One rookie mistake cost me thousands after discovering rare item worth £140,000 stuffed into the wall of my new home
A DAD had hit the jackpot after finding a rare item stuffed in the wall of his home, but his rookie mistake ended up costing him thousands.
David Gonzalez discovered a comic collector's dream worth more than 15 times the property he had just purchased.
The 44-year-old happened to stumble across a 1938 Action Comics #1 edition with its cover splashed with a brand-new hero called Superman.
It was found among old newspapers in the ceiling insulation of his home in the small western Minnesota town of Hoffman.
“I knew it was worth money,” David told Star Tribune back in 2013.
And the dad-of-four couldn't be more right, as the vintage comic was sold for a whopping £138,000 [$175,000].
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The lucky buyer was a “hardcore, golden age comic book collector,” said Stephen Fishler, CEO of online auction house Comic Connect.
Steven estimated there are only around 100 known copies of Action Comics No. 1.
He said it is valuable not just because it is rare, but also because Superman served as the model for all future comic book superheroes.
But little did David know that one little mistake would cost him almost half of his fortune.
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Vintage comic comics may fetch astronomical amounts of money, with a near-pristine edition of that specific comic going for millions.
One ranking 8.5/10 on the scale raked in $3.25 million [£2.55 million] in April 2021, reports.
But the 44-year-old construction worker was so thrilled about his find that he accidentally tore the cover.
As a result, experts downgraded the ultra-rare comic all the way to just 1.5 on the scale instead of its potential score of 3.
“That was a $75,000 tear,” Stephen revealed to David.
But the dad said he wasn't too bothered about ripping the cover.
";I am a humble working guy, so I didn’t get too excited when I found it with old newspapers stuffed in the walls,” he said.
It comes after a lucky grandson was left in shock after his grandmother left him a mint condition Beanie Baby collection that could change his life.
A TikTok video showed the moment the man reveals two rare teddies that were worth tens of thousands online.
The man said his grandma had first edition toys, and explained that one way to tell is by checking the label for a specific code of letters.
The excited grandson then opens his laptop and reveals the incredible amount of money he could get by selling the two rare Beanie Babies.
He starts off by showing a 1996 pelican plushy toy, which was being sold for an incredible £33,000 on retailers like Etsy.
But nothing compared to a little purple teddy with a white flower embroidered on it - which can be sold to up to a whopping £500,000.
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The Princess Bear was a special 1997 edition dedicated to the late Princess Diana.
"If you're a Beanie Baby fan then you know that this is the first edition Princess Bear. Check this out," the man shows before revealing the $665,000 Ebay price tag on his computer screen.