5 Undervalued Antiques for Sale That Turned Out

to Be Worth a Fortune
We all have dreamt of stumbling into an old house to discover some treasure. Or we dream that
we go into the attic with our grandparents. There they show us all the things that were passed
on from generation to generation. And we stumble upon a rare antique that is worth a fortune.
Yes, I know, everyone dreams of that. And you would be surprised to know that this does
happen once in a while.

There were many instances where someone stumbled into an antique which later turned out to
be severely undervalued or they got it for free. When they found out about their investments in
an antique for sale shows or auction they were taken aback. Here are a few cases of
undervalued antiques that were later found to be worth a small fortune.

A Humble Vase

Imagine buying a vase from the thrift shop and then finding out it is worth a fortune. This is what
happened to one guest in the Antiques Roadshow. The man had bought the vase for 4.99 and
brought it for an appraisal. One of the experts there recognized the vase and said that it was a
gorgeous Overbeck.
Overbeck Sisters is a pottery company from Indiana that was found by four sisters in the early
1900s. The Overbeck Sisters marked their pottery with a distinguishable OBK signature on the
bottom. The vase in question was so well preserved that it was valued from $50,000 to
$100,000 if the owner wanted to sell it.

An Authentic Declaration of Independence

In a New York Times article, a story about the declaration of independence was published. The
article stated that an authenticated copy of the declaration of independence was found. The
copy was found in the desk of a descendant of a colonial settler.

The document referenced as a Holt Broadside and was published on July 9, 1776, by John Holt
in Manhattan. 500 copies of this document were supposed to have been distributed while this is
one of the few that have been discovered. The document was the only privately owned piece at
the time of discovery and was sold for 1.5 million dollars back in 2017.

Neil Armstrong’s Moon Rock Collecting Bag

Seized asset auctions are amazing for getting the best value buys. However, this turned out to
be a life-changing event for one Nancy Clark. A lawyer by trade Nancy Clark from Illinois bought
Neil Armstrong’s moon rock collection bag from a government auction. She got the historic
artifact from the first lunar landing at around 995 dollars.
After getting the artifact verified from NASA and suing them to get the product back, she started
to look for an appraisal. She sold the artifact through Sotheby's for a whopping 1.8 million
dollars. I would call it a stellar return on her initial investment, won’t you?

A Garage Sale Brooch

You would be over the moon if you found out that a Brooch you bought at a garage sale for 8
dollars turned out to be made of emerald, diamond, and ruby. Most of us would. This is what
happened a person bought this 19th-century pin set from a garage sale in Ohio.

The brooch had a 1.39-carat diamond, a Colombian emerald that weighed 1.50 carats and a .60
carat oval Burmese ruby. The odd thing was, the brooch was left in the bottom of a handbag for
a long time. When the owner discovered the brooch again a jeweler gave the good news. This
pin set brought in 26000 dollars at the September 2017 auction at Bonham in New York. While
many antiques sold for a lot more in the auction this story was considered the focal point
because of the story behind it.

This should give you reason enough to look for bargains everywhere and keep a keen eye on
your things. Check the product price in an online antique shop. If you find something of value in
your possession you can put the antique up for sale.
The Forgotten Frankenstein

In an abandoned movie theatre in Long Island, New York, the most expensive Frankenstein
movie poster was found. Discovered by a man who used to work there the poster was left in the
abandoned projection room forgotten to time.

This 6-foot poster of the 1931 classic is the only one of its kind to exist. The style C three sheet
poster was apparently used several times by the theatre but then forgotten. Considered a rare
piece of Hollywood History by movie aficionados the poster sold for 358000 dollars. Just
imagine stumbling into a piece of paper that makes you almost half a million dollars.

The World of Antiques

So these were the 5 undervalued items that people found which made them a fortune. The story
behind each item is unique and captivating. The stories almost instill a belief that this can
happen to you as well. This is why you should always keep looking for bargains and keep a
detailed log of anything that looks like an antique. Use nearby antique shops, online antique
stores and any other methods to keep knowledge about the scene. And if you come into
possession of anything worth the money then cash in.