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(#3) A Rare Photo Of Billy The Kid Was Found In A Thrift Store And Sold For $5 Million
The name Billy the Kid conjures images of quiet dusty streets in the Wild West being shaken to life by the outlaw and his band charging through to rob a bank. Despite being immortalized in books and films about his life, however, photographs of him are rare - in fact, there are only two known to exist.
The second was discovered in a thrift store by Randy Guijarro, who paid $2.00 for it. The photo he found sold for $5 million after it was authenticated by forensics experts. It shows Billy the Kid, his gang, the Regulators, and their wives and girlfriends, playing croquet after a wedding.
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(#2) A Copy Of The Declaration Of Independence Sold For $2.48
The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important historical documents ever produced. Though anyone can see a picture of it or read its text at the click of a mouse, finding a copy of the actual document is more of a challenge.
Despite that, Michael Sparks found a copy of the document in a thrift store in Nashville and bought it for $2.48. The copy he found was actually created in 1823 at the order of then-Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. Sparks later sold the document for $477,650.
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(#10) An Ancient Egyptian Cat Statue Was Found In A Yard Sale Trash Can
Thrifty people often visit yard sales in an effort to find inexpensive delights. One shopper found a cat statue in a trash can that turned out to be worth $80,000. The unassuming cat sculpture turned out to be a relic from ancient Egypt estimated to be over 2,500 years old.
Officials from the auction house that sold the artwork believe that the piece was commissioned by a high figure in the Egyptian ruling dynasty between 500 and 700 BC.
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(#7) A Couple Snagged A Ratty Old Sweater That Once Belonged To Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi and football go together like rain and wetness, the two are inseparable. Lombardi transcended the game and become something of an iconoclast whose name evokes ideas of leadership and motivation. Sean and Rikki McEvoy bought a holey old sweater for $.58 at a Goodwill outlet and promptly forgot about it.
That is, until Sean was watching a documentary about Lombardi, recognized the sweater as one that the coach was wearing in the film, and had it appraised. Ultimately the garment sold for $43,020 at auction.
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(#11) A Piece Of Used Tableware Was Worth Millions
Thrift stores, garage sales, and rummage shops are great places to find previously used plates, bowls, and glassware. One family in New York bought a bowl for $3.00 in a thrift shop and put it on their mantle as decoration. It turned out to be an ornamental bowl from China, only the second bowl of its kind in the world.
Luckily, the family brought it to a Sotheby’s auction house where it was appraised for between $200,000 and $300,000. Even that turned out to be too modest, though, as the bowl finally sold in auction for a price of $2.2 million.
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(#9) A Student Found An Expensive Surprise In A Thrifted Couch
It is usually not a good thing when an unexpected item is discovered in a couch bought from a thrift store. One student in Germany, though, was sure happy to find a small 17th-century painting in a second-hand couch he bought for $215.
The surprise turned out to be an antique painting by the artist Carlo Saraceni called Preparation to Escape to Egypt. The painting will pay for a lot of textbooks, as it sold for $27,630 in an auction.
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About This Tool
Some boutique thrift stores sparked heated discussions on social media. The point of the debate is that the selling prices of many thrift stores are considered expensive. Thrift store merchants, especially those selling imported goods, must undertake a long-term historical and cultural mission. Looking back in history, thrift stores are actually resistant to fast fashion consumption, and many people are keen to find some valuable collectibles there.
The thrift store era began in the late 19th century. The city developed rapidly. In the largest wave of immigration in the United States, people tried to find new uses for these old fashion items. The random tool displays 11 valuable historical objects that were found in thrift stores.
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