00:00If the most intriguing discovery you have ever made in the street
00:04is limited to an old five-cent coin,
00:06prepare to feel a living jealousy towards this old lady from Romania.
00:10Indeed, she once found a stone in the bed of a stream
00:14and judged that it was heavy enough, with its 3.5 kg,
00:18to be used to lock her door.
00:20So she brought it home and used it for many years.
00:25After her death, a relative inherited her house, including the famous lock.
00:29He quickly realized that this object was not just a simple decorative curiosity
00:33and chose to donate it to the state.
00:36It was a stunning discovery.
00:38It was actually one of the largest pieces of intact amber ever discovered,
00:43worth more than a million dollars.
00:45Experts estimate that this gem would be between 38.5 and 70 million years old.
00:52Amber is a fossilized plant resin dating back millions of years.
00:57In the Romanian village of Colsi,
00:59the inhabitants have been extracting this precious substance from the rivers since the 1920s.
01:04If the largest amber deposits in Europe are found in the Baltic region,
01:08favorable conditions can allow the formation of different varieties of amber
01:12all over the world, whether in Alaska or Madagascar.
01:16The colossal fragment of amber used as a lock was so discreet
01:20that it even escaped the attention of thieves during a robbery.
01:24Fortunately, the Romanian authorities were able to recognize its true value
01:28and classified it among the country's national treasures.
01:31Today, it is preserved in a museum,
01:33and no, it is no longer used to lock the door.
01:36David Gonzalez, a building entrepreneur,
01:39bought a house in Minnesota for a little over $10,000.
01:43Built in 1938, this house required significant renovation work.
01:49By undertaking the repairs,
01:51David discovered an unusual insolent hidden among old newspapers.
01:55It was the very first issue of Action Comics,
01:58introducing Superman, and dating from the same year as the construction of the house.
02:02The comic strip was not in perfect condition,
02:05and the cover was detached.
02:07However, it sold for $175,000,
02:1017 times the price of the house.
02:12If it had been better preserved,
02:14its value could have been much higher.
02:17Speaking of, the most expensive comic strip ever sold
02:21is precisely this one.
02:23But in impeccable condition.
02:26In 2024, a collector spent $6 million to add it to his collection.
02:31Previously, other copies had been sold for $1,500,000 in 2010,
02:38and for $3,500,000 in 2023.
02:41A Filipino fisherman was on his boat near Palawan Island during a storm.
02:46While trying to cast the anchor,
02:48it clung to what he thought to be a rock.
02:51While diving to clear it,
02:53he discovered that it was actually a giant rock
02:56containing a huge pearl.
02:58Ignoring the exceptional value of the last one,
03:01the fisherman kept it under his bed as a lucky charm for nearly 10 years.
03:05It was only after a fire destroyed his house
03:08that he decided to show it to other people.
03:10It was then discovered that it was the largest pearl in the world,
03:14weighing 34 kg,
03:16which is four times the weight of a teak tree,
03:18and measuring 30 cm wide by 67 cm long.
03:23Its value is estimated at around $100 million.
03:26Today, it is exhibited in the town hall of Puerto Princesa
03:30to attract visitors.
03:31A particularly lucky person,
03:33and wishing to remain anonymous,
03:35bought a ring at a flea market in the 1980s.
03:39It looked like a pretty fantasy jewel,
03:42and $13 seemed to be a reasonable price.
03:45This ring was worn for many years
03:48before its owner decided, one day,
03:51to show it to a jeweler to learn more about it.
03:54He revealed that it was actually a real diamond of 26 carats,
03:58carved in the shape of a cushion
04:00and mounted on a kitten dating from the 19th century.
04:03The ring was put up for auction in London,
04:05where it was sold for the exceptional sum of $847,667,
04:10almost double its initial estimate.
04:13Today's diamond enthusiasts
04:15would have a hard time recognizing their favorite gem in this stone,
04:18because it had been carved according to an ancient method,
04:21adapted to the lighting of candles.
04:23Over time, the silver surrounding the diamond had tarnished,
04:26which made its immense value unsuspecting.
04:29This ring probably belonged to a member of the royal family
04:33or to a very fortunate person,
04:35because diamonds were extremely rare at the time.
04:38Experts estimate that its new owner
04:41will surely consider re-carving it,
04:43which could double its value.
04:45When an auction takes place near your home,
04:47do not hesitate to take a look.
04:49You could, as it happened in the state of New York,
04:52buy a simple bowl for $3
04:54and discover that it is worth a fortune.
04:56This is how a lucky person acquired a Chinese bowl for a few dollars,
05:00ignoring that it was a millennium old.
05:02The bowl remained in the living room for several years
05:05but curiosity did not make its owner evaluate it.
05:08It turned out to be a precious bowl,
05:10worthy of the Song dynasty.
05:12The only other known copy is kept at the British Museum in London.
05:16During the auction sale,
05:18four buyers fought a fierce battle to get it,
05:22and a London courtier finally acquired it for more than $2.2 million.
05:27In 1970, a woman living in Rhode Island
05:30acquired an elegant ceramic plate for less than $100.
05:34She appreciated it so much that she hung it on the wall,
05:37just above her kitchen,
05:39and, over time, the object was covered in grease.
05:42Then, in 2014, she presented this plate,
05:45which she considered her most precious item,
05:48in the TV show Antique Roadshow,
05:50to learn more about it.
05:53To her great amazement,
05:55she discovered that it was a work created by Pablo Picasso in 1955,
06:00and that it was worth more than $10,000.
06:03In 1991, a man bought a painting
06:06during a charity auction for only $4,
06:09attracted by the frame,
06:11although the image itself was not very pretty.
06:14When he dismantled the painting,
06:16he discovered a folded document like an envelope,
06:18hidden behind.
06:20This document turned out to be a very old copy
06:22of the Declaration of Independence,
06:24printed in 1776,
06:27just after the signature of the original.
06:30A friend persuaded her to present this copy
06:32to a auction house.
06:34The experts then identified one of the 25 copies
06:36printed by John Dunlap,
06:38the official printer of the Continental Congress.
06:41This document was sold for $2.2 million the same year,
06:45before finding a new buyer in 2000 for $7.4 million.
06:50In 2010, a certain Andy Fields,
06:53passionate about garage sales,
06:55acquired a lot of five paintings for $5
06:57during an event in Las Vegas.
06:59Once at home,
07:01he decided to replace the frame of one of the paintings
07:03and, by removing the back,
07:05he discovered a hidden drawing behind the canvas.
07:08It looked like a sketch of Andy Warhol,
07:11famous for his works with vivid colors
07:13and bold designs.
07:15According to the experts,
07:17Warhol would have made this sketch
07:19when he was only 9 or 10 years old.
07:21Its value could reach $2 million.
07:23However, Andy Fields chose
07:25not to sell this discovery immediately,
07:28preferring that it be exhibited in a museum
07:30rather than locked away in a safe.
07:32A $1 million painting
07:34was used to hide a hole in a wall.
07:37Its owner had bought it with some furniture
07:39for a ridiculous amount,
07:41totally ignoring its value.
07:43It was only by playing the game of Masterpiece,
07:46based on art,
07:48that he noticed a reproduction similar to the painting.
07:50These were magnolias on golden velvet fabric,
07:54a work by Martin Johnson Head,
07:56an American artist of the 19th century.
07:59The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston
08:01acquired this piece for $1,250,000.
Comments