Vase Purchased for $3.99 at Goodwill Store Sells for $107,000 at Auction

A Virginia woman won big after a vase she bought at a local Goodwill sold for $107,000 at auction, The New York Times reported. The story echoes one from September, in which a lost painting by N.C. Wyeth purchased for $4 at a thrift store sold for $191,000 on the block.

Jessica Vincent was browsing a Goodwill in Hanover County when she came across the vase, shaped like a bottle and painted with bright swaths of color. A keen shopper who thrifts several times a week, Vincent immediately knew she had something special on her hands. She figured an “M” marked on the vase’s underside stood for Murano, the Italian island just off Venice famed for being the home of the country’s glassware empire.

“I had a sense that it might be a $1,000 or $2,000 piece,” Vincent told NYT, “but I had no clue how good it actually was until I did a little bit more research.”

She bought the vase for just $3.99, after telling herself she’d pay no more than $8.99 for the unmarked item, and went about investigating its origin. Members of several Facebook glass groups told Vincent the vase looked similar to items designed by Italian architect Carlo Scarpa. Someone recommended she contact the Wright Auction House as soon as possible.

Richard Wright, the president of the auction house, felt compelled to phone Vincent as soon as he saw the vase. “The minute I saw the photos, I had a really good feeling,” he recalled.

Scarpa’s work was auctioned off to a private collector in Europe on Wednesday, netting an eye-watering $107,000. The Wright Auction House took $23,600, while Vincent walked away with $83,500. She’ll use the money to update the antiquated heating system in the home she bought earlier this year, in addition to installing a dishwasher and property fence.

“If it had a chip—even a small chip—it would have probably sold for under $10,000,” Wright said of the item’s immaculate condition. “This was like a winning lottery ticket.”

In many ways, it was the discovery Vincent had prepared her entire life for. She told NYT that she’s thrifted since childhood, when her mother would take her shopping. Over the years, the family developed a second sense as it pertains to valuable articles. Though Vincent believes she’s previously found items worth a few thousand dollars, she’s never come across anything like the Scarpa piece.

As remarkable as it was, Vincent never had any thoughts of keeping the vase. “When I did learn how rare they are and the value that it could be, it made me sort of nervous to have it because anything could happen to it,” she explained. “I knew I wanted to get it back in the art world. They didn’t know it existed. I feel like I saved it from obscurity.”