This Man Bought A Used Dresser For $100 And Got More Than He Expected
Emil Knodell is a man who enjoys finding unique odds and ends at flea markets, yard sales, and thrift stores. Items that were previously owned have a sense of history to them. They tell a story. Also, vintage items are usually stronger and higher quality than most furniture made today. There's a certain thrill that comes from finding the perfect item at a garage sale. One day, Emil went to an estate sale in Missouri City, Texas. He found an item that he thought would look amazing in his home.
When he opened it up, though, he found something even more exciting inside.
The Beauty Of Estate Sales
An estate sale is sort of like a garage sale, only it normally happens after somebody passes away. The deceased person's family holds an estate sale to sell off any belonging that they don't want to keep for themselves. These estate sales are usually put together in a hurry, and the family often doesn't have a good idea of what all of the pieces are worth, so you can usually get some good deals.
Emil Knodell is a 67-year-old retired marketing director. One day, he went to an estate sale in Missouri City, Texas hoping to find a good bargain.
Emil Wasn't Looking For Anything In Particular
Emil went to this estate sale with an open mind. He wasn't looking for any specific object, but he thought that a piece of furniture might catch his eye. This particular sale was run by a company called Premier Estates Sales Network that specializes in evaluating and selling pre-owned items.
Emil said, "I always come to a sale with an open mind because you never know." That's definitely the right attitude for any kind of antique shopping.
A Wooden Dresser Caught His Eye
Knodell looked at several pieces of furniture and a few smaller items until he saw a wooden dresser that grabbed his attention. It wasn't a flashy dresser. It was made out of dark wood and it had three drawers and a marble top. Apparently, this dresser was made in 1890.
The price tag on the dresser said that the family was selling it for $300, but Knodell was able to negotiate with the company that put on the sale. In the end, he only paid $100 for the piece of furniture. He couldn't believe his luck.
Quite A Heavy Piece Of Furniture To Move
It soon became clear to Emil how he was able to get the dresser for such a low price. This thing was heavy. If it didn't sell at the estate sale, the company would have probably had to pay somebody to move it off the property. It took two grown men to get the dresser into Emil's truck. A staff member for Premiere Estate Sales Network, Jeff Allen, helped Emil with the heavy lifting.
As the two men were lifting the dresser, they noticed something unusual about it.
Noises From Inside The Drawers
Jeff and Emil both noticed that it sounded like things were moving around inside the dresser. This was especially strange because the dresser appeared to be empty.
Jeff said, “As soon as we laid it down, it started making all this racket on the inside. Obviously we were very intrigued with what was happening with the dresser.” Who wouldn't be interested in what was behind all of that noise? There was more to this dresser than what Emil originally thought.
Investigating All Three Drawers
Jeff and Emil started opening all of the drawers to see if there was something inside the dresser that was rolling around and making noise. Each time they opened a drawer, they became even more puzzled. The dresser was indeed empty— or so it appeared.
The two men decided to turn the dresser upside down to really figure out what was going on. The flipped the dresser over and laid it on its back. What they saw took both of them by surprise.
A Secret Bottom Drawer
Once Jeff and Emil turned over the dresser, things started to make some more sense. The dresser was clearly old, but it was also holding onto a few secrets. Once the dresser was on its side, the men could see that it actually had a secret compartment.
"When you look at the front of it, it looks like it has three obvious drawers with molding on the base," explained Knodell. “But the bottom has a secret drawer that opens up.”
How Could The Secret Drawer Go Unnoticed?
By the time Emil bought the wooden dresser, it had already been inspected by the deceased's family, an appraiser, and the professionals from Premiere Estate Sales Network. All of those people completely missed the secret drawer. Obviously, this was a well-hidden secret.
You wouldn't even suspect that there was a secret compartment in this dresser unless tried to pick it up and heard items rolling around in it. Emil was curious to see what was hiding inside of the fourth drawer.
Four Drawers For The Price Of Three
This dresser was designed with security in mind. That fourth drawer was supposed to be a place where people could store things that they didn't want easily found. If Jeff and Emil hadn't tried to lift the dresser, whatever was inside that fourth drawer might have stayed hidden forever.
Emil was excited to be getting a four-drawer dresser for the price of three drawers, but what was inside that fourth drawer would prove to be even more valuable.
Opening The Secret Drawer
When Emil talked about opening that fourth drawer he said, "It was a real adrenaline rush. [Jeff and I] were in shock for a second.” We would probably be in shock too if we found a secret drawer full of treasures. As soon as the men opened the drawer, they saw that it was full of shiny objects.
Emil couldn't believe that nobody knew that this dresser was holding onto some old, and potentially very valuable objects.
A Treasure Trove...But How Much Was It Worth?
So just what was in this almost-magical dresser drawer? We finally find out: it was full of some serious treasure, in the form of jewels, money, and old personal mementos! Allen and Knodell had found a slice of history in that dresser. Paper currency from around the world, Civil War military medals, dog tags, and even a nicely-preserved lock of hair were hiding in the drawer.
There was even more, though: valuable jewelry like rings and bracelets, and loose gems including emeralds and diamonds. Who would ever have guessed that all this stuff would be in a wooden dresser marked down to $100?
A Whole Bunch Of Antiques
It was quickly becoming clear that the estimate of 1890 on Knodell's new purchase was probably pretty accurate. And if that was legitimately the case, there would probably be plenty of collectors who would like to get their hands on the historic treasure inside it.
Collectors who would probably be willing to pay a pretty penny to own the hidden relics. It was time to request a professional's opinion in order to get to the bottom of this mystery.
He Needed A Professional Opinion
Luckily for Knodell, his new friend Jeff Allen was one of the professionals working for Premiere Estate Sales Network. He gave the newly-discovered treasure a closer look to determine the worth of both the dresser and all the loot it contained.
Allen's professional opinion was that the dresser and its contents were worth a combined $15,000! All this for the mere $100 that Knodell had initially spent on it. This means that he got 150 times his money’s worth on his purchase.
One Item Made Him Regret The Entire Discovery
As with many "too good to be true" stories, this one also ended up having a twist. Here's the problem: none of the items in the treasure lode were technically included in the sale since no one knew that they were even there.
Knodell bought the dresser fair and square so he was the legal owner of all the things he found inside. Some people might just think “hey, I’m $15,000 richer!” and be done with it. But Jeff wasn’t sure if keeping the items was really the right thing to do.
The Right Thing To Do
Could Emil Knodell bring himself to have a "finders, keepers" attitude about the things he found in the dresser he'd just snagged for only $100? As we said earlier, some people would not hesitate to sell the treasure and pocket the profit.
But Knodell just didn’t feel too comfortable with that course of action. So he did what he thought was the proper thing to do. We're about to learn what his thought process was as he made the decision about what to do next.
Emil's Clear Conscience
Emil Knodell's gut instincts to do the right thing and return the valuables paid off for him. Not financially, as he legally could have claimed the $15,000 for himself and used it to bolster his retirement savings.
But that move wouldn't have sat well with the former Marine. He returned every single item to the family of the deceased. Knowing that he had done the "proper" thing was peace of mind to Knodell, worth more than the money would have.
A Clear Moral Compass
In an interview after the fact, Knodell explained how he was feeling after he learned that the dresser and all the valuable things inside were worth a whopping $15,000.
"I bought the chest [of] drawers. I didn't buy those things," he said. "If I kept them, I would never feel right about it. There would be a cloud over the whole thing. It’s a feeling more than anything else.” Knodell's strong sense of 'right' and 'wrong' helped him make a decision he was comfortable with.
Searching For The Family
It turns out that part of Knodell's history guided him in his decision. "I'm an old ex-Marine, and I try to do the right thing," he explained. Jeff Allen had the exact same gut instinct as Knodell: "'let’s call the owner.’ There was never a question of anyone keeping it. It was ‘this is fantastic. Let’s call the owner and get the stuff back to them.'”
So that's exactly what the two men set out to do. But that required figuring out who the owners were first...
Learning About The Past
It turns out that locating the owner of the surprise treasure trove was not as difficult as you might expect. In fact, the son of the deceased (who had owned the dresser) was the executor of the estate. And fortunately, he remembered seeing the dresser in his grandparents home in Michigan in the past.
Of course, the dresser's valuable contents were a huge shock to him. He had absolutely no idea that any of that stuff even existed.
The Family Was Thankful
It's always refreshing to hear a story of someone who does the right thing even at personal cost. Emil Knodell could easily have pocketed the large sum of $15,000 if he had wanted to. But his moral convictions led him to track down the family who he felt were the rightful owners.
That family is probably grateful beyond words to have their loved one's treasure back, even though they didn't even know it existed. We hope they gave Emil Knodell a sincere thank you for his honesty! And we certainly hope he continues to find great bargains at estate sales.
A Rare Find In An Ordinary Kitchen
A couple in Phoenix, Arizona purchased a fixer-upper back in 2013 and finally got around to renovating the kitchen two years later. When they took out the kitchen island, they found the door to a safe. Remembering that a combo was etched into one of their medicine cabinets, they eventually got the safe open.
Inside, they found a 1960 bottle of bourbon and $51,080 in cash! They also found a book, A Guide for the Perplexed by E.F. Schumacher that had clues for a treasure hunt. Though they were left with more questions, they certainly had succeeded in finding the treasure!
Posters Buried In The Floor
Blair Pitre was renovating a home he'd just moved into in Alberta, Canada, when he happened to find Old Hollywood relics hidden in the roof and floorboard of the home. Pitre found about 40 vintage film posters that date back to the '20s and '30s.
His house was built in 1912 and reports indicate that the home's previous owner also owned the local movie house. The original posters feature the likes of Greta Garbo, Gary Cooper, and Buster Keaton, to name a few. The posters were auctioned off and earned Pitre around $50,000. He used the proceeds to complete his home renovations.
A Literal Goldmine
A Frenchman in Normandy inherited more than just a house from his deceased relative. Hidden away under furniture, old piles of linen, and even inside the bathroom was over 200 pounds in gold.
Auctioneer Nicolas Fierfort told AFP in 2016, "There were 5,000 gold pieces, two bars of 12 kilos and 37 ingots of 1 kilo." The man himself had failed to find all this gold before he sold the house to a new owner, who was the one to discover the treasure. All of the gold was bought in the '50s and '60s and was estimated to be worth around $3.7 million.
A Rare McCartney Record Found At Last
British pop star Cilla Black had a top-ten hit in 1964 called "It's for You," which was specially written for her by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. McCartney was known to have recorded a version on acetate and sent it to Black, but since then the record has forever been lost.
After Black passed in 2015, her relatives were cleaning up her house when they happened upon an envelope with "It's For You" written on it. Assuming it was a recording of her hit record, they were surprised when it was actually McCartney singing. The recording was auctioned at $22,306.
Money Tucked Into The Walls
A 35-year-old man found roughly $45,000 hidden in his basement. The master DIY-er recounted his findings on Imgur, sharing that the money was found in two little boxes that were hidden in the ceiling of the basement.
The man's home was built in the '40s and he'd already renovated the top two floors before getting to the basement. Along with the money was a Cleveland newspaper dating back to the '50s. The bills were pretty
Holding Onto His Treasures
When Thomas Schultz purchased a small cottage in Bellport Village, New York, there was something quite special waiting for him in the garage. Thousands of paintings, drawings, and journals were left behind and all belonged to one man, Arthur Pinajian.
Pinajian's relatives told Schultz to just toss it all in the dumpster, but that didn't sit right with him. "I didn't want to be the person responsible for throwing a man's life's work into a dumpster," Schultz said in 2013. The abstract impressionist's work was appraised at $30 million. Some pieces sold for $500,000, while others went up in Manhattan's Fuller Building.
Finding An Authentic Norman Rockwell
"Henry" cartoonist Don Trachte passed away in 2005. The following year, his sons Don Jr. and Dave were cleaning up and inspecting their father's home when they noticed a strange gap in the wood-paneled wall. They pried open the gap to reveal an original Norman Rockwell painting.
Trachte and Rockwell were actually good friends and neighbors, which is why Trachte was in possession of an original copy of "Breaking Home Ties." The sons speculated that he painted a copy of the painting for display and hid the original behind the wall to prevent his ex-wife from taking it in their divorce. It later sold for $15.4 million at a Sotheby's auction.
Comics Are Worth A Fortune
Michael Rorrer was tasked with cleaning out his great-aunt's house in Virginia after her passing in 2015. Deep within a basement closet was a neat stack of old comic books that belonged to his great-uncle.
It wasn't until later that a co-worker mentioned how cool it'd be if the stack
Digging Up Gold In The Garden
A couple in Roanne, France bought a house and garden in 2002. While working in the garden, they happened to strike gold. In 2009, they found six gold bars and they found 22 more in 2013. Though they alerted the police of their findings, they quietly sold the bars and pocketed the money.
This caused the bank to start an investigation, news of which prompted the original owners of the house to sue. The gold was worth over $900,000, but unfortunately, the couple lost the case. They were ordered to return the remaining gold bars to the original owners and reimburse them for what was sold.
Returning Stolen Goods
Matthew Emanuel and his wife of Staten Island were merely undertaking a landscaping project in 2018 when the company they hired dug up a metal box. It turned out to be a huge safe that when opened up, revealed itself to be carrying jewelry and cash.
The cash was dirtied and fragile, but what they could salvage totaled to $16,300. They found a neighboring address listed on the contents of the safe, so Emanuel went to the neighbor and asked if they'd been robbed. It turned out that they were robbed in 2011, but thought the safe had been lost forever.
A Real Van Gough Found In An Attic
In 2013, Vincent Van Gogh's legacy was revived when a previously unknown painting was confirmed to be one of his originals. The landscape titled "Sunset at Montmajour" was described in great detail by Van Gogh in a letter to his brother, but it never saw the light of day for over a century.
Norwegian industrialist Christian Nicolai Mustad bought the painting in 1908, but when he was told it was probably fake, he banished it to his attic. In the 21st century, Mustad's descendants found the painting in the attic and researchers at the Van Gogh Museum confirmed its authenticity. It was valued at $50 million.
A Violin From The Titanic
In 2006, the son of an amateur musician was cleaning her house after her death. He happened to find a violin that was passively given to his mother by her violin teacher, but it turned out that the violin belonged to bandmaster Wallace Hartley, who famously played "Nearer, My God, To Thee" as the Titanic was sinking.
The violin was verified to be authentic and is believed to be the exact violin that Hartley was playing in his last moments. Though it was rendered unplayable due to saltwater damage, the violin was auctioned off at more than $1.7 million in 2013.
Real Gold Coins Found In London
Residents of Hackney in east London were digging a hole on their property to build a frog pond. Three weeks into the project they dug up a jar filled with 80 gold coins, which turned out to be U.S. Double-Eagle gold coins valued at $20 a piece.
The coins belonged to Martin Sulzbacher, a German banker whose family went to London during WWII. Martin's brother buried the coins on their property just before they were killed by a bomb. When the jar was found in 2007, they found Martin's son Max, who sold the coins in an auction for over $100,000.
A Set Of Baseball Cards From 1910
In 2012, 51-year-old Karl Kissner was rummaging his grandfather's attic in Defiance, Ohio when he chanced upon a jackpot find for an avid baseball find. Kissner found almost 700 vintage baseball cards in near-mint condition, including cards for legends such as Cy Young and Ty Cobb.
Included in the find were cards part of a 30-payer set that came with caramel candy back in 1910. The cards were auctioned off in small groups over time. The first group of cards, which contained 37 of the best cards, sold for over $500,000 in 2012.
Vintage Cars Are All The Rage
In 2009, relatives of orthopedic surgeon Dr. Harold Carr inherited the contents of his locked up garage in Newcastle, England. They were surprised to learn that that inheritance included a rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante – only 17 of which were made.
The Bugatti sat in the garage unused since 1960 and despite the wear of time, was pretty much
Keith Haring Painted On The Walls
Architect Todd Ernst was on the renovation team for an 8,000 square foot apartment in New York's Tribeca neighborhood in 2010. To their surprise, they discovered that the apartment's original walls were plastered with an original mural by Keith Haring.
The mural was found in the historic American Threat Building, which in the past would frequently host exhibitions with the School of Visual Arts where Haring was a student. The warehouse has since been converted into condos. The painting couldn't be removed, since its on a concrete wall and as a result, the 10-room loft has pre-war and contemporary elements throughout. In 2016, its asking price was around $14 million.
An Original Caravaggio In A Leaky Roof
A family in Toulouse, in the southwest of France, had a leaky roof. The repairs brought them into their attic, where they found a long-lost painting that they believed to be an original Caravaggio. The well-preserved painting was a depiction of Judith Beheading Holofernes, thought to be painted by the famed Baroque master in the
When the family brought the painting to the attention of historians, there was debate over the painting's authenticity. Art expert Eric Turquin argued that the truth may never be established. Regardless, the painting went on display and is thought to be worth almost $141 million if it is real.
Millions Of Dollars In The Ground
A couple in Northern California were walking their dog on their property one day in 2013 when they noticed a metal can sticking out of the ground. They decided to dig it
In all, they dug up $27,460 in twenty-dollar coins, $500 in ten-dollar coins, and $20 in five-dollar coins that dated back to the late 19th century. While the face value of all 1,427 coins amounted to $27,980, their value today is worth more than $10 million.
Superman Is Super Valuable
In his decade of contracting work, David Gonzales has never found anything in the walls that he demolished. That is, until 2013, when a home he was remodeling in Elbow Lake, Minnesota revealed a rare 1938 copy of Action Comics #1.
The comic was found with
A House That Became A Museum
Miriam and Theo
He funded a massive excavation project and it took eight months before they finally found what they were looking for. They found a handful of ancient artifacts, but the real find was a 2,600-year-old burial chamber dated to the 500's BCE. The findings were priceless, so
