the 10 most expensive finds at the flea market

They say, " what is garbage for one, is a treasure for another." But sometimes they find real jewelry among the garbage! Many people love to visit flea markets and second-hand shops because of the pleasant feeling of searching for a hidden treasure that will cost a mere penny. But sometimes a find turns out to be really valuable! Here are ten examples when shopping at a flea market cost a fortune.

Alexander Calder was an American sculptor of the XX century, who grew up in a family of famous artists. His works made of wire and metal can be found in galleries and museums around the world, but Calder was not limited to large forms.

He created rings, necklaces and earrings made of brass and steel especially for his friends from the bohemian world. You can imagine what a rarity this is today! Once in Brooklyn, Norma Ifill very successfully bought an original jewelry at a flea market for only $15. But when the authenticity of the necklace was confirmed, the woman sold it at auction for $267,750.

Painting in thrift stores is usually quite boring — it's either reproductions of famous works, or inexpensive interior painting "in creepy roses".

But one day a man found a completely charming (and inexpensive!) a picture of flowers at a flea market in Wisconsin. The purpose of the purchase was purely practical — the picture was supposed to cover a hole in the wall (just like in the cartoon "Prostokvashino"!).

An accident helped to discover the true value of the work: the buyer was playing a board game based on works of art, and saw something very similar. When contacting the museum, it turned out that for a few dollars, the young man purchased the work of the famous artist Martin Johnson Hide, "Magnolias on golden Velvet". Later, the painting was purchased for $ 1,250,000!

Oddly enough, it was not the first time that Hid's works appeared at flea markets. "Two magnolias on a blue plush" was bought for $ 29, and sold for $ 882,500. And two other paintings were purchased at a real estate sale for $ 100 — the largest of them, "Magnolia Flowers on Blue Velvet", was sold at auction for $937,500. One thing we understood for sure: among the flowers, magnolias are the most valuable!

Thrift shops are full of things with the stamp "made in China", and most often they cost "a ruble piece, three rubles a bunch, and three pieces in a pile". But sometimes these things are very, very old and very, very expensive.

Once at a flea market for $ 3 we bought a white Chinese bowl-simple and discreet, with a beautiful pattern on the inside. The new owners put the purchase in the living room, not really worrying that it might accidentally break. It is unlikely that they were ready for the answer of appraisers when they took the bowl to the auction to find out its history — a simple piece of decoration turned out to be Ding ceramics from the time of the Song Dynasty. At the Sotheby's auction, a huge sum was offered for the bowl: $ 2,225,000.

There is no more valuable American document than the Declaration of Independence — for a long time it was known about only a few copies sent out in 1776 after the signing.

In 1989, an old painting was bought at a flea market for $ 4 (the buyer liked the carved frame). When the man pulled out the canvas, something slipped to the floor. What was his surprise when it turned out to be a Declaration of Independence! The auctioneers immediately realized what value was hidden behind the old painting — the document went under the hammer for $ 2,420,000.

John Constable is one of the most famous and most beloved British artists. Its romantic landscapes have been decorating the best houses in England for more than two hundred years.

When a man bought a box of trinkets for 30 pounds, he least expected that among them there would be a work of Constable's brush. It was a picture the size of a postcard in a magnificent gilded frame. The son of the first buyer decided to explore a small masterpiece, and a barely noticeable signature on the back of the canvas became the only hint of the true value of the purchase. After the authorship was confirmed by experts, the picture was estimated at 250,000 pounds sterling.

If sellers at flea markets do not want to mess with each item separately, they make surprise boxes-they put the goods in a box and put a total price for everything at once.

One customer ventured to buy such a combo and did not lose: in her box was a masterpiece of impressionism. Only after paying $ 7, the new owner noticed the name on the frame — Renoir. Of course, you can't trust everything that is written, so the woman checked the art catalog. "Landscape on the banks of the Seine" dates back to 1879, but its traces were lost in 1926. Now the cost of the masterpiece, according to experts, is at least $ 75,000.

When Andy Fields bought 5 paintings for $ 5 in Las Vegas, he decided that he had made a good deal, but he had no idea how right he was.

After the canvases were taken out of the frames, a bright drawing was found, very similar in style to the works of Andy Warhol. Today we know that the sketch depicts a singer of the 30s, and Warhol drew it at just ten years old (although even then the formation of the artist's style became noticeable). Fields does not want to sell his find yet, but some experts believe that it can cost up to $ 2,000,000. However, Andy Warhol's brother considers this work a fake.

Buying a cup for $ 4, you are unlikely to expect something of higher quality than cheap earthenware or plastic. And the bowl, purchased at an Australian thrift store, looked like a dirty plastic of a bizarre shape.

But when the purchase was examined by experts, it turned out that it was carved from a rhinoceros bone and is a rare Chinese relic of the XVII century. However, due to a small chip on the rim, the price of the cup decreased slightly, and at the auction they offered "only" $75,640 for it.

"Flea" counters are littered with cheap costume jewelry, among which, however, there are cute vintage gizmos.

One of the customers saw a cute ring with a large shiny stone, bought it for 10 pounds and was happy to wear it for almost 30 years. We do not know what prompted the woman to check her purchase, but the auction house confirmed that all these years she was wearing a large diamond cut in the XIX century. Its weight was 26.27 carats, and the ring was put up for sale for 656,750 pounds (this is about $850,000).

There are often dealers in gold scrap in thrift shops and pawnshops, and one of them found an ornate egg for which he was ready to pay a good price.

However, he almost lost the real value of his investment, almost melting the Faberge egg. It was probably made for Alexander III and was intended as a gift to Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1887. The egg was last sold in 1964 for only $ 2,000, but after being rediscovered, it was already valued at $ 33,000,000!