Do not like to go to flea markets? But in vain, because there if you want you can buy valuables for a penny. This can be seen by reading real stories of people who fantastically got rich by buying what they thought was garbage.
Do you have a storehouse of things that you get from relatives, or do you often like to go for a walk in flea markets? So you know, you are a potential millionaire, because often among the trash there are real treasures that cost a lot of money. We made for you a selection of the most incredible finds.
1. Bond watch for $ 160 thousand.
The usual purchase, made on the automotive market in England, was a real treasure. The man bought the watch for $ 38, and in time it was found out that they were on the hand of James Bond, played by Sean Connery in 1965. In 2013, the watch was sold at Christie's auction.
2. Painting "Magnolias on golden velvet" for $ 1.2 million.
A man from Indiana bought an ordinary picture in order to close a hole in the wall. A few years later, playing a board game, he saw a card with a similar image and realized that, probably, his picture was valuable. This prompted him to invite an expert who determined that before him was the unknown genuine work of Martin Johnson Head.
3. Sapphire Black Star Queensland for $ 88 million.
In 1938 the boy, walking on the slope, found a stone of dark gray color and brought it to his father. The man decided that it was a black crystal, and for nine years the stone was used as a prop for the door. As a result, famous jewelers estimated the stone at $ 18 thousand. After that, the sapphire of 733 carats was resold several times, and now it is estimated at $ 88 million.
4. A painting by Flemish artists for $ 190 thousand.
Another incredible story tells how the picture, acquired accidentally in 2006 for a few dollars, turned out to be the original, which was estimated at $ 20-30 thousand. In 2012, she went under the hammer for an incredible amount.
5. Whale amber for $ 3 million.
Three men from Oman during fishing caught a strange substance that smelled bad. After the studies, it was determined that this is a piece of whale ambergris weighing 80 kg. For reference: amber is a waste of life of a whale, which is used in perfumery to fix the fragrance. Among people it is called "floating gold", because depending on the quality of 1 g can get up to $ 35. This time fishing was more than successful.
6. Alexander Calder's necklace for $ 260 thousand.
An unusual necklace, bought at a flea market in Philadelphia for a few dollars, looked like a bauble. After some time, the woman saw the works of Alexander Calder at the Museum of Art, which in style were similar to its decoration. As a result, after examination and evaluation, the necklace was sold at auction.
7. Hertfordshire treasure for $ 260 thousand.
Millions of people around the world are engaged in the search for treasures, but only luck units. Among the lucky ones was Wesley Carrington, who bought a simple metal detector and on the first day found 55 gold Roman coins in the forest in Hertfordshire. That's luck!
8. Chinese vase for $ 83 million.
Carrying out house cleaning, the family found a vase, which they attributed to the appraiser, wanting to get at least a few dollars for it. As a result, people were shocked when they learned that this is a Chinese rarity, made in the XVIII century. In November 2010, the vase was sold for a huge amount, but since it was not paid for in a couple of years, it was re-sold. The price and the buyer are kept secret.
9. Egg Faberge for $ 30 million.
The man knew that he was paying $ 14,000 for an egg made of pure gold. He wanted to melt it and take advantage of it. Before that, he attributed the purchase to the appraisers, who determined that this is one of the original 50 Faberge eggs. Initially, the cost of $ 30 million was announced, but in the end it was sold for a large amount to an unknown buyer. By the way, 7 more Faberge eggs are unknown where they are, so maybe you'll get lucky once.
10. Gold Cup for $ 53 thousand.
The usual guy John Weber in 1945 received from his grandfather as a gift a metal mug. As a child, he used it to play, for example, as a target for shooting, and then completely thrown into the box with another trash. One day, after reviewing things, Weber learned about the real origin of this thing. It turned out to be a bowl of pure gold, which was made in Persia more than 2,3 thousand years ago. The cost of a gift from my grandfather was enormous.
11. "Vertical diamond" by Ilya Bolotovsky for $ 34 thousand.
Beginning artist in 2012 bought a commission in a couple of paintings for $ 10 and on one of the paintings, she later saw the signature of Ilya Bolotovsky. The examination carried out has established that the picture is an original and it costs a lot.
12. Baseball card for $ 75 thousand.
During the harvest, old Bernice Calego found an old card from the baseball team. She did not throw it away, but put it on eBay, setting a price of only $ 10. The lady was shocked when she received a large sum for this lot, because the baseball card turned out to be genuine.
13. Copy of the Declaration of Independence for $ 8.1 million.
In Pennsylvania, a man at a flea market in 1989 bought a small frame with a picture. The image did not interest him at all, but the frame was beautiful. A document was found behind the picture, which turned out to be a copy of the Declaration of Independence of 1776. In 1991, the man sold the paper for $ 2.4, and in 2000 it was resold for a lot of money.
14. Bag PhilipTreacy for $ 315 thousand.
Lover of antiques John Richard often goes to various sales and flea markets. During a visit to the British store "Oxfam" he found an unremarkable female handbag. Dzhno bought it for $ 32, and then went to the PhilipTreacy store, where they confirmed the authenticity of the product. A man bought a copy was made by hand, and it turned out that there are only 10 such bags in the world. Now they sell it for a lot of money.
15. Painting by John Constable for $ 390 thousand.
In America, various auctions are popular, where they sell confiscated things with boxes and even whole containers. On one of them, Robin Darwel bought a box with different trash for $ 46 only, which had to do with art. Among the items was found a picture the size of a postcard with the usual landscape. She spent a long time gathering dust in the table, until his son saw a strange signature on the back. The guy conducted an investigation and determined that this painting was written by the most expensive artist of Britain. The amount for which it was sold is clearly over $ 46.
16. Jackson Pollock's painting for $ 9 million.
Teri Horton bought an unusual picture for her boyfriend for her birthday for $ 5, but the man did not appreciate the present and returned it back, saying that it is very large and does not fit his interior. The woman put the picture in the shed behind the house and forgot about it for a long time. Carrying out a home sale, she put a picture in the yard. One day a painting teacher passed by and said that the painting could have been painted by the famous artist Jackson Pollock. Teri turned to the appraiser, and he said that this is really the original. After a few more examinations were carried out, confirming the authenticity of the picture. The world of art still does not recognize its true, but some collectors became interested in it and offered $ 9 million. Teri herself said she estimates her picture at $ 50 million and she does not plan to concede. It's been 25 years, and Horton is still the owner of the image.
17. A film poster for $ 20 thousand.
In the market, Laura Staufer bought a poster for the old film to decorate the wall in her house. Arriving home, she separated the cardboard base and saw there a hidden poster of the film "On the Western Front Without Changes", which she sold for a round sum.
18. Black opal Royal One for $ 3 million.
In 1999, in Australia, miner Bobby took a bucket of stones with him home before retiring to find something of value among them, and imagine his fate smiled at him. In one cobblestone he saw a glimpse of blue and for two years Bobby was cleaning and polishing. When he realized that the black opal was in his hands, he hid it away from the thieves. Only after 14 years, a stone weighing 306 carats was put up for sale, and its price was sky-high.
19. A huge pearl for $ 35 million.
Here, nothing happens for no reason, and this is evidenced by the story of a Filipino fisherman who was stuck on a boat near the island of Palawan. Trying to free the anchor, the man found a huge mollusk, and inside it was a pearl weighing 34 kg. The fisherman kept his treasure under the bed for 10 years, until there was a fire. Now the pearl is on display in the museum.
20. Magazine Action Comics # 1 for $ 175 thousand.
The builder David Gonzalez bought a new house and decided to dismantle the walls for perestroika. As a result, he found deposits of papers and magazines, among which was found a comic book for 1938. The value of the magazine's release for June 1938 is due to the fact that Superman was first portrayed on the cover. Considering the shabby magazine, it managed to sell for $ 175 thousand. It is interesting that the most expensive copy was sold in 2014 for $ 3.2 million.
21. Sweater Vince Lombardi for $ 43 thousand.
In Asheville, a couple in 2014 on a flea market bought a half-dollar sweater. What was their surprise when they saw the signature and realized that the clothes belonged to the famous coach Vince Lombardi. When the authenticity of the product was confirmed, the sweater was sold at auction.
22. "Vase with red poppies" by Van Gogh for $ 1.4 million.
The couple bought a reproduction of the Van Gogh picture for a small amount, but the copy was so perfect that it aroused suspicions among the spouses. As a result, the appraiser shocked them, confirming that it was the original of 1886.
23. Figurine commissioned by Nicholas II for $ 5.2 million.
Another lofty surprise surprised George Davis, because in his hands was a rare stone-carving figure of Nicholas II, created by Faberge himself. The owner, without a long thought, sold it at an auction.
24. Penny 1974 for $ 2 million.
Robert Lawrence after the death of his father inherited a small collection of coins in a conventional box of sandwiches. Among them, he found a penny, which was initially valued at only $ 300, but when the experts realized that the coin was made of aluminum, its price increased. This is due to the fact that only 10 pieces were produced, and they were considered destroyed.
25. Jaeger-Lecoultre watches for $ 35 thousand.
The treasure hunter Zak Norris tracked the goods in different commissions, and one day he was lucky. He bought the clock in 1959 for a ridiculous price of $ 5.99. As a result, the internet auction, the find was sold for a large amount.
26. Whiskey in 1917 for $ 2.6 million.
Brian Fit decided to clean up his attic and found a hiding place there, and at first he thought that these were ordinary pipes. As it turned out, the man became the owner of 13 bottles of whiskey in 1917. The find was evaluated by experts in a tidy sum and, most interestingly, Bryan refused to sell, having decided to drink precious whiskey with friends in honor of the century of the drink.
27. Coca-Cola shares of $ 130 million.
During the garage sale, Tony Maron bought for $ 5 a box of documents, among which he found a bill for 1625 shares of Palmer Union Oil. Surprisingly, after numerous mergers, these shares give him the right to own 1.8 million shares of the famous Coca-Cola company, which are valued at a sky-high price.