12 Incredibly Valuable Items Found At Thrift Stores And Garage Sales
Thanks to shows like American Pickers and Storage Wars, there has been renewed interest in the lost art of "picking." While millions of Americans are now paying more attention to the items they find at thrift stores and garage sales, some people have just been incredibly lucky. We compiled a list of the most outrageous thrift store and garage sale finds of all times. By spending just a few dollars, many of the people on our list became incredibly wealthy.
From $200 million photographers to unearthed copies of the Declaration of Independence, you won't believe what the thrifty shoppers bought without knowing what they were getting.
Bond Watch: $160,175
An Englishman roaming a flea market picked up this watch for $38. The watch was later determined to be worn by James Bond in the iconic film "Thunderball." The item was eventually taken to a Christie's auction where it sold in 2013 for $160,175.
Typically, movie memorabilia doesn't sell for this type of price, however, the watch was the first-ever modified by the "Q Branch" to include a Geiger counter to help James Bond detect nuclear radiation. This James Bond watch proves that when the circumstances are right, bidders will overpay.
All Quiet On The Western Front: $18,000
Laura Stouffer was browsing through a thrift shop when she came upon a small print of “Shepherd’s Call." The painting that was completed sometime between the early 1850 and late 1870s. She purchased the item because she genuinely liked what she was buying.
After taking the item home and evaluating it further, she realized there was a lithograph of an original movie poster for the film All Quiet On The Western Front. She quickly had the lithograph appraised and was excited to learn she had bought a thrift shop item work a whopping $18,000.
Declaration of Independence: $2.4 million
The Declaration of Independence has been a hot seller in the 21st century. In 1991, an unidentified man paid $4 for an old picture with a wooden frame during a trip to a flea market in Adamstown, PA.
As he took a closer look at the picture, he noticed there appeared to be something behind the frame. He was shocked to open the frame and find a hidden document. The original copy of the Declaration of Independence would go on to sell for $2.4 million. Since that time, we're pretty sure thrift stores throughout the world now check for hidden paintings behind old worthless photos.
Faberge Egg: $30 million
A scrap metal dealer paid $14,000 for a Faberge Egg at a flea market. The man weighed the gold item and believed he could earn his money back by melting it down. It's a good thing he didn't melt the item down for scrap metal. The egg was soon discovered to be one of only 50 Fabergé Imperial Eggs known to exist.
The estimated value of the egg was over $30 million. The item was eventually sold but the full price paid by a private collector was never made publicly available. Only 43 of 50 Faberge eggs have been discovered at this moment in time.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Paysage Bords de Seine": $100,000
A painting by renowned French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir was given away at a flea market for $50. The painting was purchased at the Shenandoah Valley flea market and an anonymous owner delivered it to a Virginia auction house where experts verified that it is Renoir's Paysage Bords de Seine from 1879.
The scene was originally purchased from a Paris gallery in 1926 by international lawyer Herbert L. May. It's a rather small painting at just 5.5-by-9-inches. It's a beautiful work of art but you'll have to get up close and personal with the painting to really enjoy it.
Volunteer Finds $1,200 Salvador Dalí Wood Engraving
A volunteer at the Hotline Pink Thrift Shop in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, lucked out in a big way when she spotted this piece of art hanging on the wall. The work, which was priced between $10 and $50, was actually an original 1950s woodcut print by the famed surrealist artist Salvador Dalí.
Wendy Hawkins, who works at the store twice a week, said, "I saw this, with a bunch of other paintings lined up on the floor, and I said 'this is old, this is something special.'" It certainly is! With the help of a local gallery owner, the artwork was sold for $1,200.
Martin Johnson Heade Painting: $1.2 Million
A man in Indiana wanted to find a painting to cover a hole in his wall at home. He happened upon a still photo that he was willing to pay $30 to take home. Later, he was playing a card game that happened to feature famous works of art. The man was shocked to realize the $30 painting he picked up at a thrift store was actually the work of Martin Johnson Heade, an American still-life painter.
The painting was sold for $1.2 million. Sometimes you have to be lucky twice, once in the purchase of your hidden treasure, and once when the true value of the item is accidentally revealed.
David Bowie Painting: $88,000
Between 1995 and 1997, the iconic British singer-songwriter David Bowie created a series of nearly 50 paintings. One of these, titled "DHead XLVI," was discovered at a donation center at an Ontario landfill in 2021 and purchased for $4.10.
After authenticating the work, which has the late Bowie's signature on the back, it was put up for auction by the firm Cowley Abbott, eventually selling for nearly $88,000. "The painting itself caught their eye," Cowley said about the seller. "They thought it was an interesting painting before they turned it around and saw the labels on the back."
Ansel Adams Prints: $200 Million
In 2000, painter Rick Norsigian purchased a set of glass plates that had been printed with images of Yosemite National Park. Norsigian loved the composition of the photos and was willing to fork over $45 to take home the works of art. He soon discovered that the glass plates were the work of famed photographer, Ansel Adams.
Norsigian started by selling prints from the work for $7,500 until he found out that his discovery was worth a mind-boggling $200 million. The family of Ansel Adams denied the authenticity of the work but various experts were able to verify the artists' hand-writing and dated the photos to the early 1940's based on cloud formation captured in one of the photos.
Augusta National Green Jacket: $139,349
Who better than a sports journalist to notice a green blazer among a heap of used suit jackets in a Toronto thrift store? Once he pulled the jacket from the pile, he instantly noticed the Augusta National Golf Club logo patch on the pocket. The only person who can wear these jackets today are the current Master's champions.
Eventually, a British golf journalist by the name of Dominic Pedler convinced the other journalist to sell him the jacket with "an offer he couldn't refuse." In April 2017, the jacket went up for auction and the final bid was $139,349.
Original Frankenstein Movie Poster: $358,500
This original Frankenstein poster from 1931 was in the back of everyone's minds up until it was found in 1970 in the projection booth of a newly remodeled theater. Anything Frankenstein can be highly popular with collectors and in the case of this poster, the price of it shot up quickly.
"It was estimated that this original poster would sell for $100,000-$200,000," Gemr reported. "But the Heritage Auction House in Dallas, TX sold the poster for $358,500. The online auction, held in March of 2015, had 12 active bidders and over 8,900 page views."
Declaration of Independence (Sparks): $477,650
An original copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence was discovered by a man named Michael Sparks in 2006. Sparks was browsing a Nashville, TN thrift store and came across a rolled-up document with no price tag. The clerk told him he could take the document off her hands for $2.48, plus tax.
Sparks purchased the item, did some research, and soon discovered that it was an 1823 copy of the Declaration of Independence. In 2007, the document was sold to an anonymous buyer for $477,650. The document was sold at Raynors’ Historical Collectible Auctions in Burlington, North Carolina.
