29 year old Pfc. Ivan Babcock of the US Army’s 165th Signal Photo Company poses with the crown of the Holy Roman Empire in a cave in Siegan, Germany, 3 April 1945.

The cave was used by the Germans as a storage room for valuable works of art, the cave was captured by troops of the 1st US Army. The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire was the coronation crown of the Holy Roman Emperor, probably from the late 10th century until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. An identical copy was made in 1915 by order of Wilhelm II for display in Aachen and is the crown being worn in this photo. The real one spent the war in a bomb-proof bunker under Nuremberg imperial castle.

Babcock survived the war and died in 1994 at the age of 77, he’s buried in South Victory Cemetery, Ludington, Mason County, Michigan, USA. Photographer: T/5 E. Braum and was provided by The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.