If you see a penny, pick it up – and run to the bank!

Did you ever hear the one about the California family that discovered a rare penny in an old desk that turned out to be worth $200,000? Or maybe the man who found a 150-year old signed photograph of Abraham Lincoln worth nearly $100,000 in his basement? Or how about the Virginia man who found comic books worth $3M while cleaning out the closet of his deceased great aunt. Holy hidden treasure Batman!

While these stories are great attention-getters, they all often elicit the same, ‘why doesn’t that ever happen to me’ sentiment. That’s not to say finding a long, lost valuable CAN’T happen – however, it makes for good food for thought. And now your wheels are turning: 

Isn’t it time to clean out the basement? 

What do we even have in the attic? 

Should we have an estate sale? 

Ugh – that seems like so much work! 

Dragging your feet doesn’t mean it’s going drag you down!

Purging that attic, basement or whole house isn’t always about treasure hunting. In fact, it can be cathartic and take you and your family on a journey filled with fond memories, history, special moments and laughter. As you pick through the many baubles and bric-a-brac, you may learn things about yourself that you never knew. Through pictures and sometimes old movies, you can discover (or rediscover) parts of your heritage you once ignored. That old toy may not look like much, but it may be found in a photograph floating around from 1866 when it was brand new to Uncle Elijah.

Family Secrets

In rare cases, a family connects the dots between generations by uncovering a secret stash behind a wall or in a crawlspace. Take the case of Randi Schlattner whose family fled their home in Czechoslovakia as part of the German mass evacuation after World War II, only to return there 70 years later (well into his 80s), to discover a hidden stockpile of family treasures: hats, clothes, toys, paintings, books, badges and magazines. Maybe not worth much to sell to a buyer, but in terms of sentiment and especially historical value, these artifacts are considered priceless and now sit in the museum in the Czech town of Ústí nad Labem. 

However overwhelming the task seems, there is intrinsic value and satisfaction when tackling that basement or attic. Know that one day, many years ago, all that ‘stuff’ was new. So before you toss it aside, take a moment to think of those comic books – that penny – that autograph. For certain, there are plenty more stories buried out there – is one of them yours?