This post is part of our feature on Money Winners of 2008. See all 20.
Whatever you do, don't tell my mom about John Webber. He's an English guy who had hung onto a cup that his junk dealer grandfather bought in the 1930s. One day he took it out from under the bed and decided to get it examined. It turns out to be made of gold, about 1,700 years old, and decorated with the face of a Roman god. He got $100,000 at auction.
The reason I don't want you to tell my mom about this guy is that this is exactly the scenario she thinks will happen with every mug she has ever bought at a garage sale, each "collectible" she keeps stashed in cabinets and even the old eight-track player that she cannot be persuaded is worthless. It's stories like Webber's that keep houses full of junk.
Also, Webber is now in his 70s. I don't know what his family or financial situation is. I'm sure he could use $100,000. Who couldn't? But I'm also pretty sure that the money would've made a bigger difference in his life if he had examined the cup when he was saving for a house, sending a kid to school, or starting a business.
Be sure to check out more Money Winners of 2008.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-13-2008 @ 8:38PM
Babs said...
When I look at old photos of the interior
of the apartment where we lived before we moved to a new bldg in 1941, I could
faint. Mother discarded wonderful lamps, rugs, Chinese carvings, small bronze sculptures, plant stands with marble inserts, a chrome samovar with a sugar & creamer & who knows what else.
Mother said they wouldn't "fit" the new digs. Her sister discarded blue glass
objects & other original Deco items because they woudn't do in the new house. Guess that's why I'm bursting at the seams here, kept collecting & putting away.
12-14-2008 @ 7:09AM
Debbie said...
Quite interesting that Mr. Weber found that artifact. Good for him. I wish that he could read my comment. NO, I do not want any money. But, I am interested in him because he is one of my ancestors, children. I am from the Webers of England. They were first the von Webers from Germany. My line is thru Wolford von Weber, John Weber, Casper Weber, etc. Thanks. Weber to Yarnell (Yarnall).
12-14-2008 @ 10:41AM
Janet Sawyer Michel said...
I am related to Webbers in Eng. also I don,t believe it,s the same Webber, Mine is from Eng. To Mass, to ME.
Janet
12-26-2008 @ 6:13PM
upurs said...
the story sounds odd...just had it under the bed for 30 years???...it doesn't flush...the story was short and un knowledgable.
12-26-2008 @ 10:43PM
jo said...
Wow! We never know what we have in our hands like these collectibles. I have a wooden washboard and I have tried to find out what it is worth, but haven't found anyone who knows.
12-27-2008 @ 12:28AM
Sparkles said...
There is something fishy about this whole thing. I work at an antique auction. Once in a great while we'll get an item that sells for more than the appraised value. It doesn't happen often. Usually when someone has something that is worth a lot of money it's usually from some questionable source. He claims it was under his bed but I would bet it was stolen from a museum or collector during the war. He held onto it long enough to claim it had been in his family. His war record will show he was stationed in Dresden or some other bombed out city.
12-27-2008 @ 3:21AM
ed said...
OH, STOP ASSUMING BECAUSE YOU MAKE AN A SS OUT YOU AND YOU ONLY. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THE ITEM CAME FROM KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. AMEN