Giant house filled with tons of cash and antiques!!!

[aaron7]

My girlfriend?s great grandmother passed away a couple months ago (surely for the better as well, she was quite ill.)

She lived alone in a VERY large house, and never threw anything away? ever. The house is so packed that it is hard to describe. Like, she boxed things up and put them in a room back in the 40?s, then worked her way out of the room over the years, into the hallway, down the stairs? etc. It is PACKED!

So far we have found several thousands of dollars, and we have only been in her bedroom! No where else! Seems like in every garment in her closet there were bills. Boxes and canisters of coins are everywhere (approx 20lbs of wheaties and lots of silver already!). Unopened toys from the 60?s and 70?s (dolls, Disney stuff, etc)

I have dreamed of something like this since I was little, and now I have a part in it!

Some of the neatest things so far are:

Sears .22 bolt action rifle
VERY sharp sword with sheath
Tons of wheaties
Lots of silver
Lots of 1930-1950?s foreign coins
Unopend toys (Dawn dolls, Disney yo-yos, space things)

I also found an empty box for one of those wall safes that looks like an outlet, so now I have to check every outlet for things!!

She stashed money everywhere, and she was very wealthy (large inheritances, played in stocks). In fact, her safety deposit box alone yielded bonds for my girlfriend?s dad ($1000 bonds dated from his birth in the 50?s!) and almost $40,000 in cash!

So, I?ll keep everyone posted, I?ll take pictures, and I also would like some advice on where to look (aside from the obvious) for hiding places! This is a very old house (1800?s) and also has a garage (packed to the hilt!)

[Marc]

EBay!

(...unless you want me to set up an auction site here at TreasureNet! I might be willing to do that - since it sounds like you would have a lot of stuff to help kick start it! )

Sounds like fun!

(sorry to hear about your girlfriend's great grandmother though )

[aaron7]

haha yes, ebay will probably be the way!

[bergie]

Don't forget to metal detect every inch of her property!

[aaron7]

Wish I could, but I have no detector! If this were my money, I would easily be able to buy one, but it is my g/f's familys $$!

[Gypsy Heart]

Whatever you do , dont throw anything out. There are collectors for everything! Go through absolutely everything ,including the canned goods in the cupboards,laundry detergent bottles everything. People hide money everywhere,including the freezer,shoes buckets etc. My grandma taped bills to the back of pictures and stored coins in paint cans?If she had one safety deposit box,then she probally had another. Older people wont keep everything in one place, including banks. Make detailed lists of what you have...then you could let several top antique dealers/book and gun dealers know ?and let them duke it out over the prices, if you dont go to ebay.....Good Luck

Many older homes had hidden passages that were boarded up...pantries under stairwells or a servants stairway,cupolas.A stair tread that lifts or false ceiling in closet(usually lifts up) . I have seen backs of closets where there is a panel and actually extends four to five feet further back. I lived in a home where there was a hidden panel three foot tall (it slid sideways) in the dining room ,that just went into a tiny room behind fireplace....

[aaron7]

Wow! All sorts of things to think about! I've found GLASS Windex bottles! 1950's tissues! About 20 unused tubes of toothpaste, expiring from the 80s till still good! She not only kept everything, but seemed like she was stocking up for the end of the World!

Even metal cap Pepsi bottles!

[Gypsy Heart]

What city is this home located in? Would love to see the pics. Also remember to look in the furniture, false drawers, knobs that screw off the bed frames,etc. Look inside sewing machines,pianos,etc. Women tend to think a little different when hiding things. They wont hide money in something they think a man would rob,....like a tool box for example.

[Kentucky Kache]

1st thing to do is MARRY THE GIRLFRIEND! Then...

[Aufinder01]

I've been involved in clearing away the stuff from total pack-rats before. Things that you wouldn't suspect are hoarded like it was more valued than gold.

Places; Floor vents,between walls, inside radios, inside piano, inside books and magazines. Things that got painted over to look as if it hadn't been messed with. One old guy had a slot hole in a wall in the bedroom that he'd stick his coins and bills in. Loose floor boards,wall boards, Hidden dead spaces inside,around stairs,doorways. Does it have a basement? Check with detector and dont get a cheap one!Dont have 1? Wish I was in your area!

Around fireplace, check for loose bricks/stones. I've pulled a tabacco tin out from a wall outlet that was hook'd to a long wire that had $1500, so yes Its the Thrill of the Hunt! Check those cans!Lots of things can be made with fake bottoms. Tape or glued back together items, things that will come apart. Inside dolls,toys. If their sealed in the package they're worthy of a dealer in these types of toys looking at them.
Some people would buy jewelry to keep instead of cash. Check it with a Jeweler.

One place was a 4 bedroom house that was little paths from front door to kitchen to bedroom to bath, everything else was stacked floor to ceiling with everything. Some of it boxed but mostly just trash. Get a roll-off dumpster, but not everything should go in it. Lots of little bits that are worth big $'s used to be worth only a boxtop! Some of this will get the yardsale, which is THE worst way to dispose of anything. Only sell here what didn't sell on Ebay.

Keep a log of what and where you find something, places that were used, get used again.

Aufinder01
Type at me for advise,or for other places if these work.

[newtocoinhunting]

Here's some ideas of hiding places (pasted from another site):

1. Bulk dry goods such as jars of rice and flour can hide small valuables and be kept out of the way on the back shelf.
2. Condiment containers, such as mustard and mayonnaise jars in your refrigerator, can also hold small items.
3. Aspirin or brown pill bottles inside the medicine cabinet can be a good bet.
4. Packages of frozen vegetables can be thawed, and refrozen with items inside them.
5. Tennis balls with a small slit in them will return to their original shape. Squeeze the ball to open and stuff, then scatter it among others at the back of a closet.
6. Vacuum cleaner bags can hide baggies with valuables inside them.
7. Stuffed animals can be cut open (gently, and not around young children) and used as unlikely containers. Cut along a seam, stuff and re-sew Teddy before returning him to his friends.
8. Ceiling light fixtures can be unscrewed, and small valuables may be placed within the electrical box underneath.
9. Composite "rocks" that have latchable, enclosed spaces within are available through mail-order catalogs. They can be placed outside in the garden.
10. Book safe: glue most of the pages of an old, uninteresting hardcover book together. Use a coping saw to cut a hollow area out of the middle. Drill starter holes for the saw. Then glue the box made with the pages to the back cover and let dry thoroughly. Stash on your bookshelf among other books.
11. Steps and flooring have natural hollow spaces underneath. Carpentry skills are required to effectively create a seamless surface that escapes detection
12. Hollow core doors can have sections cut out of the hinge edge to give access to the space within the door. Use the cutout piece as a plug
13. The tops of poster beds unscrew. Hollow spaces can be drilled out in the posts themselves.
14. Coffee cans/jars buried in the yard/garden.

For some pictures of common item safes (outlet safe etc.): http://www.info-anyone.com/Diversion%20Safes.htm

[aaron7]

Here are some pictures!! I will post some of these things in the "what is it" category too.

Picture 1: Some of the wheaties (all non-wheaties have been pulled out)
Picture 2: Lots of Mercury dimes and silver Roosevelt dimes
Picture 3: Silver quarters, nickels, a much damaged Peace dollar, and Eisenhower dollar, steel pennies, etc
Picture 4: Can you say silver certificates? All of these bills are 1957 and OLDER
Picture 5: Minty silver certificate
Picture 6: 1928 $2 bill
Picture 7: Sears .22 rifle
Picture 8: Seemingly a Japanese WWII sword, definately used
Picture 9: A WWII Japanese parade sword
Picture 10: Close up of sword in Pic 8
Picture 11: Old Band-Aid boxes

[bigticket]

Remember not to touch the surfaces of coins.

[bigticket]

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[EDDE]

that samurai sword is the real deal,!thats stingray skin under the leather wrapping,also the royal kersanthimun* seal(?)..wow i dream of a house like this!!!

[aaron7]

READ THE BEEKROCK THREAD!?

Did I do something wrong?

that samurai sword is the real deal,!thats stingray skin under the leather wrapping,also the royal kersanthimun* seal(?)..wow i dream of a house like this!!!

Please tell me more!

[ZumbroKid]

Hope no one doubts the poster here. This is an interesting story, thanks for posting it.

[aaron7]

That's why I posted pictures! My girlfriend's dad said he just found some pistols and lots of fur coats... I'll get pictures soon as I can!

Also, I looked up that first sword... it is indeed a WWII Japanese sword, and they sure are going for a bunch on ebay!! The other sword is for parades in Japan, but is also WWII vintage.

[davidtn]

Aaron,

The reference to the "Beekrock" story is a long posting about a fellow who inherited a house full of trash and mysteries. He was somewhat mysterious about the things he supposedly "found" and then one day he just stopped posting. Many readers felt like they were lead along and then duped. Your story has no relativity to that story though. I (and we) appreciate your posts and can't wait to see more pictures. Quite unusual to say the least. Hopefully you'll be able to use someone's detector to hunt walls, fireplace (if one) and the yards.

Keep us posted and good luck!

David

[Weazel]

the beakrock story has alot of good advice for where to look in old houses. I would recomend the read for the educational aspect of where to look in the house.