13 Valuable Things Found In Abandoned Places

From valuable comic books to stacks of cold hard cash, here's a list of 13 Valuable Things Found in Abandoned Places.

5. Recycling Riches
At a recycling plant, a worker named Mike Rogers stumbled across something a little unusual in a barrel amidst a bunch of scrap metal and kitchen appliances: old savings bonds that totaled up to roughly $22,000. Instead of pocketing the valuable find, he and his wife took the time to do some research to see if they could find the rightful owner. Sure enough, one man had all the right answers to all the right questions and Mike being the good ol’ guy he is gave them back. They’re not sure how the bonds wound up at the plant in the first place, but one thing’s for sure: Mike was literally this guys “saving” grace. Okay, I’m reaching.

4. Ancient Artifacts
Junk removal specialist Nick DiMola was tasked with cleaning out an apartment that once belonged to abstract artist Clinton Hill. Hill’s estate paid DiMola’s company to clean out the apartment and accompanying storage, and that’s when DiMola came across an old barrel that was set aside and thought to be trash. Said barrel was left at a warehouse for years, forgotten by all, until one day he decided it might be worthwhile to take a peek inside. What he found were dozens of ancient Mexican artifacts that consisted of jugs, bowls, and figurines, dated to between 300 B.C. and 500 A.D. Due to the contract between him and Hill’s estate, DiMola didn’t have to return the artifacts to and says he probably plans on selling them in the future. Just one of the pieces, a stone ax god, was appraised at $1,000, making him one lucky son of a gun. We’d probably give the property back though, considering it’s not technically his. We won’t be surprised if he winds up swimming with the fishes.

3. Cold Hard Cash
Back in 2011, a man named Josh Ferrin ran across a giant sum of cash in his home and instead of spending it, he did what his heart told him was right and contacted the previous owners of the house. It turns out the father of the household had passed away not long beforehand and had spent years and years saving up all of the money to provide for his family when he was gone. Ferrin admits that at first thoughts of his own financial situation flashed through his head, but he looked past that and found it in himself to do the right thing. An artist and author, Ferrin says he knows what it’s like to spend a lot of time on something and to want to see it come to fruition. Well, seems that he sure helped a dream come to pass. Building up that good karma!

2. Tubular Time Capsule
In 2013, in Tennessee, one Reddit user hit the jackpot when going through his grandparents home that had been left to his father who recently passed. When he found no use for the house, the man decided to sell it, and while doing renovations and getting it ready, he stumbled upon something extraordinary: a safe buried in a block of cement, placed under the carpet in a downstairs room that looked as though it hadn’t been touched for years. After trying several of his grandfather's other safe combinations, which proved incorrect, the man was all but ready to rip his hair out, not to mention the safe from the floor. Using his brain, he called in a locksmith, and after a lot of hard work, they got it open. Inside were old coin books, jewelry, and rolls upon rolls of coins. The loot is said to be worth thousands. Thank God for grandparents.

1. Thank You Mr. Hancock
Back in 1991, an art collector purchased a painting at a flea market in Pennsylvania because he took a liking to the frame. Little did he know, hidden behind said frame was an official copy of the Declaration of Independence. The man purchased the national treasure for the small sum of $4, which is incredible considering it yielded roughly 605,000 times that amount. The frame somehow managed to preserve the document, making the copy “unspeakably fresh.” Right now, there are only 24 known surviving original copies of the Declaration, three of which are in private hands. The flea market find was unbacked, making it one of just seven copies to be so, which also increased its value. Previously, the record for an official copy sold for $1.6 million in 1990. The fresh to death, unbacked copy sold for $2,420,000 at auction, making up for having to spend an entire day at a flea market. Ever been to one of those things? It’s like spending a whole day inside an even grimier version of People of Walmart.