‘Surreal’: US woman’s $3.99 vase, a thrift store find, sells for $100,000

Thrifting can at times help you find literal treasures. That is exactly what happened with a US woman. She purchased a glass vase from a local Goodwill Charity shop for merely $3.99 and managed to auction it off for a whopping $100,000 after being identified as a rare and valuable piece of Italian glassware.

A windfall purchase

Jessica Vincent made the lucky find at a Goodwill thrift store in Hanover County, Virginia.Talking to the New York Times, she revealed that she was intrigued by the possibility of the vase' value. However, never did she imagine that it was such a magnificent find.

"I had a sense that it might be a $1,000 or $2,000 piece, but I had no clue how good it actually was until I did a little bit more research," she said.

Vincent said that she noticed a small 'M' on the bottom, which she suspected stood for Murano, an Italian island located near Venice, renowned for its glasswork.

The true value

Purchasing the glass vase for less than four dollars, Vincent jumped into online research. There, some enthusiasts said that they believed the vase resembled a work by the renowned Italian architect Carlo Scarpa.

Taking her curiosity further, she sent pictures of the vase to the Wright Auction House.

Richard Wright, the president of the auction house, was immediately intrigued upon seeing the photos, and the vase was officially identified as part of Scarpa's 1940s "Pennellate" series.

"The minute I saw the photos I had a really good feeling," Wright told NYT.Last week, the vase fetched an impressive $107,100 at auction, finding a new home with an unidentified private art collector in Europe.

"I don’t even know how to feel right now, honestly—it’s just very surreal. It’s kind of like winning the lottery," said Vincent, as reported by auctioneer Richard Wright's website.

(With inputs from agencies)