early on. Hoard them. Save your gems for the high-slot items you find later in the Castle and the Island. It’s a long game.
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Why the Expansion Map is Sorta Controversial but Necessary
If you’re looking at the DLC store, you’ll see the "Treasure Map: Expansion." Some people call it a "pay-to-win" mechanic. Maybe it is. But here’s the reality: the expansion map adds unique Resident Evil 4 treasure items that literally do not exist in the base game.
We’re talking about things like the Silver Token or extra gemstones tucked away in spots you’d never think to look—like perched on a random wooden beam in the Village Square. If you’re going for a Professional S+ rank run, those extra treasures are the only way to afford the necessary weapon upgrades before you hit the Water Room. It’s brutal. Without the expansion, you have to be absolutely perfect with your routing.
Don't Shoot the Dirty Water Treasures
This is a classic rookie mistake. You’ll find treasures hanging in lanterns over muddy, disgusting water pits—specifically in the Village area. If you just shoot the lantern, the treasure falls into the muck.
It becomes "Dirty."
When a treasure is dirty, the Merchant buys it for a fraction of its original price. You can’t clean it. It’s ruined. You have to find a way to close the well cover first. Look for a small wooden pole nearby to knock down the cover. Only then should you shoot the lantern. It feels like a small detail, but losing out on a few thousand Pesetas early on can prevent you from buying the TMP stock or the Riot Shotgun when you actually need them.
The Elegant Crown Strategy
Let's talk about the "Holy Grail" of loot in this game. The Elegant Crown. You find one in the Depths (the sewer area where you fight Verdugo) and another later on the Island.
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To maximize the Resident Evil 4 treasure value here, you need a specific combination. Don't just throw in whatever. You want either:
- Five different colors (Five-Color Bonus).
- Five gems of the same color (Five-of-a-kind).
The Five-Color bonus is usually easier because you tend to have a stray Yellow Diamond or Beryl lying around. Getting that $100,000$ payout is essentially how you fund the "exclusive upgrade" for your favorite handgun. If you're using the Red9, you know how expensive that final power boost is. This crown pays for it.
The Backtracking Dilemma
The remake is less forgiving about backtracking than the original. Once you cross a certain point—like taking the boat to the Castle or the helicopter ride—those treasures are gone forever.
I’ve seen so many players realize they missed a Small Key in the Village after they’ve already started fighting monks in the Castle. You can't go back. If you see a locked drawer, find that key before you trigger the next major story beat. The "Wayshrines" are another big one. You need the Old Wayshrine Key, which is found near the Mural Cave. If you leave the Village without hitting those shrines, you’re leaving tens of thousands of Pesetas on the table. It’s painful to think about.
Small Keys and Locked Drawers
Small Keys are the bane of my existence. They don't take up much inventory space, but they are incredibly easy to miss. There’s one tucked in the back of the church, and another in a shack by the lake.
Each key corresponds to a locked drawer. Inside those drawers? Usually a high-value piece of Resident Evil 4 treasure like a Vintage Compass or a Gold Bar. If you have the deluxe map, they show up as little icons, but even then, the verticality of the maps can make them tricky to spot. Always clear the "fog of war" on your map before moving to the next area.
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The Merchant’s Requests and Spinels
Technically, Spinels are a form of currency, but they function like treasure. You get them by completing Blue Note requests—shooting blue medallions, killing the "Strong Threat" enemies, or selling a specific fish.
Don't spend these on yellow herbs or gunpowder.
Save your Spinels for the Treasure Maps first, then the Laser Sight (if you're using the SG-09 R or the Sentinel Nine), and finally, the Exclusive Upgrade Ticket. That ticket is worth 60,000 to 100,000 Pesetas depending on the weapon. It’s the single most valuable "treasure" transaction in the game. It allows you to skip the grind and max out a gun instantly.
The Island’s Hidden Gold
By the time you get to the Island, you might feel like you’re rich. You aren't. The upgrades at this stage cost a fortune. The treasures here are more industrial—think Ornate Necklaces and Electronic Parts.
There’s a specific treasure in the Lab area where you have to use the Thermal Scope to find it hidden behind a wall. A lot of people sprint through the Island because the combat is so intense, but if you do that, you’ll reach the final boss with a pea-shooter. Slow down. Use the scope. Look for the glints.
Actionable Next Steps for Your Next Run
If you want to maximize your haul and finally afford that Infinite Rocket Launcher (which costs a staggering 2 million Pesetas), here is exactly how you should handle your loot:
- Hoard your Round Gems: Never sell a Red, Blue, or Yellow gemstone individually. Only sell them when they are slotted into an item.
- Prioritize the "Five Color" Bonus: For any item with 3 or more slots, always aim for the highest multiplier. Check the "Help" menu while in the inlay screen to see the multiplier chart.
- The "No-Sell" List: Do not sell the Golden Chicken Egg or the Rhinoceros Beetle immediately. The Beetle increases your maximum health, which is arguably more valuable than the cash. The Egg is for a specific request later in the game (the "Salazar's Portrait" quest).
- Buy the Maps Immediately: As soon as you hit a new region (Village, Castle, Island), the first thing you buy from the Merchant is the Treasure Map. It pays for itself within ten minutes.
- Backtrack Before the Point of No Return: Before fighting Mendez, before entering the Clock Tower, and before the final elevator ride on the Island, open your map. If there is a diamond icon left, go get it.
Money is power in this game. If you treat the treasure hunting like a puzzle rather than a chore, you'll find the combat becomes significantly more manageable. You aren't just a survivor; you're a high-end antique collector who happens to be very good with a shotgun.