How often do we stumble across something exceptionally valuable yet have no clue about what we’ve got. Turns out, way more than we might realize. Naturally, if we have no idea as to what’s right in front of us, then it’s likely we overlook other things on a regular basis. Those that take the time to look a little closer often end up being winners.
Case in point: an unassuming doorstop. Some years ago, when silver eclipsed $10 per ounce, I mentioned how some people wanted to invest in it but still keep it close by. How might one do that while protect it from being stolen?
One person’s solution was to purchase several 100-ounce silver bars. At the time, they cost over $1,000 apiece. The individual asked a relative to needlepoint a cover to go over the bars. With them sewn neatly inside, it made for a nice doorstop. His solution was a convenient way to keep the precious metal hidden in plain sight. Incidentally, at today’s silver price of $32 per ounce, the value of that doorstop is now approaching $7,000.
An elderly woman in Romania had a similar experience, but never realized it. She was one of those who had no clue as to what was right in front of her....
The woman had found a rock she admired near a Romanian stream. It was more of a reddish/yellow translucent glob. She felt the seven-pound object was attractive and would be perfect as a door stop.
When she died in 1991, a relative became curious of the stone. It was determined to consist of pure amber. Amber is the solidified and fossilized resin created by the sap of trees from millions of years ago. The relative sold it to the Romanian government for an unknown price. The government, in turn, eventually had it examined by experts in Krakow, Poland.
Those experts estimated it to be 38 million to 70 million years old. Even better, it’s now classified as one of the largest pieces of amber known to exist. The current estimated value is $1.1 million.
Incidentally, millions of years ago, that slow-flowing sap from trees sometimes trapped ants, insects or other things on the tree bark (ala the basis for the movie Jurassic Park where blood was retrieved from a prehistoric mosquito encased in amber).
Amber containing any such former living things can be worth a small fortune. Some amber has even trapped small lizards. One such artifact sold for countless thousands of dollars. Because the Romanian amber rock is not fully transparent, it’s unknown whether it contains any insects. Note: Some amber pieces containing insects are fakes. Authentication is critical.
One last bit of irony…the old Romanian woman who owned the amber doorstop was once the victim of thieves who broke into her home. The burglars targeted her modest jewelry but completely overlooked the amber doorstop hiding in plain sight, ala the silver bars doorstop.
If you think, “Something like that could never happen to me,” consider the experience of a New England man in 1991 – the same year the Romanian amber rock was appraised. That year, a man purchased a painting in a frame at a thrift store. The painting was admittedly ugly. However, the man fancied the frame surrounding the repulsive work of art. For the painting and frame, he paid a whopping four dollars.
Eventually, he decided to remove the offending work-of-art from its frame. Tucked behind the painting the man discovered a folded piece of paper, roughly the size of a business envelope. He unfolded it to find a printed copy of the Declaration of Independence.
Of course, there are many worthless modern reproductions. Fortuitously, a friend suggested he have it checked out. The man took it to Sotheby’s auction house. There, experts determined the copy was one of only 25 actually printed on July 4, 1776, the day the declaration was officially signed and enacted. Those were intended to announce the new nation to the public.
Estimated to bring about one-million dollars, Sotheby’s put it up for sale. In 1991, it brought $2.2 million. Less than a decade later, in 2000, it was again auctioned – this time for $7.4 million (over $13 million in today’s dollars). In 2025, who knows? $50 million might be cheap for such a rare piece of history.
So, you truly never know. The one absolute is that countless more such treasures are sure to be uncovered by those who look a little closer.
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