A Redditor struck gold in their latest thrift haul after stumbling on a collectible gold coin pendant.
Taking to the r/ThriftStoreHauls subreddit, the Redditor shared a photo of their "white whale" find — which appears to be an 1885 Liberty Head $5 gold coin set into a pendant ornamented with blue gemstones.
The coin alone could fetch its new owner a tidy sum. In circulated condition, this 1885 gold coin could be worth as much as $660. In uncirculated condition, that value might be as high as $15,000, according to one pricing guide.
Several Redditors commented on the thrifter's "Midas touch." The poster found this high-value trinket for just $2 and has since attached it to a 14-karat gold chain that they found on the ground.
"This is one of my favorite finds ever, and it's always been a dream of mine to have a real gold coin necklace," they wrote in a comment.
While this Redditor has no intention to sell their new pendant, their discovery is a good example of the money-making trinkets that patient and eagle-eyed thrifters can find.
A report from the Canadian online platform Kijiji found that the average shopper could save $723 Canadian (about $540 U.S.) and earn $961 Canadian (about $715 U.S.) in a year through secondhand shopping and selling.
That helps to explain why thrifting is rapidly gaining currency all over the world. According to ThredUp, the global secondhand shopping market is projected to grow by 127% by 2026.
But it's not the only reason. In 2019, Kijiji found that secondhand shoppers were increasingly motivated by the ecological benefits of thrifting.
For one thing, thrifting can reduce how much waste we throw in the trash. In 2018, the U.S. sent about 146 million tons of municipal solid waste to landfills, which was up from about 140 million tons in 2000.
The amount of waste produced continues to rise each year, and recycling and reusing old items could help to bring this down.
Thrifting also lessens the environmental impact of manufacturing new products. Sonali Diddi, a design and textile researcher at Colorado State University, told Scientific American that "extending the average life of clothes by just three months of active use per item would lead to a 5 to 10% reduction in each [item's] carbon, water, and waste footprints."
But for some thrifters, it's all about the rush of finding hidden treasure, like this rare vintage coin.
"Wowsa jackpot," one Redditor commented.
Another user agreed: "Gorgeous!"
"This is the kind of rare find that will keep us shopping thrift forever," another wrote.
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