OVER 1,000 antiques were hidden in a sealed-off attic for more than 100 years and turned out to be worth thousands of dollars.
When David Whitcomb bought a building in New York to house his law firm, he didn't think too far into it.
He knew he would have to do a bit of renovating, but when he went to inspect part of a drop ceiling he discovered a literal treasure.
Where he expected to find the roof, he found another floor that held the century-old studio of photographer James Ellery Hale.
Hale had a thriving business in the 1900s through about 1920, capturing many historic moments and rare portraits of American heroes.
It was extremely surprising as Whitcomb said the building didn't look like it had an attic from the outside.
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"Oh my God, I think we found the Goonies treasure," is what he thought when he first saw the room full of goods, reports NPR.
"The amount of material up in that attic was insane. It was like going on an Easter egg hunt and opening every Easter egg as you go and you find gold."
Whitcomb found antique backdrops, equipment, gilded photo frames, and a portrait of Susan B. Anthony - which turned out to be one of the most famous photographs of the famous suffragette.
One Source Auctions initially estimated the portrait would go for as much as $200,000, but it ultimately sold for $35,990 due to some fading and dark watermarks.
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Whitcomb is still a bit shocked at the find, as no one knows how the collection got into the attic space or why it was boarded up.
GOLDEN GOOSE
Finding treasure in older houses happens more often than people would think.
Rachel Homan and her partner claimed to have found a stash of cash in the attic of their home.
The couple was filming a video as they cleaned out the attic when Rachel pointed out a storage container that was far off in the corner.
They crawled through the tight space and began rummaging around in the box, which looked to have an assortment of old clothes and papers.
But when they found a small bag with a zipper, they realized it was loaded with hundreds of dollars.
Rachel said: "Shut up, shut up, there's no way", while her boyfriend pocketed the cash.
Another lucky homeowner found a pristine comic book collection in their basement that was worth nearly $3.5 million.
Plus, see how to spot a valuable coin you may have lying around your house.
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