Two decades after his grandparents passed, Eric discovered that he was next in line to inherit their old country farmhouse. Unfortunately for him, the farmhouse was old and quickly falling apart, something that would require both time and money – things that Eric didn’t have. Little did he realize that this crumbling eyesore may soon become his cash cow after he discovered something hidden within its walls.
1. A Huge Secret
Eric had been in mourning for a while after losing his beloved grandparents. 20 years later, he was asked to go to Tennessee and clean out his grandparents’ farmhouse. He didn’t hesitate as he knew that it was the right thing to do.
But he didn’t know that he was going to discover something that would completely change his life. And that too in the most unexpected of places – a tattered carpet!
2. A Neglected Farmhouse
Not taking care of a home for even a couple of days can make it suddenly messy and dusty. So, you can imagine how Eric’s grandparents’ farmhouse looked after having been neglected for decades.
Nobody had touched the old farmhouse since 1997, so it had been over 20 years since anyone lived there. The appearance reminded Eric of a haunted house.
3. They Were Forced To Leave
Eric’s grandparents never planned on leaving their farmhouse as they loved it there. But they were eventually forced to leave their beloved farmhouse in 1997 after Eric’s grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Instead of staying in Tennessee, they decided to pack their bags and go somewhere else to have easier access to medical care. Unfortunately, Eric’s grandfather passed away. After his grandfather’s death, his grandmother and father never went back to the house.
4. Sad Tragedies Hit This Family
After the passing of Eric’s grandfather, the family experienced more tragedies in the following years. Shortly after his grandfather died, his grandmother followed, and then his father in 2009.
Once Eric’s father passed were hardly any relatives left that had any connection to the farmhouse, and Eric wasn’t in any hurry to go back there, so he kept on ignoring the farmhouse. But in the back of his mind he knew that someone needed to go and take care of this family relic.
5. Intending To Sell
Eric realized that it would probably be too expensive to keep the farmhouse. And even maintaining it would not be easy as well. He had no other choice left but to sell the property.
When he was walking through the dusty and old farmhouse that was once home to his grandparents, he still knew that there was a lot of work to do before selling the property. He wanted to give the farmhouse some sort of face before selling it.
6. Let The Cleaning Begin
Eric knew pretty well that no one was going to buy the farmhouse if it was still ridden with cobwebs, dust, and mildew. Most importantly, the farmhouse looked to be in such bad condition that it seemed it was going to collapse at any given moment.
He had to make it livable again and had to make some serious changes. After getting everything needed, he started working on the farmhouse and, in just a couple of days, he was on track to seriously improving its condition. But then he remembered something about his grandparents.
7. Connection to Treasure Island
As Eric cleaned the farmhouse, he kept on looking at things that reminded him of his grandparents. Just when he was in the middle of cleaning, he found something about the two of them. His grandfather had been a sailor and, once, he was even chased by pirates!
He remembered that his grandparents often read Treasure Island to him. That’s why he always associated these two very important people in his life with treasure. So, in the back of mind, he was convinced that his grandparents must have hidden a few things in the farmhouse.
8. And The Searching Begins
Eric stopped and, without wasting any time, he started to look for anything that his grandparents might have left in the farmhouse. Given that he had no clue about the whereabouts of any potential treasure, he started by searching one of their closets.
He looked inside one of the closets and found nothing of significant importance. But when he stepped back and looked down, he found something that suddenly caught his attention.
9. The Mysterious Carpet
When Eric looked down, he noticed that he was standing on an old carpet. The carpet was quite old and smelled really bad. As Eric had already planned on removing all the carpet in the farmhouse to restore it to its former glory, he decided he might as well start with the one he was standing on.
The carpet didn’t make him curious, but it was the floor underneath it that felt a bit strange. After all, he knew that the floorboards underneath the carpet could never be as hard as these ones were. He knew that something else was underneath the carpet, and likely had been there for a long time.
10. His Guess Was Right
After making this strange discovery Eric didn’t waste any time removing the carpet. The cleaning of the farmhouse wasn’t exciting at all, but this was making him feel alive and energetic.
He started to feel that an ordinary day of cleaning was beginning to turn into something really amazing. And just when he started to tear the carpet away, he noticed something strange beneath it. He was shocked at first and then started to wonder what it could be.
11. An Unexpected Discovery
Things started to take an unexpected turn for shocked Eric. He looked at a slab of concrete for a couple of minutes and wondered what made his grandparents place it underneath the carpet as if they were hiding it.
It seemed so out of place to put a giant concrete slab in the middle of the floor and then hide it underneath a rug. Given how heavy concrete is, it was impossible for Eric to open it without any professional help. So, his curiosity grew…obviously.
12. Is It Hiding Something Valuable?
Eric had no idea why his grandparents hid a strange slab of concrete under their carpet. What made it stranger was that it was in the shape of a cubbord. Maybe it was just a throwaway addition to the farmhouse.
As he started to think more about it, he began to wonder what if his grandparents were hiding a safe under the strange-looking square-shaped slap of concrete. At that time, he wanted to know the truth more than anything else.
13. What Were They Hiding?
Eric was sure of one thing – that his grandparents didn’t want the world to find something they had. While most people would’ve rolled their eyes at Eric’s suspicions, he knew his grandparent’s love for treasure better than anyone.
Moreover, his grandmother liked collecting artifacts and grandfather loved collecting antique arms more than anything else. But that still didn’t explain what was hidden in the concrete safe. Eric had no idea, even if he were to remove the slab of concrete, how to open the safe that was likely underneath.
14. Mom Swoops In To Help
Eric didn’t want to remove the slab of concrete without any reason. Therefore, he decided to contact his family member to see if they could confirm his theory. What better person to call than his mother, right? He called his mom and she had answers to almost all of his questions.
“I spoke with my Mom, and she said that my grandparents had a safe in Florida,” he said. That’s not the only information she provided. She also gave him more useful information, especially on how to open the safe.
15. The Combination
Eric’s mother was more helpful than he anticipated. She not only confirmed that there was a hidden safe in the farmhouse but she even knew how to get it open. She told him that his father’s date of birth was the combination of the safe.
She also recommended him that just in case if that didn’t work, then try his father’s social security number. Now that Eric had all the information he needed, all he had to do was open the safe.
16. Opening The Safe
Eric tried to open the safe using the combinations his mother had suggested, but there was no success. At first, he tried using his dad’s date of birth. When it didn’t work, he tried his dad’s social security number. To Eric’s disappointment, the safe wasn’t opening at all.
He tried to tug the handle, but still, nothing worked no matter how hard he tried. Once all his efforts were in vain, he decided to seek professional help because there was no other way to find out what was inside the mysterious safe.
17. Getting Help
Eric may not have had the combination to open up this safe, but we wasn’t totally out of options yet. He decided to contact a local locksmith to come and check if he could open the safe.
Just when he was going to contact a local locksmith, he realized that it was Sunday and no one was available on that day. Now he had to wait. With all the curiosity growing inside of him, he realized it was going to be a very long night.
18. An Impossible Task?
Even though Eric had to wait, he was still determined to get the safe to open. Next thing he knew, his wait was over as Monday came around. He contacted a locksmith who came to his farmhouse in about half an hour.
The locksmith examined the safe before trying to open it. He admitted that he would have referred the complicated work to someone else if he knew what he was going to open. Nevertheless, he tried his best to open it.
19. Determined Locksmith
The two men worked at the safe but with little success. Eric asked the locksmith if we wanted to call if quits, but he too was determined to get this thing opened. As such, they switched to a new tactic: taking a hammer and chipping away at the concrete.
The two sweated over getting the concrete off of this mysterious safe. Eventually, they found an opening after hours of hard work and patience.
20. Finally, Success!
Eric really appreciated the locksmith as he kept on chipping away for many hours with patience. Eric stood by him ready to help however he could. When everything was ready, Eric inserted the correct code to open it. Eric had waited patiently for many hours for the safe to open.
We don’t know if the locksmith stayed to see what was inside the lock. So, was there something truly special inside the safe? Or was all the effort and hours of wait for nothing?
21. Boxes or Books?
When Eric opened the safe, he first thought that he was looking at a pile of books. Then he thought maybe they were boxes. It was unclear to Eric as he stood there with no expression on his face. He was not ruling out any possibility and was only hoping to not be disappointed.
Boxes or Books?
After all, there could be anything in the safe, such as antique arms or artifacts that his grandmother loved to collect. As he dug deeper, he discovered why this safe and been so securely closed.
22. Unimpressed At First
Just after Eric started to take out what was inside the safe, his expectations began to fade. The excitement on his face started to disappear. He was quite certain at that time the safe contained nothing more than a few books, empty boxes, and some coins.
Unimpressed At First
But when he looked at each object more closely, he realized that there were many reasons for him to get excited. What he found there was something truly special.
23. A Sturdy Book
The very first thing Eric had taken from the safe was a book, and it was in a pretty bad condition. It was not because no one opened it for decades, but it was because the farmhouse had fallen victim to a flood a couple of years before Eric’s visit.
A Sturdy Book
Fortunately, the rest of the contents in the safe remained undamaged. The book wasn’t the thing that excited Eric. He was about to discover some things much more valuable.
24. Super Rare Coin Collection
Eric was upset to find some wet dollar bills that were also damaged due to the flood, but what he found next made him excited again. He opened up a book and found tons of coins inside of it, all in very good condition.
Super Rare Coin Collection
The coins inside the book were not only well-preserved, but they were also rare as well. It seemed like his grandparents made the right decision to put them in the safe. But the coins were just the tip of the iceberg as he found so much more.
25. Starting To Look Better
When Eric found some pretty damp dollar bills, he knew that he could not salvage them. But then he dug deeper into the safe and found more dollar bills. Although those dollar bills were damp as well, he could still salvage them.
Starting To Look Better
To do that, all he needed to do was to separate them and seek some professional assistance. Things were no longer gloomy for Eric as he continued finding valuable items in the safe. He didn’t know that he was about to make his biggest discovery yet.
26. Some Incredible Valuables
Eric was already towards the bottom of the safe and was excited to find coins worth hundreds of dollars. But as he looked closer, he realized that he had hit the jackpot because the coins were easily worth thousands of dollars. The worth of rare coins was a lot more than what he had initially guessed.
Some Incredible Valuables
At that moment, he truly started to believe that he was sitting on a goldmine. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to get super excited because he needed a second opinion on these rare coins.
27. Another Fascinating Discovery
Eric couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw some silver bars. Although he wasn’t sure about the bars at first, he looked closer and found them to be quite rare as they had been inscribed with the founding dates of Connecticut, Massachusettes, and Delaware.
Another Fascinating Discovery
He knew that the silver bars had to have some unquestionable historical significance. Just when he thought he had found all the valuable items, he dipped his hand into the safe once again and found another piece of treasure. His day kept on getting better and better.
28. A Large, Pristine Coin
Although most of the fragile items in the safe of his grandparents were already damaged, some sturdier items remained resilient against the test of time. For instance, this large coin managed to stay in pristine condition even after many decades.
A Large, Pristine Coin
There was a protective case that helped the coin stay in such an unblemished condition. However, there was some weathering of the coin that is quite understandable. You must be thinking the coin was the last item he found in the safe. Wrong!
29. A Rusty Box
Eric found a rusty, strange box at the bottom of the safe. He tried to open it but due to its deterioration, he couldn’t do it. He was about to leave it for some other time because he thought of it as a toolbox. But then he decided to give it one last attempt.
A Rusty Box
He managed to open the box and what he found in it truly made his day. He couldn’t believe his luck after finding out the contents in the box. Any guesses on what was inside that box?
30. Grandma’s Jewelry
Although most items Eric found in the safe had historical significance and value, the discovery of his grandma’s jewelry was much more sentimental.
Grandma’s Jewelry
He got emotional by holding something that brought back so many memories of his beloved grandmother. It was the jewelry that his grandmother had worn many decades ago. After his grandfather had passed she had never worn it again and had decided to place it in the safe. One wonders why she never came back to her home to get it after the death of her husband.
31. Finding a Mysterious Coffee Table
Once Eric was done with the safe, he had already found a lot of valuable items in it. But he knew that there were other parts of the farmhouse to search as well and he didn’t want to be careless about them. Just when he was looking at every corner of the farmhouse, he noticed a mysterious-looking coffee table.
Finding a Mysterious Coffee Table
At first, he was going to ignore it because he thought of it as just an old piece of furniture. But when he opened one of the drawers of the coffee table, he found something that completely surprised him.
32. Finding Another Safe
He couldn’t believe it when he saw another safe inside a coffee table. It was strange because who places a safe inside a coffee table? To him, it seemed like his grandparents wanted him to find the hidden treasures inside the farmhouse.
Finding Another Safe
Interestingly, some of the hidden treasures were in plain sight. So, what were they keeping in the second safe?
33. “Trigger” Findings
We don’t want to be too explicit about what was hidden in there but, to help you guess, we can only say that “don’t pull the trigger if any of those things are loaded.”
“Trigger” Findings
As Eric’s grandfather loved collecting antique arms more than anything else, it wasn’t surprising to find some of them in the house. But that’s not the most exciting discovery.
34. Jackpot!!!
Eric had already found rare and valuable coins and silver bars, but what he found next made his day a thousand times better. After all, he found dollar bills that had Joseph Barr’s signature on them.
Jackpot!!!
Joseph Barr’s had been the Secretary of the Treasury in 1968 for just a month. That’s why not many of those notes were produced. Eric knew that the worth of his discoveries was going to increase a lot after this finding. Now, all he needed was to get some answers.
35. Letting The World Know About It
Eric knew that what he discovered was huge. So, all he needed to do now was to share his findings with the world. He was proud of what he had discovered. So, he took some photos and posted them on Reddit, a popular online forum.
Letting The World Know About It
Not only he shared the information of what he found in the two safes, but he also asked if anyone could tell him the worth of the items.
36. Reddit Help
Eric wasn’t getting much help as most of the online community didn’t know a lot about the book and the coins. However, one person was able to point him in the right direction by mentioning that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing would be able to replace damaged bills.
Reddit Help
With everything found and sorted, all he had to do was to go there to find out what bills could get replaced.
37. What’s It All Worth?
It is understandable that Eric became curious to find out the worth of items he found in the safe of his grandparents. He had this strong feeling that he had hit the jackpot.
What’s It All Worth?
All he needed was an exact figure. However, it took some time to find out the exact value of all the discovered items. Eric suspected the value to be tens of thousands of dollars. “Anything from 1964 or older is 90% silver worth about 20 times face value of the coin,” he said.
38. Coin Collectors
On Reddit, one commenter mentioned that Eric’s coins could be worth a lot. That person also collected coins and told Eric that he would help him work out the worth of the coins.
Coin Collectors
He pointed out that it is important to distinguish coins found in safes from the ones that are found somewhere else. “Notes are often collectible as well, check everything, even if damaged they can still have great value,” the user on Reddit wrote.
