Spring cleaning and thrift shopping can be pretty lucrative! We are not kidding. Over the years, we have loved sharing stories about how cleaning closets and basements and going to flea markets and thrift stores can uncover treasures. Some of our stories have included a teen who found a 1909 Marblehead Pottery piece at a yard sale that sold for $303,000; a fertility necklace from the Cook Islands in the South Pacific Ocean found in an old warehouse that sold for nearly $160,000; a 1943 copper Lincoln penny change in school lunchroom that sold for $204,000; and a rare stained glass and bronze lantern made by Tiffany Studios found in a janitor’s closet that sold for $370,000.

Here are our top “treasure” stories to give you inspiration:

  1. Deadly Discovery Linked to Civil War 
  2. $16,500 Pearl Found in Soup
  3. Rare Marblehead Pottery Vase Found and Sold
  4. A Hidden Rare Coin
  5. A Found Necklace Tops $150,000
  6. 1943 Copper Penny Brings $204,000
  7. A Good Buy at Goodwill
  8. An Unrecognized Masterpiece Discovered in Auction
  9. Doctor Finds National Treasure
  10. Taxi Drivers Old Painting Sells for More than $100,000
  11. Hidden Treasure Found in New York City Restaurant Attic
  12. Hidden Pop Culture Treasure Discovered in Bedroom
  13. Kitchen Decoration Proved to be a Masterpiece
  14. Hurricane Irma Reveals Ancient Canoe
  15. It Pays to Clean the Closet