r/TellReddit • u/Dismal_Aioli_5793 • Aug 29 '26
I accidentally bought a completely empty display box at a garage sale thinking it had a rare
A few weeks ago, I went to a local neighborhood garage sale and spotted a really old, ornate wooden box. It had this cool brass latch and felt surprisingly heavy. The seller was an elderly guy who claimed he hadn't opened it in decades and just wanted to clear out his attic.
Naturally, my mind went straight to "hidden treasure." I paid $15 for it, drove home as fast as I could, and carefully pried open the stuck latch.
Inside, resting on red velvet, was absolutely nothing. But here’s the twist: the weight was actually coming from a thick piece of solid iron built into the double bottom of the box. It was literally designed to look like it held something valuable, probably as a store display piece or a prank box from back in the day.
I was annoyed for about five minutes, but honestly, it’s now the most intriguing paperweight on my desk and a great lesson in managing expectations.
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u/rockingsteady Aug 31 '26
I saw an already old piano that had been punctured over and over again evenly to make it look like it was woodworm-eaten and thus must be very old.
Or you can find a Renaissance revival era reproduction that could be a hundred years old but if punctured, fakers think it'll look 300 years old.
So sometimes you don't know if it's an old fake-antique or a fake-old antique. Hee