# What are some of the most valuable items ever bought at yard sale?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-most-valuable-items-ever-bought-at-yard-sale/436328>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 5, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-most-valuable-items-ever-bought-at-yard-sale/436328 "2008-02-05T01:43:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-most-valuable-items-ever-bought-at-yard-sale/436328/21 "2008-05-05T02:38:57Z")

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Apparently a woman [found a million dollar painting in the trash on the curb](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_RQVa_2Ulk&feature=related).

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**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-most-valuable-items-ever-bought-at-yard-sale/436328/22 "2008-05-05T06:22:59Z")

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[QUOTE=Shayna]  
Apparently a woman [found a million dollar painting in the trash on the curb](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_RQVa_2Ulk&feature=related).  
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Another woman found an old cello lying in the trash, took it home, and asked her boyfriend to either repair it or turn it into a funky CD rack. However, before he got around to it, she saw a news report and was dumbfounded to discover that it was in fact a [priceless stolen Stradivarius](http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20040518-1644-ca-stolenstradivarius.html).

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**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-most-valuable-items-ever-bought-at-yard-sale/436328/23 "2008-05-05T13:54:10Z")

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[QUOTE=vison]  
One of my favourite Antiques Roadshow items was the one where a woman brought in a grotty looking old helmet, the kind from a suit of armour. Turned out it was excessively rare from medieval Italy and worth $250,000.

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This is my favorite. They didn’t even buy the thing - it was lying around in their attic, put there by some previous resident of the house. And it really looked like nothing, maybe part of a vase or something.

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