Nateos Cup

The Nanteos Cup (Welsh: Cwpan Nanteos) is a medieval wood mazer bowl, held for many years at Nanteos Mansion, Rhydyfelin, near Aberystwyth in Wales. Since at least the late 19th century it has been attributed with a supernatural ability to heal those who drink from it and traditionally believed to be fashioned from a piece of the True Cross. By the early 20th century it had become a candidate - one of at least 200 in Europe - for the Holy Grail. Juliette Wood, a folklorist specializing in medieval folklore and Celtic mythology, has stated that there is "no credible reference" to the cup prior to the end of the 19th century and "no mention of possible connections to the Grail until 1905."

In 1977 the cup was displayed at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, as part of the "Aberystwyth 1277-1977" celebrations marking the 700th anniversary of the granting of the town's charter by Edward I. Specialists from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales used the opportunity to examine the cup and concluded that it dated from the Late Middle Ages and was carved from wych elm. In July 2014 it was reported that the cup had been stolen from a house in Weston under Penyard while the occupant to whom it had been loaned was in hospital.

 And now for the fun bits of the story:

Police on a quest to find the Holy Grail raided a rural pub last week where they believed it was illegally stashed only to find an informant got it mixed up with an old salad bowl from the kitchen.

The team of 12 officers and a sniffer dog shut down the Crown in Lea, Herefordshire, because they believed staff were hiding the priceless Nanteos Cup - stolen from a country house nearby.

But West Mercia Police were forced to join the search for the priceless medieval artifact after it was the only item stolen in a raid at a remote country house in Herefordshire last month.

Weeks after its disappearance police received 'intelligence' it was in the Crown pub, but all they found was a wooden bowl used to serve salad to customers.