It should come as no surprise that we love old homes. They’re often very unique, have lots of lovable quirks, and have a long and storied history. There are also lots of surprising things left by the previous owners that you can find among their various nooks and crannies.
Our team at Bored Panda is showcasing some of the most incredible and cool treasures folks have found while renovating or tidying up their historical properties. Scroll down for a peek at how lucky some people have been. Pssst, Pandas, don’t forget to upvote the photos that wowed you the most!
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I Found This Victorian Terracotta Tiles Underneath Layers And Layers Of Wood And Linoleum. It Was Such A Pain To Get There, But So Worth It
I Developed A 120-Year-Old Photo Found In A Time Capsule
Someone in my family told me about a possible time capsule in our old house. After investigation, I found a box dating from around 1900 and the belongings of a little girl judging by the objects found inside.
Uncovered This Beauty - We're Still Finding As Much History As We Can. We Have Found That This Pub Of Mine Was Built In At Least 1835 As A House, Before It Became A Pub In The 1870s
You definitely have a good chance of finding cool, interesting, and even valuable things hidden in any property. The larger and older it is and the more prominent the former owner, the better your chances. However, it’s no guarantee that any and every old house is going to have a hidden treasure hoard.
Luck, as well as your curiosity and patience, all play a huge role here!
I Was Doing Some Painting And Carpet Removal In Our 1920s Dutch Colonial When We Realized These Stained Glass Windows Were Underneath The Wood Paneling
I Found Louisa May Alcott's First Editions In The Century Home I Acquired. Rare Book Lottery Won
Discovered Original Tin Ceiling In Our 1920s Foursquare
If you happen to have bought an older property and you’re a fan of antique hunting, you should take the time to go through the entire home, from the lowest creaky floorboard to the highest shingle.
The most obvious places where you’ll find valuable things are the basement as well as the attic. It makes sense because these rooms are usually meant for storage.
I Was Sorting Though Some Old Bricks That Was Left Over From Our 1890s Townhouse, And Came Across This
I Found A 130-Year-Old Recipe Book While Cleaning Out My Grandma's House
Grandma was from the UK, and it contains handwritten recipes. I'm struggling to read most of them, but they get more plain in the times during the world wars.
Medical Chest I Found In My Grandfather's Attic. I Think It's From Japanese Showa Period
Meanwhile, you should also patiently go through every cupboard, drawer, and trunk within the house. You never know what unexpectedly impressive knick-knacks you’ll stumble across.
Even if you don’t find something that’s going to wow the crowds at Sotheby’s or Christie’s, you can get to know the house’s history much better. Photographs, ornaments, and journals can tell you a lot about the people who used to live there, what they did, and what happened to them.
Plate Warmer Rediator In Our 1888 Home. We Bought The House About 5 Years Ago. I've Been In And Seen Hundreds Of Historic Homes And Never Seen Anything Like It
We Found This Beautiful Old Cast Iron Furnace Vent, Original To Our 1897 Farm House
We Found This Tunnel In The Basement Of Our Rowhouse. The House Was Built Between 1850-1874
It's located in southeast Pennsylvania. Directly above the tunnel is a public sidewalk and street. If you continued down the tunnel, you would be under a cemetery established circa 1750. The house is rumored to have been part of the Underground Railroad, and the realtor alleges the tunnel is connected.
In the meantime, think outside the box, too. The furniture inside the property may be incredibly valuable due to its age, make, and materials. You might have a potential gold mine right under your nose.
Especially if the fixtures are still in a good enough state. And if you can bear to part with them, you could potentially have enough money for a proper renovation or some other project.
I Found This In The Yard Of My Old House In Agra, India
Update: My father sent a few samples to the Archaeological Survey of India in Agra, as suggested by many, so thank you. Those of you who said they are Terracotta figures, you were correct. They are Portuguese Terracotta figures from the 3rd to 4th century. I can't believe I thought these figurines were nothing of value and considered throwing them away.
A Woman From Edinburgh Discovered A 135-Year-Old Note Buried Under The Floorboards Of Her House
The Victorian time capsule was found in the exact place in the floorboards where it had been left on October 6, 1887. The Victorian-era note reads: "James Richie and John Grieve laid this floor, but they did not drink the whisky. October 6, 1887. Whoever finds this bottle may think our dust is blowing along the road."
We Find Out That Our New 1912 Foursquare House Has Hundreds Of Old Books In The Attic
There’s also a decent chance that there may be some lucrative items or jaw-dropping architectural features hidden beneath the carpets and floorboards, as well as within the walls. Though you’ll probably only uncover those if you’re knee-deep in renovating the entire place.
I Found My Great-Great-Grandfather's 1899 Certificate Of U.S. Citizenship, In Which He Renounced His Allegiance To The Emperor Of Austria
Apparently, I Slept 10 Feet Away From A 1910 Singer Sewing Machine My Entire Life Without Knowing It
My family inherited our 1920-built home from a family friend whose father built it, and when she passed away, we also got everything inside it. That was over 30 years ago, and we found lots of treasures over the years. My mom recently, dug in the eaves and found this 1910 Singer sewing machine with a cabinet. It was closed, so she always thought it was just an old table until she opened it last week. It needs a new lightbulb, and the pulley belt disintegrated, but other than that, it appears to be in good shape. For now, it's going to be a nice showpiece in my home, but one day I'll replace the parts. I just can't believe it took us 30 years to find it.
I Was Cleaning Out My Dad's Old House Today And Stumbled Upon His Amazing Spider-Man Collection. He Has Every Issue From #15 To #700
Not to mention that the house itself, if it’s truly a historical and architectural marvel, can be incredibly valuable if you keep it as it currently is, without changing its unique details. In that case, it’s more an investment than a place that you might live full-time.
However, you'll have to put in the effort to maintain the property to preserve its legacy and significance.
According to 'Antiquing for Dummies,’ you can tell whether a particular item is valuable by remembering the acronym RADAR. It stands for rarity, aesthetics, desirability, authenticity, and really great condition. So, an item that is very rare, looks pleasing to the eye, and appeals to a lot of people thanks to current trends is worth a lot. If it’s confirmed to be authentic and has also been maintained well, this only makes its value go up.
I Found Some Coins In A House I Recently Bought In Alexandria, Egypt
While Replacing A Wall In My Basement, I Found A 100-Year-Old Marriage Certificate
I Found These Stacked In A Secret Drawer Left In My 1885 House
On the flip side, if an antique is all scratched up, full of dings, chips, and cracks, its value drops.
Other things that detract from the overall worth of an item or a piece of furniture are if they’re discolored, have missing parts, or if they’ve been repaired unprofessionally. It’s nice that someone took the time to maintain an item. However, the reality is that if it’s done poorly, it really won’t help if you plan on reselling it.
The House I Grew Up In Was Being Torn Down, So I Went Up Into The Attic And Found This Between The Rafters. Label Reads: "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1765"
Have that checked. Even in poor condition they can fetch eye watering numbers.
I Found This Lamp In The Old House During Renovation
Fireplace Lottery?
I decided to take a sneak peek behind a wall that covered up one of the fireplaces on our first floor, hoping to find an exposed brick. I Didn't find it, but we came across something else. Our House was built around 1898, and we wonder if this is original to the house. I will remove the entire wall tomorrow to see what else I'm working with. I'm hoping to restore this thing to its glory.
The Lion and Unicorn Auction House stresses that valuable antiques are made from high-quality materials. It can be as simple as determining that an item’s been furnished with gold or silver instead of cheaper metals, for instance, brass or bronze.
It’s also essential to determine whether any jewels used to decorate an item are real or if they’re simply made from glass, which is far less expensive. Something that initially looks impressive might fool the untrained eye.
Found A Box In The Rafters In The Garage. Thought I Found A Safe, But I Ended Up With Even Better. Now I Have To Get A Player For These. Can't Wait To See What’s In Them
Someone at the local library might know where to take these for digital conversion
I'm Clearing Out My Recently Deceased Grandfather's Attic And Found Just Over 200 Grams Of Gold Powder
I Removed A Huge Mirror Today And Discovered My House's Original "Flavor"
Aside from the materials used, you have to pay attention to the quality of the craftsmanship. If the antique is a very notable and sought-after brand or made by a reputable manufacturer, then you’ve hit the jackpot. However, unless you’ve got lots of experience buying and selling antiques, you’ll probably need to have your haul evaluated by a professional (or two!).
Found This While Cleaning Behind The Stove Of Our Century Home
Vintage Board Games I Found In Attic Of My New House, Which Was Built In The 70s
Real Treasure
I was in the middle of a bathroom renovation in my house and found a handwritten x-marked spot on the map. It led me into the attic, and at a certain spot under the insulation, I found a little treasure chest. One of the cool things about it was this.
Which of these unexpected finds impressed you the most? What’s the coolest thing that you’ve ever found at any place you’ve lived in? Have you ever found any genuinely valuable antiques, dear Pandas? If you have some time, take a moment to share your thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of this post!
For some more surprising treasures that people came across completely by accident, feel free to scroll through Bored Panda's previous posts.
I Found Another Century Home Clean-Out Treasure. 1960s LOTR Collection
Found These In Our 107-Year-Old House. Here's Some Of My Favorites
Kitchen Wallpaper In The 1914 Home. I'm Redoing The Kitchen Pantry In My House, And I Discovered This Old Wallpaper That I Didn't Know Was There
My Parents Tore Their Floors Up And Found This Beautiful Flooring
Here Are The Contents Of A Safe I Found In My 200-Year-Old House
My House Was Built On Old Gypsy Camp From The 1890s. Last Night, I Found This Wedged Between The Cinderblocks In My Basement
In My Grandparent's Basement I Found A World Atlas From 125 Years Ago
Found These In The Basement Of An Old House. Apparently, The Bottom Two Are Kris Daggers From Indonesia. The Top One May Technically Be As Well
The Kris is an old weapon with lots of history and legend. I found out that the previous owner of the house served in Indonesia during WW2. The blades were taken from there. I'm trying to find out how old these are and their exact origins.
The top one is Keris Sipukal or straight bladed keris. The middle one has 5 luk (curves) and the last one has 9 luk (curves). The numbers of luk represent the status of its owner.
1935 Kilgore Cap Gun With Original Box And Caps That I Found In The Attic Of A 1920-Year-Old House
My brother and I didn't have a gun, so we spent countless hours of our childhood scraping these with rocks from the driveway to hear the pops.
I Found A Suitcase In My 1859-Year-Old House Wall, And This Is The Contents Of It
We're Renovating A House, And Just Found A Cache Of Blueprints Drawn By The Last Owner Under The Floorboards
Found This Under The Floor Of Our Entryway
I'm tearing up the floor of our entryway to insulate and level. Typically, folks would throw their trash under the floor when things broke, but I was lucky to find a whole plate. Our 1700s home used to be an inn and tavern, a post office, a train depot, horse and carriage storage, and a market.
According to ThePotteries.org, Anthony Shaw moved his factory to Burslem in 1857. This plate was probably made before 1882, because one of his sons joined the business in 1882 and the branding became Anthony Shaw & Son.
Found This Old Well Inside A 1700s Renovation I'm Working On In Chester
A Wall Was Removed In A Victorian House We Are Working At, Which Revealed An Old Cast Iron Fireplace. It Is Estimate To Be Around 1850
I Found A Couple Pounds Of Razor Blades In My Wall. Apparently Old Medicine Cabinets Have A Disposal Slot
Found In Grandma's Basement
Layers And Layers Of Wallpaper Found In My Kitchen (1900s)
I Found A Hot Tub And Steam Room Behind My Basement Wall
My Dad Owns A 200-Year-Old House, And Just Found An Old Bible In The Attic
Update: It was made in 1802, and I think there was a "King James" sign in it.
We Just Moved Into Our 1920s Home This Month. I Was Rolling Out A Rug And Laid Down On It After. I Looked Over, And There Was This Wand
We Live In A 1912 Colonial. We Had Carpet Covering Original Hardwoods And Finally Decided To See What We Were Working With
I Found This Sink/Basin In The Basement Of My 1860s House In Glasgow, UK
I Found A Penny From 1864 While Cleaning My Wooden Stove
I Found These Birthday Invitations Behind My Parent's Fireplace Mantel. Their Home Was Built In 1883
Renovating My 101-Year-Old House And Found This Behind The Drywall
I Found This In My Late Grandfather's House. It's Dated 1639 And Written In Cursive. Unfortunately I'm In My 20's So I Can't Read Cursive
I Found A Crystal Radio In My 100-Year-Old Attic During Renovation
I Found 150 Pieces Of Corn In My Floor. My House Is From The 1700s, So I Think It's An Old Way Of Insulation
I Just Found A Wall Of Whiskey Bottles From 1914-15. The House Was Built In 1905, So They Must Have Been Dropped Down Later
1890s Victorian London House. We Stripped One Room And Found Walls Fully Lined With Blueprints And Local Area/Architect Drawings. One Was Even Dated Back To 1935
We Were Removing A Door Casing When We Found A Love Letter From The 60s Hidden In The Wall Of Our Century Home. Perks Of Renovating An Old Home
Cardboard Cigarette Box Found Beneath The Floorboards During Renovation
I Found This In An Old House Built In 1914. The Little Gold Pins Spin If You Pull The Red Cord Through. It's A Razor Blade Sharpener Made By Siemens
Remodeling A Bathroom And I Found A Mural Of These Mermaids And Their Fish Friend
Civil War Relics I Found Around Our House. It Was A Union Hospital
The finds are from April 1865, during Lee's retreat from Petersburg. It is supposed that the G.A. Custers calvary was here on the 5th of April. I have also found evidence of campfires where I found those. Some items were found in the fields around the house, others in the English kitchen and inside the walls, like the buttons.
We Found A Scooby-Doo View-Master While Tearing Out Our Bathroom Drywall
I Found These In A Little Locket That Was Hidden Under My Grandpa's Staircase, While Renovating The House. I Wonder What Are These Symbols And Numbers
It's a Mason ring. The symbols are a compas and square, the G is for God.
I Found An Old Movie Ticket From The 1950s In The Walls Of My House
I Came Across A Stack Of 1908 Congressional Records While Installing Insulation In The Attic Of Our Old House
Just Bought My First House And Found A Hidden Safe When I Was Ripping Out The Old Carpet
Sadly, it was filled to the top with water, and I'm not sure how because there's no water damage in the house and no water leaking anywhere.
Found In My New (Old) Home. Does Anyone Know What Is This?
I have the original blueprints for the house, so I will look at them a bit closer today to see if this will be indicated on them.
Update: Blueprints do in fact indicate the radio plug!
Contractors Working In Our Basement Found A Package Of Letters Hidden In The Floorboards From The 1920s
My wife and I are trying to read through them and create a timeline. It seems like an affair, as the house owner was a married man, but these are definitely love letters. Some letters explicitly said to destroy, which he apparently disregarded. Letters were hidden on the first-floor joist, accessible only from the basement.
We Discovered A Hidden Cistern Door In The Laundry Room Floors Of Our Home, Built In 1912
We found a hidden trap door in our laundry room when replacing the flooring. The covering was at least 80 years old. The door opened up to expose concrete on top of an old cistern with two manhole covers. We only opened one, and there was still water down there. The cistern is about 8-10 feet deep and is divided into two by a brick wall.
Electrician Found This Stack Of Letters/Papers From 1924 In My Dining Room Ceiling
They’re all for a mail-in course on "How to be a rail mail carrier" and it includes lecture material, old exams, letters between the instructor and former resident, and a huge US Map. It is such a cool find.
This Old Coin I Found Underneath The Floorboards In My Grandma's House
This Business Card I Found In Our Attic Has A 4-Digit Phone Number. The House Was Built In 1890
When I was a kid, you only had to dial the last four digits of local numbers because there was only one three-digit prefix.
I Found This Old Newspaper While Cleaning Out My Basement. My House Was Built In 1915
I Just Found A Marriage Certificate From 1841 In My House In The Attic
I Found This Old Book In My Great-Grandpa's Basement. Does Someone Know What This Is?
This is the Cantional, the hymnbook. That is, a collection of popular religious or liturgical songs. In Polish.
My 105-Year-Old House Still Has The Operating Instructions For The Coal-Burning Boiler
I Found This Globe In My Old House Attic, And I Was Wondering If Anyone Could Identify The Year Of This Globe?
Made an account just to reply to this. Your globe shows "Un. Arab Rep." -- short for United Arab Republic, which existed only from 1958 to 1961.
Does Anyone Know What Kind Of Pipe Is This? I Found It In A Wall Of An 80-Year-Old Home
This Shallow Bath-Looking Thing In The Basement Of An Old House About To Be Demolished. Directly Under The Stairs In A Large Open-Carpeted Room. House Is In Canada, And It Was Built In 1960s
I would guess it’s some kind of water display/ feature… the 70’s were wild
This 113-Year-Old Tobacco Can My Dad Found In His 150-Year-Old House
When Ripping Out My Ceiling's Drywall, I Found A Report Card From 1957. A Kid Must Have Hid Up There. Someone Failed The 8th Grade
Notice there are no 'F' grades? Grades used to be A, B, C, D, E but people confused 'E' for Excellent so 'E' was changed to 'F' for failing.
I Found Some Treasure In The Wall During Renovation Of My 1856 House
What Are These Old Bottles Found In The Walls Of My House Built In The 1800s? Westchester, New York
There is a possibility that it contained nitric acid, and that would make some sense as to why there is a skull and crossbones and "poison" label.
Found These Old Cards. Anyone Know What They Are?
Possibly, It's one of those trick-taking card games where you collect sets of husband and wife or families of husband, wife, daughter, and son.
Rest of a quartett,- a childrens game where you need to find four different cards with the same symbol on the left side
This 117-Year-Old News Paper Scrap That Had Been Under The Floorboards In My Bathroom
I Found These Purple Packets On Rural Property In Victoria, Australia
It could be farming-related, but these were in the middle of my non-farming property. The family has had the land for 30 years, and this is the first we've seen them.
This is a total guess. Sometimes sheep farmers used purple dye to mark which ewes had been impregnated by the ram they bought.
I Found These In My Grandmother's House. They Are Made Of Thin Glass, And Unfortunately There Is No Box Cover Explaining What They Are
Most likely, they are for flower decorations. One singular flower goes in the tube. There's probably a stand for them somewhere around. Some people like to stick them in foam with other decorations or even into other flowerpots.
A Tarot Card Found In The Wall Of My 120-Year-Old Apartment Building
This is a tarot by artist Luigi Scapini. I have this same deck, bought it about 1990 or near to, brand new. The whole deck is gorgeous imo. I have no idea when he painted the originals but there are cards depicting his wife, baby and him included and the dress style is 1940s through to 70s onwards imo for his wife's frock. Ah, just looked it up, first edition published 1988. He would have worked for years on it though, he was born 1946. So likely 1970s, early 80s artwork.
I Found This In A House Built In The 1930s. The Colored Part Is Made Of Glass, The Handle Is Brass And Screwed Into It
The handle is sealed tight with the glass, and there's a small hole at the bottom, just about an inch deep. It would make sense if it was used as a cover, but I would imagine it to be circular, not oval-shaped.
The house I just bought was built in 1930 and needs work. I wonder what my hubby and I will find over time as we fix it up.
I Found This In The Garage Of A House I'm Remodeling, And Before You Say I'm Stealing It, I Own The House. It Looks Like Marilyn Monroe's Original Letter
We Found An Opening In The Bottom Floor Of An 1850s Home In Charleston
I Found This In My Wall Today While Renovating My Old House
I Found These Behind My 123-Year-Old Fireplace
My sister recently found a bunch of files under her bathroom floorboards related to a major bond scandal in 1922. The man who owned these files was convicted and sentenced to six years in the Kingston Pen. His daughter lived in the house. The files are from when the crime was committed and she’s trying to figure out if they are evidence he hid. She also found the side of a decorative wine crate from 1922 that she is going to clean up and hang on a wall.
All of which begs the question, why don't people clear up properly when they move out?
Reminds me of the time my mum bought a cottage/house (still in the city where we live) and found a travel trunk in the attic. We had no association with the house she'd bought, but the travel trunk belonged to her father, my grandfather. He was one of the first skydiving instructors in our country and met grandma when she made her jump in the 40s.
I walked in an old carpet sweeper when I was doing some remodeling in our previous house. Give someone something to wonder about.
My mum has loads of reel to reel voice recordings in her attic, probably recorded at Hogmanay parties when everyone had to do a turn, sing, tell a story etc. Also boxes and boxes of photo slides, literally thousands. That'll be a project.
What is a "Hogmanay" party? Is it a local thing?
Load More Replies...
When my wife and I were first married and apartment hunting, we found an old porn magazine in the attic of a place we looked at.
My sister recently found a bunch of files under her bathroom floorboards related to a major bond scandal in 1922. The man who owned these files was convicted and sentenced to six years in the Kingston Pen. His daughter lived in the house. The files are from when the crime was committed and she’s trying to figure out if they are evidence he hid. She also found the side of a decorative wine crate from 1922 that she is going to clean up and hang on a wall.
All of which begs the question, why don't people clear up properly when they move out?
Reminds me of the time my mum bought a cottage/house (still in the city where we live) and found a travel trunk in the attic. We had no association with the house she'd bought, but the travel trunk belonged to her father, my grandfather. He was one of the first skydiving instructors in our country and met grandma when she made her jump in the 40s.
I walked in an old carpet sweeper when I was doing some remodeling in our previous house. Give someone something to wonder about.
My mum has loads of reel to reel voice recordings in her attic, probably recorded at Hogmanay parties when everyone had to do a turn, sing, tell a story etc. Also boxes and boxes of photo slides, literally thousands. That'll be a project.
What is a "Hogmanay" party? Is it a local thing?
Load More Replies... When my wife and I were first married and apartment hunting, we found an old porn magazine in the attic of a place we looked at.
