Old Trash That Became Someone Else’s Valuable Treasure

What it is: Saving bonds
Estimated Value: $22,000*

It was a typical day for the Blue Glass Recycling Company in Burlington, Kentucky, until suddenly, it wasn’t. A seemingly normal barrel thrown into the trash made its way to the company in 1971, and a worker was carrying out the standard recycling procedures when he found about two dozen US saving bonds padded inside the barrel. 

Inheritance From Trash ©larryhw/Depositphotos

The bonds turned out to be the possession of the late Martha Dobbins and were worth a whopping $22,000. Thankfully, the recycling worker was an honest person who tracked down Martha’s rightful heir: a son who had no idea about the existence of the bonds. The worker refused all compensation efforts by the shocked son, reinforcing the belief that righteous people are still out there in the world. 

What it is: $5 and $100 bills 
Estimated Value: $100,000*

Highway workers on Interstate 70 in Indianapolis were indulging in their usual cleaning jobs when they came across something rather unusual: a strange-looking tire that seemed stuffed on the inside. The workers peeked into the tire to find it laden with $5 and $100 bills amounting to around a whopping $100,000. 

A $100,000 Tire Found On A Highway @sophia971922/Pinterest

The amount freaked the highway workers out, and they immediately reported the trash-like treasure to the authorities. They suspected that the money belonged to drug runners trying to smuggle it but had encountered unfavorable circumstances that forced them to abandon the tire there.

What it is: Lottery tickets 
Estimated Value: $1 million*

If you are fated to win the lottery, you will end up winning it even without buying the tickets. A similar situation unfolded when someone, frustrated with their numbers, threw their lottery tickets in the trash, thinking they hadn’t won. A dumpster diver came across these tickets and sifted through them to find out that one of them was a winner, that too of a million dollars! 

©LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS/stock.adobe.com

The original owner of the tickets sued the dumpster diver for the money that was “originally” theirs. Under US law, while a tossed-away item becomes public property, he did have to give up $140,000 of his findings in a settlement. So, the next time you think about throwing away your lottery tickets, don’t! 

What it is: Plutonium 
Estimated Value: Unknown

Plutonium-239 is an isotope you just don’t find lying around in the trash, majorly because it is used to make atomic bombs that resemble the ones that were dropped during WWII. Surprisingly, this isotope was discovered inside a glass bottle dumped in trash in a Washington state dumpster. 

Abandoned Atomic Bomb Grade Plutonium ©Romolo Tavani/Shutterstock.com

The Department of Energy was contacted immediately, who retrieved the bottle and took it to a safe location. Let’s not imagine what could have possibly happened if that bottle had fallen into the wrong hands! 

What it is: Stolen classic painting 
Estimated Value: $1 million*

A New York woman was casually strolling by a garbage dumpster when an intricate painting peeking from behind the trash bags caught her eye. She took the 38″ x 51″ home and adorned her room thinking nothing more of it. It was only several days later that she heard a description of a stolen painting on Antiques Roadshow and realized they were talking about the picture she found in the trash. 

Stolen and Abandoned Vintage Painting ©Wikiart.org

The painting turned out to be “Tres Personajes,” a Rufino Tamayo classic stolen more than 20 years ago. The case was still active with the FBI, so the woman alerted the authorities and was given a $15,000 finders fee. The $1 million painting was recovered by luck because the trash had been taken away just 20 minutes after the New Yorker saved the painting. 

What it is: Declaration of Independence document 
Estimated Value: $2.42 million*

A local Pennsylvania man found a cracked picture frame at a flea market and took it home instead of letting the garbage claim it. But the frame could not be restored despite his sincere efforts, so the man decided to throw it in the garbage. 

The Original Declaration of Independence ©Tom Ipri/Flickr

He dismantled the frame to allow it to be recycled and was taking the painting out when he noticed a piece of paper peeking out from behind. The paper turned out to be one of the original 24 US Declaration of Independence documents worth more than $2.42 million. Talk about hidden luck! 

What it is: Blueprints 
Estimated Value: Unknown

Can you imagine classified documents such as the blueprints of the Freedom Tower lying around in a garbage disposal can? A homeless man in lower Manhattan found these 150-page documents that contained the building’s layout on Ground Zero. The man knew the danger they would pose if they landed in the wrong hands, so he handed them over to the authorities. 

Stolen and Abandoned Vintage Painting ©Wikiart.org

An experienced architect examined the documents and declared them to be initial drafts for the building that could give an individual experienced in biological weapons and explosives enough ammunition to wreak havoc. 

What it is: A valuable laptop 
Estimated Value: Unknown

The widely publicized case of Fabrice Tourre, a former Goldman Sachs trader, was almost at a standstill until a local discovered a valuable laptop thrown away in the trash. They took the laptop home to try it out, only to learn that it belonged to Tourre and contained classified emails, documents, and other information that blew the case wide open. 

The Laptop That Solved A Huge Case @sophia971922/Pinterest

The records offered insight into the controversial and somewhat illegal mortgage securities sales and helped in Tourre’s conviction for mortgage fraud. 

What it is: Harry Potter book 
Estimated Value: $50,000*

Harry Potter fans consider first-edition books their holy grail since they exist in limited amounts around the world. So how would they feel if someone found a first edition Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone book, of which only 300 to 500 exist, in the trash? 

Unread Harry Potter First Edition @unbfacts/Pinterest

This happened in real life, and the book turned out to be Nigel Reynolds’, a reporter who had interviewed Rowling before she became a worldwide sensation and received the book as a free thank-you present. Reynolds threw the book in the trash, not even bothering to read it, which turned out to be one of the gravest mistakes of his life. But the person who found it does not think so. 

What it is: First-generation Apple Computer 
Estimated Value: $200,000*

A Californian lady came across a seemingly old and rattled Apple computer in her garage and decided to throw it out. The computer was one of the 200 rare first-generation desktop computers built in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Ron Wayne, and Steve Wozniak, but the woman did not know its worth. 

Vintage Apple Computer @dawarats/Pinterest

The woman dropped it off at the Clean Bay Area recycling center, where it was identified and immediately sold for a whopping $200,000. The recycling center’s policy directed them to find the mysterious woman to give her 50% of the profits, but they have been unsuccessful in identifying her so far.

What it is: Diamonds 
Estimated Value: $5 million*

Manhattan’s J. Birnbach jewelry store employees committed a grave mistake when they accidentally threw out $5 million worth of diamonds in the trash during the shop’s move to another floor. A security guard named Wilfred Martinez found the pricey diamonds in three battered wooden boxes next to a pile of rubbish while on a trash drive, and instead of finding their source, decided to sell them on the black market. 

Dumpster Diamonds @unbfacts/Pinterest | ©photo33mm/shutterstock.com

Martinez sold them for a whopping $74,000 in the very building he discovered them, but his luck ran out when security footage showed him in the act. The 48-year-old was then arrested and charged with criminal possession of stolen property.

What it is: A vintage painting 
Estimated Value: Unknown

J. Levine’s Auction and Appraisals’ owner found an unnamed painting when appraising collectibles and decided to save it from the dumpster because it “spoke to them.” They were later thankful that they did because it turned out to be an unsigned Pollock painting worth thousands of dollars. 

Pollock Painting @vicemag/Pinterest

Levine spent a whopping $50,000 and 18 months of his time on forensic art scientists and private investigators to determine the authenticity of the painting, and all of his resources did not go to waste when they declared the artwork to be original. It is now being set up for auction and is highly likely to bring in a fortune.

What it is: Inflatable boat 
Estimated Value: Unknown

Finding a piece of furniture or a barely used lamp on the roadside during college moving-in and moving-out days is pretty common, but it is almost never that you go on a dumpster dive and end up finding a high-end, inflatable, military-grade boat that does not even seem used. 

High-end Military Inflatable Boat ©ribcraft.co.uk

The same happened to an individual who wasn’t even on a dumpster dive, who found an almost new military-grade boat lying in a dumpster unattended. They decided to bring it home and put it to use because what is better than military equipment when it comes to durability?

What it is: Scratch-off coupon 
Estimated Value: $500*

Lorenzo Juarez’s bad luck wasn’t running out even after four consecutive years of unemployment and a heartbreaking breakup with his long-term girlfriend until fate decided to surprise him on his birthday. He was getting some snacks for his birthday when he witnessed a disagreement between a customer and the cashier, resulting in the former tearing up a scratch-off coupon and throwing it in the dumpster. 

Dumpster Scratch-Off Present @toptenz/Pinterest

Juarez tried his luck on the dumpster, taped the torn-apart coupon together, and brought it to the cashier. The coupon won $500, finally giving Juarez a birthday present.