Finder's Keepers

Prominent in the news the other day was news of the auction of of an old Chinese vase found in the attic of a London home. That vase, sold by a family clearing out a deceased relative's house, went to a buyer for 51.6 million British pounds. That's $83,000,000 in US dollars! Eighty-three million!! The sellers, the sister and nephew of a deceased elderly woman, found the vase clearing out her "very modest home" in a London suburb. It had been in the family at least since the 1930s, though no one knows how it was acquired.

My first thought was what might I have acquired when my parents cleared out the house in Breckenridge? Any sleepers in the keepsakes that found a home with us? Let's see... there's a dining room set that, while nice furniture, won't bring any interest at Sotheby's. Same with the cedar chest. Oh wait! There's the glass egg that a teacher gave my father when he was a child. Nearly a century old, that's got to be worth...uh...let's see... $14.95 plus shipping for a comparable egg on EBay! Sigh.

But all is not lost. I see a great deal of value in hinting broadly that there is a similarly valuable artifact hidden in our attic! An attic that I have no intention of cleaning out, but one that must someday be emptied of its treasures. See, treasures, that's the operative word! Who knows what uber-valuable trinket reposes up there? Only one way to find out. Haul it all down and see what we've got. Or did I put it in the shelves in the garage?

Happy Hunting!