These Old Household Things Are Worth a Lot of Money Now. Do You Have Any in Your Home?

Chances are, you can make money without ever leaving your home. Yes, the Beanie Baby craze was excessive. And it’s unlikely your baseball cards — unless extremely rare — will be of any value to anyone else but you. However, there are a few households items worth a lot of money that are probably in your possession right now. It’s very possible that some of your old belongings masquerading as junk are actually serious money makers.

Ranked from “my monthly internet bill” to “this will pay for my kid’s college,” here are 16 common household items worth a lot of money right now.

16. Quarters

• Potential price tag: $100 per coin

Mental Floss suggests you check your loose change for Kansas Quarters. A batch of these irregular quarters from 2005 are valued at around $100, thanks to a coin pressing machine error. The Kansas quarter’s motto reads “In God We Rust” instead of “In God We Trust.” A big oopsie for sure, but one that could turn valuable should you have one laying around in a swear jar somewhere.

Next: Nearly every woman has one of these.

15. Perfume bottles

• Potential price tag: Varies

Eric Silver, an appraiser for Antiques Roadshow tells Popular Mechanics that there are auctions strictly devoted to perfume bottles. While the perfume itself is useless, “it’s possible that someone in your family once got a really great perfume bottle, perhaps by a company like Lolique, and the glass itself or the glassmaker could be important. Or the actual perfume itself may have had a rare, custom-made bottle.”

He suggests browsing the International Perfume Bottle Association to see if any of your household gems are worth money. A quick eBay query puts the running rate around $100 to $200 for old glass bottles.

Next: A vintage piece worth money

14. Typewriters

• Potential price tag: Mid-$200’s

Typewriters are a thing of the past. But that’s just the point. Antique typewriters are among old household items worth a lot of money to the right buyer. Some models go for anywhere between $200 and $560 only because they look fashionable. Just make sure they’re in good shape and functional. The older, the better.

Next: Don’t let your kids sell these to friends for cheap.

13. Classic video games

• Potential price tag: $300 to $1,000

Maybe you outgrew your gaming days, but that doesn’t mean your old-school competition games are worthless. Vintage cartridges of Mario Kart 64 easily sell for hundreds. The rarer the better — for you, at least.   Super Nintendo games, PlayStation 4, and Chrono Tigger are also big hits with the online community and frequently go for $300 to $1,000 respectively.

Next: These Boy Scout items are worth the most.

12. Boy Scout memorabilia

• Potential price tag: $8 to $1,178

Collectors Weekly says that any Boy Scout memorabilia with the official Boy Scouts of America, Cub, Sea, and Air Scouts markings can be worth a sizable chunk of change. Currently listings as of May 2018 show items for sale ranging from $8 to $1,178. Those in possession of badge collections are also in for a welcome surprised should they get them appraised to sell.

Next: Dig around your house for this, just in case.

11. Land deeds

• Potential price tag: Varies

Another old household item worth a lot of money are land deeds — especially if they’ve been passed down through your family for generations. Sadly, everyday run-of-the-mill deeds are probably valueless. The real money-makers include someone famous, according to Amy Parenti, an appraiser at Freeman’s auction house in Philadelphia. World War I or II generals are popular, so scrolling through the list of names on your deed in search of notoriety prove worthwhile.

Next: Do you have these toys laying around?

10. Polly Pocket products

• Potential price tag: Up to $455

Parents of ’90’s babies – and kids themselves — probably have a few Polly Pockets left over from their toy craze days. If you’re one of them, we suggest you get to organizing fast. These toy trinkets are another household item that have made their way on to the internet bidding sites as high-priced collector’s items. Pre-Mattel Polly Pockets are most treasured. They fetch for hundreds on eBay, including one that went for $455.

Next: Everyone has one of these high-value items.

9. Old cellphones

• Potential price tag: Around $500

Most old cell phones aren’t worth pennies. After all, the technology advances so rapidly that outdated phones are now ubiquitous. A few old phones — and we mean old — are actually worth a pretty penny, according to Cracked. A 1983 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, one of the first wireless phones ever produced, recently sold at auction for $550. Such a high price tag is common too, as similar phones have sold for around the same price.

Next: The original pop-up ad

8. Vintage signs

• Potential price tag: Upwards of $500

Anyone who ever watched American Pickers will remember just how excited the antique hunters got when they uncovered vintage signs in old, abandoned warehouses across the country. Americana collectors are always willing to cough up a few hundred (or thousands) bucks for a branded sign.

Indian Motorcycle memorabilia once sold for $616 while Vintage beer signs donning Old Milwaukee or Pabst have sold for $590. Of course, larger signs will snag closer to $2,250 for those willing to part ways with old junk.

Next: Do you really need this old household item anyway?

7. China sets

• Potential price tag: Varies

Those china sets collecting dust in a cabinet somewhere? They go for hundreds — if not thousands —online. To find its real worth, you can get it appraised by an antique dealer, but more than likely, the dishes are worth a lot more money than you think. Vintage sets from the early 1900’s are worth thousands according to eBay records. So, why not clean house? Fancy dinner parties are few and far between these days.

Next: People will pay for this unusable item.

6. VHS tapes

In the Netflix era, VHS tapes can be shockingly valuable, even though most kids have no idea what a VCR looks like today. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is almost a guaranteed money maker. The Diamond edition from 1991 sold on eBay for $1,000. People will also buy controversial movies, obscure horror films, and complete sets of popular series like Star Trek.

Next: Those with this type of ornament are in luck.

5. Christmas ornaments

• Potential price tag: $1,700 to $18,000

Appraiser Eric Silver also recommends you rummage through boxes of old Christmas decorations and examine them a bit closer. Hand-blown glass ornaments, in particular, are very valuable to collectors and worth a lot of money.  “One blown-glass ornament was listed at $1,700. There’s another called a Kugel, which is German and pear-shaped, which is $18,000,” he says.

Who knew?

Next: Don’t get rid of these things for free

4. Dolls

• Potential price tag: $5,000 to $15,000 or more

Apparently, dolls of all kinds are also one of the weird household items worth a lot of money. So it’d be wise to conduct a little internet research about old dolls in your possession before you throw them out or draw on their faces.

For example, “Out of print” American Girl dolls fetch roughly $5,000 on eBay. So do Cabbage Patch Kids. Star Wars action figurines auction for up to $15,000 respectively. What we’re saying is, dolls are worth big dollars.

Next: Rare finds worth money

3. Old paintings

• Potential price tag: Varies

More than likely, you’d already know if you were in possession of a million-dollar Jackson Pollack or a revered da Vinci masterpiece. A stroke a luck could lead you to discover a $12,000 painting at Goodwill, but that’s also unlikely. Still, appraisers can examine the canvas, pigment, stretcher, and keys to determine if your old painting in the attic is anything of value. If the artist prominent but unrecognized by the masses, their artwork could go for $7,500 or more, according to Dr. Lori Verderame.

Next: Do you have any of these precious records?

2. Vinyl records

• Potential price tag: Up to $13,750

Depending on the condition and the artist, your old vinyl records could be worth some serious cash. Not only are they back in style with young folks today, but they are also a collector’s item. For example, an un-released cover of David Bowie’s 1974 Diamond Dogs album sold for $3,550 in 2003. A Nirvana Bleach re-release also sold for $1,500 while a self-titled Beatles album went for $13,750.

Next: Have one of these gadgets, and you could strike it rich.

1. Apple computers

• Potential price tag: $900,000

Nearly every household is sitting on a few old and outdated computers. But Eric Silver warns that people keep a keen eye out for Apple computers. Though they’re still fairly new, Apple products are highly sought after. “A first edition Apple was bought for $900,000. It’s not technically antique, but it can be worth a lot of money if it was built in, say, Steve Job’s garage,” he says. Electronics in working condition are worth a couple extra bonus points, too.

Follow Lauren on Twitter @la_hamer.

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