sold

A box of old games donated to a Texas Goodwill contained a rare 1982 Air Raid cartridge for the Atari 2600; Goodwill said only 13 copies were known at the time, and the game sold for $10,590.79

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A box of old games donated to a Texas Goodwill contained a rare 1982 Air Raid cartridge for the Atari 2600; Goodwill said only 13 copies were known at the time, and the game sold for $10,590.79

Representational photo of an Atari 2600 Game – SVG.com A box of old video games donated to a Goodwill store in Texas turned out to contain a rare 1982 Atari game that collectors had been searching for. The game, Air Raid for the Atari 2600, was sold at auction for $10,590.79 after a bidding war … Read more

A Michigan collector paid $30 for a seashell painting at an estate sale; it was later identified as a 1951 Gertrude Abercrombie work; now it has sold in New York for a record $1,352,600!

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A Michigan collector paid $30 for a seashell painting at an estate sale; it was later identified as a 1951 Gertrude Abercrombie work; now it has sold in New York for a record $1,352,600!

Alderman Merriam’s Shells, 1951​ Everyone peeks at an estate sale. He did too. He thought he would get his hands on some records or perhaps some mid-century furniture. That’s when he saw a painting hanging in the dark corner of a hallway. For most people, it may not necessarily have been an extraordinary painting. All … Read more

A Romanian flea-market seller thought an old machine was a typewriter and let it go for €100; the buyer, a cryptography professor, recognized a World War II Enigma I and sold it at auction in 2017 for €45,000

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A Romanian flea-market seller thought an old machine was a typewriter and let it go for €100; the buyer, a cryptography professor, recognized a World War II Enigma I and sold it at auction in 2017 for €45,000

A Romanian flea-market seller thought an old machine was a typewriter and let it go for €100; the buyer, a cryptography professor, recognized a World War II Enigma I and sold it at auction in 2017 for €45,000/Image: Reuters In 2017, a machine sold for €100 at a Romanian flea market turned out to be … Read more

A UK collector paid £15 for a broken, lidless teapot at a 2016 auction; experts identified it as one of only seven known John Bartlam pieces, and it sold for £575,000 to The Met in New York

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A UK collector paid £15 for a broken, lidless teapot at a 2016 auction; experts identified it as one of only seven known John Bartlam pieces, and it sold for £575,000 to The Met in New York

The teapot was about 9cm high and 17.5cm across. Its cover was missing, while the handle had broken off and been restuck. A UK collector who paid just £15 for a broken, lidless teapot at an auction in 2016 later discovered that the piece was one of the rarest known examples of early American porcelain. … Read more

In 2014, Shonda Rhimes bought a 1923 Hancock Park mansion for $8.8 million; after restoring and expanding it, she sold the 12,000-sq-ft estate for a record $21 million in 2022

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In 2014, Shonda Rhimes bought a 1923 Hancock Park mansion for $8.8 million; after restoring and expanding it, she sold the 12,000-sq-ft estate for a record $21 million in 2022

Rhimes purchased the mansion from actress Patricia Heaton, best known for Everybody Loves Raymond. Over the following seven years, she undertook an extensive restoration and redesign, turning the historic property into a home that balanced its original character with a more contemporary sense of space and light. There are houses that make a statement, and … Read more

A 1987 Buick GNX, No. 450 of just 547 built for a single model year, sold for $200,000 with 26 miles in 2024; two years and only 4 miles later, the 30-mile car sold again for $427,000

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A 1987 Buick GNX, No. 450 of just 547 built for a single model year, sold for $200,000 with 26 miles in 2024; two years and only 4 miles later, the 30-mile car sold again for $427,000

Inside, the GNX remains unmistakably rooted in its era. A three-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel sits ahead of GNX-specific Stewart-Warner instrumentation. Some cars age and others simply become more expensive to own. A 1987 Buick GNX with barely 30 miles on its odometer has demonstrated just how dramatically collector demand can shift, selling for $427,000 after … Read more

In 1979, Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee paid $220,000 for New York’s decaying Grey Gardens and restored it; 38 years later, the 6,000-sq-ft East Hampton estate sold for $15.5 million

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In 1979, Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee paid $220,000 for New York's decaying Grey Gardens and restored it; 38 years later, the 6,000-sq-ft East Hampton estate sold for $15.5 million

Photo (L-R): The Corcoran Group via MansionGlobal.com and Sally Quinn’s website In 1979, Washington Post journalist Sally Quinn and executive editor Ben Bradlee bought the infamous Grey Gardens estate in East Hampton for $220,000, rescuing a decaying 1897 mansion that had become a symbol of bohemian decline. After restoring the 6,000-square-foot home and using it … Read more

Beth Feeback paid $9.99 for a North Carolina thrift-store painting she wanted to cover with cats; it proved to be an Ilya Bolotowsky work and sold at Sotheby’s for $34,375, including fees

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Beth Feeback paid $9.99 for a North Carolina thrift-store painting she wanted to cover with cats; it proved to be an Ilya Bolotowsky work and sold at Sotheby's for $34,375, including fees

A North Carolina artist once walked into a Goodwill store looking for inexpensive material for her own artwork and walked out with what would turn out to be a valuable piece of American abstraction. Beth Feeback paid just $9.99 for a large painting in 2012, not because she admired the artwork, but because she wanted … Read more

John Denver’s former Aspen guesthouse and music studio sold for $4.75 million in 2023; later the new owner sold the 2,912-sq-ft five-bedroom home for $8.2 million in 2025

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John Denver’s former Aspen guesthouse and music studio sold for $4.75 million in 2023; later the new owner sold the 2,912-sq-ft five-bedroom home for $8.2 million in 2025

Pic credit: Aspen/ Glenwood MLS John Denver’s former guest house and music studio in Aspen, Colorado, has proved to be a valuable piece of real estate. The home, which sits on a 5-acre lot in Starwood, was once part of the singer’s estate, where he lived from the early 1970s until his death in a … Read more

Philip Rietveld assembled nearly 1,500 acres of Illinois and Indiana farmland over his lifetime; after his death in 2026, his family sold 23 tracts for $22.46 million, with one fetching $32,600 an acre

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Philip Rietveld assembled nearly 1,500 acres of Illinois and Indiana farmland over his lifetime; after his death in 2026, his family sold 23 tracts for $22.46 million, with one fetching $32,600 an acre

Over a lifetime of careful acquisitions, Philip Rietveld built a portfolio of nearly 1,500 acres of productive farmland across Illinois and Indiana. After his death in 2026, his family moved to sell the holdings through a two-day, two-state auction that drew bidders from seven states. The 23 tracts changed hands for a combined $22.46 million, … Read more