If You See Any of These 10 Items In a Thrift Store, They're Worth A Fortune

Vintage | Did You Know

If You See Any of These 10 Items In a Thrift Store, They're Worth A Fortune

laurellaffarm / Metro US

Not everyone can walk out a store knowing that they'll have more money in their pocket then when they came in.  

Many people have bought items worth chump change, but they learned days later that they accidentally stumbled upon a fortune.

The thing is, these items look ordinary, but are estimated to be worth a lot of money.

These 10 unbelievable thrift store finds by people who were just looking for a cheap item ultimately changed their lives.

The next time you walk into a thrift store, Goodwill, or a garage sale, you may be walking out with an item worth thousands or even millions of dollars.

1. $5.99 for a $35,000 watch.

Zach Norris was looking for a cheap golf bag at Goodwill when he came across a interesting-looking watch. He paid almost $6 for it, and later learned that the watch is a 1959 LaCoultre Deep Sea Alarm, which he sold on eBay for thousands of dollars.

2. Famous sculptor's necklace sold for $267,750.

Norma Ifill was intrigued by this rustic-looking necklace at a flea market, so she bought it. During a visit to the Alexander Calder exhibit at the Philadelphia Art Museum she realized the necklace she bought was made by a famous sculptor.

3. An ordinary-looking shirt that was sold for a not-so-ordinary price of $43,020.

Sean McEvoy found this sweater at a thrift shop in Tennessee and paid less than a dollar for it. While watching a documentary on Vince Lombardi, Sean recognized the name from the sweater's name tag.

4. A priceless paining sold at an auction for $34,375.

Beth Feeback was looking for a blanket at a North Carolina Goodwill store, but she ended up buying a painting, titled "Vertical Diamond", that she soon discovered was created by Ilya Bolotowsky.

5. A famous poster found underneath a painting was valued at $18,000.

Laura Stouffer bought a small old painting of "Shepherd's Call" at a thrift store. She soon realized that beneath the painting was an original movie poster for the film All Quiet On The Western Front.

These next ones may still be found in a thrift store near you!

6. A set of glass plates with printed images of Yosemite National Park were purchased for less than $50, and later sold for $200 million.

Rick Norsigian realized they were the original works of famous photographer Ansel Adams.

7. Woman pays $5 for a painting filled with scribbles, and later learns that it's worth $50 million.

Teri Horton discovered the painting "Who The F*** Is Jackson Pollock" in a California thrift shop. While she was planning to throw darts at the painting, someone told her she may be in possession of one of Jackson Pollock's famous works. Then she went on a mission to prove the painting's authenticity, turns out whoever told her was right.

8. Vintage Pyrex sets can sell for thousands.

People are paying top dollar for an original set of Pyrex containers or bowls. Some people have found these for only a few dollars in their local thrift store's cookware section, to later sell it for hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dollars online!

9. James Bond's special watch in Thunderball sold for $163,000.

This watch mysteriously disappeared for decades until it was found decades later at a garage sale.

10. One Declaration of Independence sold for $470,650, and another sold for $2.4 million.

A bargain hunter in Pennsylvania found an old yellow paper in a nice frame $4. He bought the item for the frame, and when he turned it around he saw that it was one of 24 original copies of the Declaration of Independence.

Have you ever bought something super cheap to later learn that it's worth a lot more money?

Moojan has been a writer at Shared for a year. When she's not on the lookout for viral content, she's looking at cute animal photos. Reach her at moojan@shared.com.