Treasures Found While Renovating

Found While Renovating: Skeletons in the Closet and More

by Brie Dyas

The next time you undertake a renovating project, take a peek at what's inside the walls. If you're like these accidental treasure hunters, you might find something completely surprising.

Skeletons in the closet? We've all got them. Though some literally have skeletons in their closets...or chests. After moving into an 1887 Queen Anne, this contributor on the This Old House forum went to look through the property's barn. Inside she found a collection of furniture, boxes and trunks. Tucked into one of those trunks was a skeleton. Though the story is shocking, it's not an episode of CSI: The Olden Days. Turns out the skeleton was a medical model used by a previous owner, who was a Civil War surgeon.

Bottles are a common find, but what about a stash of Prohibition-era (and beyond) empties? This was spotted by a guest at an old bed and breakfast that was undergoing renovations.

An example of the Thompson machine gun.

If empty bottles from a possible speakeasy are too tame for you, how about a gun from the same era? Whilerenovating, a Chicago-area resident found the 1928 Thompson sub-machine gun, worth $10,000. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't cash in on his odd treasure. After reporting it to the police, they confiscated the gun.