4 Thrifting Finds That Were Actually Worth Big Bucks
Most thrift store finds are “what you see is what you get,” but some can surprise you. That’s what happened for these four shoppers.
Their eye for detail made the difference between an ordinary thrift find and a treasure worth thousands.
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$6 Painting With a Surprise
A New Hampshire woman bought a group of frames from a local thrift shop, planning to use them for a craft project, ABC News reported. When she removed the pictures and posters, she noticed one piece looked like a real painting and found the artist’s signature in the corner.
The painting turned out to be by N.C. Wyeth, a well-known American illustrator and the patriarch of the Wyeth family of artists. Experts also recognized the plain frame because Wyeth used that type of frame to protect his illustrations when sending them to publishers. The painting later sold at auction for $295,000 Australian dollars, or $205,113.50 in U.S. dollars based on the current exchange rate.
Unique LEGO Piece Found in a Jewlery Bag
Workers at a Goodwill store in Du Bois, Pennsylvania, found a rare 14-karat gold LEGO piece in a bag of jewelry from the State College area, according to USA Today. At first, they didn’t know how valuable it was. But after they listed the piece on ShopGoodwill, offers started rolling in. After some research, they found that LEGO released only 30 gold masks in 2001. Of those, 25 went to LEGO employees, and five were given away through a contest.
The mask ended up getting 48 bids and sold for $18,101 to an anonymous buyer.
Lakers Jacket Found at Goodwill
Quinn Brown, a 19-year-old from Portland, bought a gold-and-purple Los Angeles Lakers jacket at Goodwill for $3.07, People reported. He thought it might be special, posted a photo on Instagram and was later contacted by Sotheby’s.
The jacket was sent to the auction house for authentication. Sotheby’s matched it to the 1972 NBA Finals and listed it as a game-worn Wilt Chamberlain jacket, with an estimated value of $150,000 to $250,000.
Goodwill Vase That Looked Too Nice To Pass Up
Among the hodgepodge of clutter at her local Goodwill in Virginia, Jessica Vincent spotted an intriguing 13.5-inch glass vase on a shelf for $3.99 that looked heavy and well-made, according to Elle Decor. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the word “Murano” etched faintly on the bottom.
The vase turned out to be a rare 1940s Carlo Scarpa design from the “Pennellate” series he created for Venini, a glass workshop on Murano. After Vincent posted it in a Murano glass Facebook group, one person offered her $10,000, which made her realize it could be valuable. She later consigned the vase to Wright auction house, which expected it to sell for $30,000 to $50,000, but it actually sold for $107,100.
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