antique, vintage, shop

What has been your most valuable thrift store find?

This wasn’t a thrift store find, but close. My father-in-law has a storage unit that he has maintained since the early 70s. He’s a collector – of everything. We threw out a ton of trash, including thousands of fast-food napkins that he had squirreled away in every nook and cranny!

But among the trash there were a few treasures. We found two cases of Prohibition era whiskey, most of them still sealed. The majority were bottled and bonded, which makes them very valuable to collectors. One bourbon was even in a Tiffany cut glass decanter!

It didn’t take us long to find an avid collector, who just happens to live about 5 blocks from us. He came over the same day we made contact, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the collection. When all was said and done, he walked away with a dozen vintage bottles, and we picked up $1200.

We’re not even halfway through the storage unit. Can’t wait to see what else we come across!!

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We’re a bit farther into the unit now, and we’ve discovered a signed and numbered Picasso lithograph! It’s NOT an original – it’s part of a limited series of reproductions authorized by the artist, so it is signed, which makes it worth a few hundred dollars. I’ll keep posting updates as we find new treasures!