4. $34,375 Worth of Abstract Paintings Discovered at a Goodwill Store
Location: North Carolina’s Concord
Year Found: 2012 Estimated Value: $34,375*
Secondhand stores often have fantastic finds, especially when it comes to art. Beth Feeback purchased two paintings for $10 at a Goodwill store in North Carolina in 2012. She intended to paint enormous cat faces all over the canvases until she noticed an artist’s identity label on the back and decided to have them assessed on a whim.
$34,375 Worth of Abstract Paintings Discovered at a Goodwill Store
Fortunately, she did, because it was discovered that Russian artist Ilya Bolotowksy was the creator of these abstract paintings in the shape of diamonds. One painting, Vertical Diamond, went on to sell for $34,375 at a Sotheby’s auction, much more than its $10,000–$20,000 pre-auction estimate.
5. 1959 Deep Sea Alarm Watch Made by Jaeger LeCoultre Found in Goodwill
Location: Arizona’s Phoenix
Year Found: 2015 Estimated Value: $35,000*
A $5.99 watch was discovered by a man rummaging in a Goodwill store in Phoenix, Arizona. After realizing the watch might be expensive, collector Zach Norris bought it and had it evaluated. It turned out that Norris’s suspicions were right—this watch was a 1959 Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm.
1959 Deep Sea Alarm Watch by Jaeger LeCoultre Found in Goodwill ©Shutterstock/Oleg GawriloFF
It’s incredible that no one took it until Norris, who was at the Goodwill looking for a golf cart, considering the dial even said “LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm.” Norris had the watch assessed and then put it up for auction, selling it for $35,000. Jaeger-LeCoultre produced just 1,000 Deep Sea Alarms for the US market in the late 1950s, making them rare pieces.
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