The home once belonged to a former teacher. No one could have imagined that she would leave such an inheritance.
Treasures, treasures – it seems that all these words remained somewhere in the eighteenth century, along with pirates, legends about Robin Hood and other romance. In fact, it only seems. The treasures have not gone anywhere – you just need to look for them no longer in a dense forest deep underground, but in seemingly ordinary-looking houses. Someone stumbles upon suitcases with money, doing repairs in their own closet, someone finds a treasure in the grandmother’s freezer. But antiques dealer Alex Archibald has taken treasure hunting to the next level.
Alex Archibald, today’s treasure hunter
Alex assures that he started trading in antiquities when he was nine years old. He searches for treasures everywhere: in dumps and basements, in attics and in houses full of old junk. And his instinct usually does not fail.
“My last purchase – I bought a house that once belonged to a friend of mine, a former music teacher named Betty-Joan Rac. She was already an elderly woman. She died at the age of 76. Betty had no heirs, and the house was put up for sale. It cost me 10 thousand dollars (translated into rubles – 750 thousand rubles. – Approx.ed.) I didn’t expect to find something out of the ordinary there, I just decided to take a chance, ”says Alex.
Madame Cancer, the eccentric music teacher
Archibald met the mistress of the house by chance. She decided to sell her old Cadillac – a 1964 car had been gathering dust in the garage for several decades. Alex bought the Cadillac. Of course, he resold.
“I’ve never been to Betty’s house. She said that she was not tidied up. We met in a cafe, chatted. She was a very bright woman, always very brightly dressed, wearing a lot of jewelry and always smiling. Betty loved to travel, she went to Hawaii every year, ”Alex recalls.
A few years later, Betty passed away – she was 76 years old. And Archibald bought her house, along with all the contents, for almost nothing. After all, even in Russia you can’t buy anything for 750 thousand.
“I didn’t expect to find something like that in her house. Well, what income can a teacher have, where did she get her values? But I thought it might be a fun video for my YouTube channel. And Betty definitely had an antique grand piano, ”says Alex.
So he first came to Betty’s house – after her death. And he was shocked by what he saw inside: a hellish mess reigned there. But Betty herself always looked so well-groomed! Apparently, she was not too interested in housekeeping. In places the house was filled with rubbish to the ceiling.
“I knew Betty was eccentric. But I could not even think that she is actually a millionaire! ” – Alex began to rake the trash in the house, and it turned out that this is not trash at all. The house was filled with treasures.
As he was going through the old newspapers in the living room, several silver bars suddenly fell out. The largest of them weighed almost three kilograms. Silver dollars in perfect condition, a few wallets full of cash, handbags full of gold diamond rings – it was just Eldorado. In the closets hung designer clothes, branded bags – any fashionista would give half her life for a vintage “Louis Vuitton”. There were more than a dozen fur coats alone! The treasures were hidden in the most unexpected places – it was necessary to carefully sort through the mountains of junk that Madame Cancer scattered around the house without worrying about order.
“According to preliminary estimates, we will earn more than 400 thousand dollars for the sale of these finds. (about 30 million in rubles. – Ed.) This is my best investment, ”Alex rejoiced.
But not all of Madame Cancer’s things will go under the hammer. Her piano, for example, Archibald decided to settle in his cafe at his own antique shop. Photos of an eccentric woman, thanks to whom Alex literally got rich, he also left as a souvenir.
“She was an amazing woman, after all,” Archibald added.