Campaign ManagerFollowing the popularity of television shows like “American Pickers” and “Storage Wars” many people have found a new interest in the habit of ‘picking’. While there are thousands who only try to find good items at thrift shops and garage sales, some people find their treasures in places you would never ever expect. You can even say that some people are just born lucky. This is a list of the most valuable items ever to be discovered in thrift stores and garage sales. With the simple step of buying an unusual item, these people have managed to rake up loads of money for themselves. This list includes everything from $200 million photographers to a surprising discovery of the original copy of the Declaration of Independence. When you go thrift shopping, there is no telling what you might find, for there i always something special hidden somewhere or the other wherever we go.
Bond Watch: $160,175
This next find involves an Englishman who was just making rounds at a flea market and happened to pick up this watch for just a meager $38. He would soon realize an amazing discovery about the watch he had just bought. the very watch that he had bought from the flea market was indeed a watch worn by James Bond in one of his most iconic films “Thunderball.” To say he was pleasantly surprised would definitely be an understatement. Then the owner decided to bring his watch to Christie’s auction. There he was able to sell off the watch for a staggering $160,175. Although movie memorabilia do not actually sell too high, this was was the first “Q Branch” to include a Geiger counter that enabled James Bond to detect nuclear radiation. It is indeed a watch worth fawning over.
A Signed Picasso Poster: $7,000
Zachary Bodish was busy looking through the stuff that was sold at a local thrift store. He was rummaging through the store to hopefully find some kitschy art to resell. Then he came upon a poster that took the attention of his eyes. This poster that he found was one which was an advertisement for an art show by Pablo Picasso. Since he loved it so much, he decided to get the poster which was sold to him for just $14.14. As he was inspecting his newfound poster, he noticed that there were some red spots at the bottom of the frame that looked pretty suspicious. He thought it might be Pablo Picasso’s signature, so when he showed it to an art expert, he found that it was, in fact, a linocut. He then managed to sell of the poster for an amount that was way more than he originally spent, $7,000.
Chinese Libation Cup: $75,640
This next incident is one that happened back in the year 2013. This anonymous person from Australia had gone to a thrift shop in the city of Sydney. There, a very weird looking cup took his attention so he contemplated on buying the cup. Since he found out that the cup was just for $4 to buy, he decided to take it home that very day. He went on the internet to learn more and do research on the cup he had just purchased. He soon found out that it was a libation cup that dated back to the 17th century China. It has also been carved with the use of rhinoceros horn. Because of its history and how it was made, the value of the cup was indeed hefty. He went to auction off the cup and sold it for an incredible price of $75,640 Australian dollars. The previous owner would have definitely regretted ever selling this ‘peculiar’ cup.
Declaration of Independence: $2.4 million
The Declaration of Independence is one of the most expensive items to be sold in the 21st century. In 1991, an anonymous man decided to buy a very old photograph that had a wooden frame. It was for just $4 so he immediately took it. He bought the picture while he was on a trip to a flea market in Adamstown, PA. When he took it home, he noticed that there was something weird about the frame. He found out that there was something that was there behind the frame. When he opened the frame, he made a very surprising discovery. There was indeed another document that had been nicely kept at the back of the frame. To add to his surprise he found out that the document was actually the original copy of the Declaration of Independence. He would then sell the copy for a massive $2.4 million.
Faberge Egg: $30 million
There was a scrap metal dealer who decided to pay a huge sum of money for a Faberge Egg at a flea market. He was set on buying the Faberge Egg so much that he spent $14000 for the egg. But since he knew that the value of the egg was no joke, he did not feel bad at all. He actually weighed the egg to see how much it would cost if it were to melt. After finding out that it was worth the same amount when melted, he was very pleased with his purchase. We can all agree that he did not melt the egg with a scrap metal. Then there was an amazing revelation about the egg being one of the only 50 Fabergé Imperial Eggs known to exist. The egg’s true value was found to be about $30 million. 43 of all the 50 Faberge eggs have been reported to be found so far in history.
