Vase Bought At Thrift Store Turned Out To Be Worth Over $100,000

Jessica Vincent purchased the vase at Goodwill in Virginia for $3.99, not knowing how valuable it truly is.

On December 13, an original Carlo Scarpa vase sold for $107,100, way above the initial estimate of $30,000 to $50,000.

Regular thrift shopper Jessica Vincent found the vase at a Goodwill store in Virginia and bought it for only $3.99. “I had a sense that it might be a $1,000 or $2,000 piece,” she told The New York Times. “But I had no clue how good it actually was until I did a little bit more research.”

A vase found at Goodwill turned out to be rare and worth over $100,000
Image via Wright Auction House’s website

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“People tell me I have a good eye,” she said in a phone interview with CNN. “You can put me in an aisle with a whole bunch of dollar store stuff and I can pick out the one item with a little bit of value.”

After bringing the vase home, she did some research and asked about the vase online. Members of a glass identification group on Facebook commented that Carlo Scarpa, a renowned Italian architect, could have designed it.

The vase was designed by Italian architect Carlo Scarpa
Image via Wright Auction House’s website

The members also recommended that she reach out to Wright Auction House for authentication. “The minute I saw the photos I had a really good feeling,” said the auction house’s president Richard Wright.

According to Vincent, she recognized the markings on the base of the vase indicating that it was made in Italy. Made with high-end Murano glass, the Pennellate vase features a swirling design of translucent red and opaque seafoam green glass.

The piece is made from high-end Murano glass
Image via Wright Auction House’s website

If there was even a slight chip on the vase, Wright said that the value would have dropped to below $10,000. But as luck would have it, the piece was in pristine condition when Vincent found it.

Because Goodwill processes over two million donations a year, it’s almost impossible to track down the vase’s original donor. It may forever be a mystery how the rare piece got there in the first place.

Banner image via Wright Auction House’s website.

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