20 Coolest Things People Found In The Thrift Store

Secondhand stores are treasure troves of unique and exciting items just waiting to be discovered. From one-of-a-kind vintage clothing to rare antiques, there’s something for everyone at a secondhand store. And with prices often a fraction of what you would pay for new items, secondhand shopping is a great way to save money and find truly unique pieces.

A user asked, What’s the coolest thing you’ve found in an antique/thrift/secondhand store?

Here are some exciting things

A Coat With Money In It

“My grandma bought a coat for £2 from a charity shop. The first time she wore it she found £5 in the pocket.”

Drugs Inside a Sub Woofer

“I bought a subwoofer and a box with it to restore it, and when I started taking it apart, a bunch of drugs fell out that was taped to the top of it”

Stamps From 40’s

“Back in 1978, I visited a secondhand store in Chehalis with my parents while we waited to meet someone next door. The topic of stamp collecting came up with the owner, and he pulled out a full-sized paper grocery bag full of stamps and said we could have the whole bag for $10. My dad bought it. I had just started stamp collecting, and these were enough stamps to keep us busy for years.

As it turns out the whole bag was from the 40s-60s, all eastern European, Russian, and nazi stamps, and clearly from another collector with lots of special issue plates, special commemorative issues, and stamps from countries that no longer exist too. I still have the albums we arranged and Scott cataloged them in.”

Loui Vuitton Duffle Bag

“A louis vuitton duffle bag that i bought for 8€, I was very sure it was fake but said its ok. Turns out, it was, real, and I rocked it as my hand luggage for the plane for the two years i had it. Sold it for 400€ a few months ago!”

Original Musket Parts

“I found a box full of musket parts for $30 last year at a local antique store. Got home and pieced it together, and it’s an original 1860’s 3 ban 1853 Enfield musket.

Despite the stock being in a horrible condition, the fact that it’s original and not a reproduction makes it worth far more than $30.”

First Edition of “For Whom The Bell Toll”

“First Edition “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Hemingway for $20.”

A Bottle of Poison

“A bottle of poison from the earlier 1900s. It was supposed to be used to put you to sleep, but the ingredients on it were ridiculous. I never took the cap off, but it was a cute decoration !”

Authentic Baseball Cap

“Not me, but my husband found an authentic baseball cap from the USS Enterprise, a decommissioned naval ship built in the late 1950s/early 196s.

He’d been reading about it in some books, and he couldn’t believe it. It sits proudly displayed in one of our bookcases now.”

Hermes Orylag Overcoat

“I picked a random overcoat off the rack because I like the look of it. Fit me perfectly, the material was fantastic. Look at the label: Hermes orylag/cashgora $50. Worth $5000. I turned to the clerk and said, “Let me guess, no men come in here?”

Cornelliani Tux

“I got a $1000 Cornelliani tuxedo for $9. I now can afford to dress like James Bond any time I damn, please. (I know I know, his are British not Italian…)”

Working PS4

“A fully working ps4 that was labeled as broken, and I wanted to see if I could get it to work.”

Old Maps

“An old map of my town.

Not valuable or anything & the £1.50 I paid is probably three times it’s worth. But it’s in decent nick for a map 120 years old, and I’m a bit of a cartophile, so think it’s as cool.”

CD Autographed by Metallica

“I found a CD autographed by all of Metallica. After I bought it, I confirmed all of the signatures were legit. Pretty amazing find.”

Vintage Singer

“I found a vintage Singer sewing machine that was in great condition (just missing the belt from the motor to the machine, which cost me $5 to replace). I paid $10 for the cabinet+machine. I mainly just wanted the machine, and it was a steal to get it that cheap!”

Crystal Decanter

“I once bought an Irish Crystal Decanter for $3 at a yard sale. Resold it on eBay for $120 a week later. Noice”

Old Grandfather’s Clock

“I once found an old grandfathers clock in a antique shop on vacation. My parents always wanted one of those. We ended up bringing it home and we bought it for 60 euros. When we got home (we bought it on the last day) we checked its worth on the internet.

We found out that our clock was worth not 60 euros but 600 EUROS. So guess what happened, the guy at the cash register misread the price he put on it. So thats how we got a discount of 540 euros.”

Table Lamp

“An original Bradley & Hubbard table lamp with slag glass (the shade is signed). I got it at a secondhand store for $10.00 and it’s worth over $1,600. Whoever priced it had no idea of its value.”

Golf Bag

Sterling Silver