People who didn't think, didn't guess, but accidentally found a treasure (8 photos)

Most people think that hidden treasures only exist in movies, but this is not true at all. Some people were lucky enough to accidentally find real treasures and make a fortune from them.





Copy of the Declaration of Independence



In Adamstown, Pennsylvania, a buyer looking for fun curiosities purchased an old painting for $4. While examining the acquisition, he discovered a document hidden behind the frame. It turned out to be an antique copy of the Declaration of Independence - one of 500 official copies issued in 1776 and sent to different parts of the former British colony. At that time, only 23 copies of this document were considered to have survived. This one became the 24th. It was sold for $2.4 million to a private collector from Georgia.

Treasure from the Great Depression





Bob Kitts, a self-employed builder from Cleveland, Ohio, discovered an impressive pile of Great Depression-era dollars in the bathroom wall of a home he was renovating. Kitts and the homeowner took them to be appraised - they turned out to be real 1920s dollars worth about half a million. And although the money ultimately had to be divided between Kitts, the owner of the house and its former owner, everyone got a good increase in their salary.

Rare baseball card



Bernice Gallego was lucky: she managed to find an extremely rare baseball card at home. Gallego is not a baseball fan, and she planned to sell the discovered card on eBay for $10. Fortunately, a friend who knew a little about the issue saw the card, stopped her and explained what treasure she had become the owner of. Gallego was in possession of an original 1869 card featuring the first American professional baseball team, The Cincinnati Red Stockings. Gallego ended up selling the card at auction for $75,285.

Ancient coins in a field



Martin Elliott taught his cousin how to use a metal detector in a field on his family farm. During the lesson, they found a real treasure - 9213 ancient Roman silver coins. It was the largest treasure of Roman coins in the history of archaeology, costing $426,856.

Gold in the backyard



In 2013, a California couple discovered gold coins worth about $11 million in their backyard. The husband and wife were walking their dogs, and during their walk they found 8 iron cans in which 1427 rare coins from 1847 - 1894 were packed in excellent condition. The couple sold most of the treasure and now live on the money they earned, preferring to remain anonymous. Coins from the treasure can still be found on Amazon.com; the cost of some of them exceeds $36,000 pf 'rptvgkzh/

Painting hidden in the sofa



In 2007, a student studying in Berlin bought an old sofa at a flea market. He was very surprised to find in a sofa drawer a painting by an unknown artist, dated by specialists to the 17th century. Since the artist’s name could not be established, the painting was sold at auction for relatively modest money - $27,630, but it is not difficult to guess that this amount was a very good addition to the scholarship for the lucky student.

Rare movie poster



Lara Stouffer, a professional antique dealer, has always loved antique and consignment stores. On one of her visits to a thrift store, she saw a painting for sale that she thought was pretty. The picture was nothing special, and was not even painted on canvas, but on plain paper. After haggling, Stufer bought it for literally pennies. Only after bringing the purchase home did she see that the painting was not just written on paper - but on the back of the original poster for the 1939 film All Quiet on the Western Front. The poster turned out to be a collector's item, and Lara easily sold it for several thousand dollars.