Sunday, August 7, 2011

hidden treasure

One of the dealers along the way told us an interesting story we had never heard before.  
She asked me if I knew about tomato can ottomans. 
I guess these ottomans were made from old tin tomato cans back in the depression. 
You can see the cans if you turn the ottoman over and look at the bottom.
Back then, people were afraid to put their money in banks and they used to hide their money in the cans and make them into these ottomans.  She said she was told to always check these before she sold them.  Wouldn't that be super cool to find some old hidden money?!!  
I remember my dad telling me a story about an auction he was at and they were selling a bunch of old clothes from the basement of a house.  The auctioneers had to call off the auction because there was a bunch of money that was found hidden in the sleeves of some of the old clothes.  The family called off the auction as soon as this was discovered! 
So if you ever find one of these cuties, buy it!!  It might be worth a whole lot more than you pay for it!!
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4 comments:

  1. BECKYAugust 7, 2011 at 6:45 AM

    What a cool story! I have never heard of these! I am going to keep my eye out for one. Love the history of it!

    My 13 yo daughter and I shop at thrift stores a lot and one day, she spotted a vintage Chanel bag in the glass case at Goodwill. She had to have it! When we got it home, she brought it out to me and said , "Mom, there is stuff in here somewhere, but I can't get to it". So I took it and rummaged around until I found a small hole in the lining. I then proceed to remove an old mascara, a pen, some change, and one by one pulled out 3 $20 bills!! You should have seen the look on her face. It was priceless! We laughed and laughed. A sweet windfall for her!! Sooo...always check old purses very carefully!! :o)

    Thanks for sharing!
    Have a lovely day!
    Becky

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  2. Shabby MarilynAugust 7, 2011 at 12:55 PM

    Oh, I so wish I could be there for the that super yard sale, I have been wanting to go for YEARS! Nevada is soooo far away! Interesting about the Tomato Can ottoman, Woman have always been thrifty and I hope always will! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. AnonymousAugust 7, 2011 at 9:46 PM

    That's very cool, thanks for sharing. We only know auctioneers that joke about money being in the drawers of furniture they are selling. They are a bunch of kidders.

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  4. Crystal Rose CottageAugust 8, 2011 at 8:59 AM

    That's interesting! I have never heard of that or seen any. If I do come across one, I will know what it is.~Hugs, Patti

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