sold

In 2011, Judy Garland’s former Bel-Air home sold for $5.2 million; after successive renovations, the 1938 house on nearly 2.7 acres changed hands again for $11.1 million in July 2024

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In 2011, Judy Garland's former Bel-Air home sold for $5.2 million; after successive renovations, the 1938 house on nearly 2.7 acres changed hands again for $11.1 million in July 2024

Judy Garland’s former Bel-Air home has changed hands for $11.1 million, more than a decade after it sold for $5.2 million. The 1938 estate at 1231 Stone Canyon Road was listed for $11.495 million in March 2024 before selling in July, according to property records and reports from The Real Deal, Realtor.com and Architectural Digest. … Read more

An 1852 California Gold $50 coin from the Gold Rush era sold for $367,875 on September 6; the rare piece was one of eight territorial coins in a collection that drew 475 bids from collectors

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An 1852 California Gold $50 coin from the Gold Rush era sold for $367,875 on September 6; the rare piece was one of eight territorial coins in a collection that drew 475 bids from collectors

An 1852 California Gold $50 coin from the Gold Rush era sold for $367,875 (Image Credit: GreatCollections) An 1852 California Gold $50 piece has brought nearly $368,000 at auction, highlighting the enduring appeal of coins linked to the early Gold Rush era. According to the auction house GreatCollections, the rare Augustus Humbert $50 was part … Read more

Linda Evangelista first listed her New York penthouse for $9.45 million in 2024; after price cuts and a rental stint for Keanu Reeves, the West Chelsea home has now sold for $6.75 million

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Linda Evangelista first listed her New York penthouse for $9.45 million in 2024; after price cuts and a rental stint for Keanu Reeves, the West Chelsea home has now sold for $6.75 million

Photo credit (L-R): Linda Evangelista/ Instagram; Nina Poon for Corcoran Linda Evangelista’s longtime West Chelsea penthouse has sold for $6.75 million after more than two years on and off the market. The supermodel first listed the home for $9.45 million in May 2024, but later reduced the asking price before briefly renting it to actor … Read more

A New Jersey woman paid $25 for a mouldy table at a garage sale; 30 years later, it was identified as a rare 18th-century card table made by John Seymour & Son and sold for $541,500

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A New Jersey woman paid $25 for a mouldy table at a garage sale; 30 years later, it was identified as a rare 18th-century card table made by John Seymour & Son and sold for $541,500

A New Jersey schoolteacher who bought a mouldy, pitch-black table at a garage sale for just $25 ended up owning a rare piece of American furniture worth more than half a million dollars. Claire Wiegand-Beckmann purchased the table roughly three decades before it appeared on Antiques Roadshow, when she was moving into a new home … Read more

A Connecticut man paid $35 for a bowl at a yard sale in 2020; experts revealed it was a rare 15th-century Chinese treasure and it sold for $721,800

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A Connecticut man paid $35 for a bowl at a yard sale in 2020; experts revealed it was a rare 15th-century Chinese treasure and it sold for $721,800

A Connecticut man paid $35 for a small blue-and-white porcelain bowl at a yard sale near New Haven in 2020, unaware that he had stumbled upon an exceptionally rare Chinese imperial-era artefact. The unnamed antiques enthusiast suspected the bowl might be special and later sent photographs to Sotheby’s for an evaluation. Specialists identified it as … Read more

In 1983, Atari buried its games in a New Mexico dump; in 2014, over 1,300 were dug up and one sold for more than $1,500

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Atari's burial of unsold cartridges in 1983 led to a 2014 excavation revealing over 1,300 games. (AI-generated/ChatGPT)

In 1983, a video game giant trucked its surplus games to a desert landfill and left them there. Decades later, that dump turned into an archaeological site. According to Andrew Reinhard’s 2015 study in the Journal of Contemporary Archaeologythe 2014 dig in Alamogordo, New Mexico, was the first archaeological excavation of a collection of video … Read more

In the 1980s, a Swedish flea-market buyer paid just over SEK 20 for a small Buddha statue; four decades later, experts traced it to the Ming dynasty, and it sold for SEK 2.44 million at auction

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In the 1980s, a Swedish flea-market buyer paid just over SEK 20 for a small Buddha statue; four decades later, experts traced it to the Ming dynasty, and it sold for SEK 2.44 million at auction

A tiny Buddha statue bought for just over SEK 20 at a Swedish flea market in the 1980s has turned into a multimillion-kronor discovery after experts identified it as a rare work from China’s Ming dynasty. The gilt-bronze statue of Shakyamuni Buddhawhich had spent decades in a private Swedish home, fetched a final price of … Read more

In 1979, Ted Turner bought a 4,680-acre South Carolina barrier island to prevent development; 38 years later he sold it to the state for $4.9 million, about one-third of its appraised value, and it became state parkland

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In 1979, Ted Turner bought a 4,680-acre South Carolina barrier island to prevent development; 38 years later he sold it to the state for $4.9 million, about one-third of its appraised value, and it became state parkland

American media mogul Ted Turner has completed the sale of St Phillips Island, a pristine 4,680-acre barrier island off the coast of South Carolina, to the state government for a small part of its market value. The deal transfers ownership of the untouched coastal island to the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism … Read more

In 2024, Allen Treibitz paid $50 for a painting at a Hamptons barn sale; months later it was authenticated as Emily Carr’s 1912 Masset, Q.C.I. and sold at a Toronto auction for C$290,000

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In 2024, Allen Treibitz paid $50 for a painting at a Hamptons barn sale; months later it was authenticated as Emily Carr’s 1912 Masset, Q.C.I. and sold at a Toronto auction for C$290,000

According to the report, the painting’s provenance offered another intriguing chapter. It is believed to have been given by Carr to her friends Nell Cozier and her husband during the 1930s. A dusty barn sale in the Hamptons is not where most people expect to encounter a significant work of Canadian art. Yet that is … Read more

A Seattle shipbuilder sold his company for a reported $3.5 million in 1906 and built an Orcas Island estate; 15 years later he donated more than 2,700 acres to Washington to create Moran State Park

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A Seattle shipbuilder sold his company for a reported $3.5 million in 1906 and built an Orcas Island estate; 15 years later he donated more than 2,700 acres to Washington to create Moran State Park

When former Seattle mayor and shipbuilding businessman Robert Moran was told by doctors in 1905 that he had only a few months to live because of a failing heart, he decided to spend his remaining time building a peaceful home on Orcas Island in the Pacific Northwest. That diagnosis turned out to be wrong. Moran … Read more