#21. The Auction Destined To Happen
Emil Knodell is a 67-year-old man who retired as a marketing director. But that's not all, he is also a US veteran, and in his spare time, he's a treasure hunter. He adores spending his free time scouring garage sales, hoping to come across useful items that others have thrown out.
He would soon find out that, as the proverb says, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." During one of his scouring yard sales searches, he ended up in Missouri City, Texas. It seemed like a typical estate selling at first, but little did he know that he'd find something extraordinary there.
#20. A Sale With Fair Prices
Emil drove early in the morning to Missouri City. With high hopes, he approached the estate sale and soon discovered that the event was being run by a firm called Premier Estates Sales Network.
The well- know company is famous for its long trajectory and for having a well-prepared team. The company holds such events frequently, and they usually sell items at a fair price. They also make sure not to sell valuable antiques at underrated prices, and Emil knew that.
#19. A Gold Digger
But being a gold digger and a yard sale expert, little did this matter to Emil. Even though it was unlikely that he would find any valuable object at a cheap price, he also knew that the most valuable and underrated objects are sometimes found in the least expected of places.
"I always come to a sale with an open mind because you never know," Emil Knodell later told reporters. And that is precisely the mindset that shoppers need to own. Let's just say that his perseverance eventually paid off!
#18. A Special Offer
The item that caught Emil's eye was an antique wooden dresser. There wasn't anything too special about the dresser. It had a marble top and three wooden drawers and it dated back to the 1890s. However, Emil was unaware of just how important this item was.
As he searched through pieces of furniture, he realized that all the drawers in the dresser were bare. There seemed to be nothing too extraordinary about the dresser, and it wasn't too flashy either, but yet Emil decided to have it. And he's fortunate that he did.
#17. A Hidden Secret
But this didn't end there. It happens to be that the furniture held a secret that had probably been concealed from the world for several decades. Emil was about to get lucky, and with his purchase, he was about to hit the jackpot.
At this point, Emil still didn't know that the item he bought actually cost 150 times the price he paid. When trying to get the dresser into the car, the truth began to dawn on him.
#16. Heavier Than Normal
Emil was about to stumble upon a big surprise purely by chance. He was far too weak to carry the old-fashioned dresser himself, so he asked someone to help him place the furniture into the back of the truck.
By moving and lifting the antique furniture, Emil would soon find out that nothing is what it seems to be. When Emil and the two strangers began moving the antique dresser, he realized something seemed out of place. It was a little too heavy for an empty dresser.
#15. Finding The Source
Something was wrong with one of the drawers; it appeared to be blocked. Then, they put the dresser on its side, and that was when they revealed the secret it hid. A rattle sound resonated within the furniture, which took everyone by surprise.
Notwithstanding their efforts, they couldn't find anything inside the antique. There seemed to be no reasonable explanation regarding what had triggered the noises. But Emil wanted to find out.
#14. Getting Some Extra Help
Everyone was interested in solving the mystery, and by now, a large crowd had assembled around the vehicle. All of a sudden, many other shoppers had approached the drawer and were just as intrigued as Emil.
"As soon as we laid it down, it started making all this racket on the inside," said Allen, one of the men who was helping move the antique dresser into Emil's truck. "Obviously we were very intrigued with what was happening with the dresser," he added.
#13. An Unseen Compartment
Many of the new witnesses agreed that there had to be a hidden compartment somewhere inside the dresser. However, all three of its drawers were empty. So, what was the origin of that strange noise? Unintentionally, they were about to reveal the mystery.
The team decided to put the dresser on its back, and once they did that, the source of the noise was finally revealed, just right under their noses. Apart from the three visible drawers, there was a simple board at the very base of the furniture.
#12. Exposing The Truth
It looked like an ordinary piece of wood from the outside, but when turned upside down, you could see the cut-out which looked like a handle. It was actually a really clever hiding spot!
"When you look at the front of it, it looks like it has three obvious drawers with molding on the base. But the bottom has a secret drawer that opens up", explained Emil Knodell.
#11. Giving Up The Material Values
It happens to be that many items on the estate sale - including the dresser - had belonged to a man who had recently passed away. Since the family of the deceased are sometimes uncertain of the value of the items they've left behind, these sales may be a gold mine of inexpensive antiques.
We see the same situation at yard sales when households are looking for some spare space in their home, and that's the reason why some hidden gems are sometimes sold at ridiculously cheap prices.
#10. The Past Owner
None of the late man's family members had realized that the dresser hid a secret compartment. It's pretty crazy to think that the man had hid this secret even from his closest loved ones! Well, who knows? Maybe not even the late man had known about this!
The deceased man had reportedly inherited the dresser from his parents, who used to live in Michigan. It's not surprising, though, that the drawer had been locked in secret for decades, waiting to be found.
#9. Opening The Fourth Drawer
The time had come for Emil to open the mysterious fourth drawer. Emil confessed he felt a rush of excitement. Everybody rolled their eyes for a short moment, while the drawer was being opened, hoping that they would stumbled on a chest full of gold or something of the sort.
Surprisingly, they hadn't been far off. The now-open secret fourth drawer gleamed with gold and jewelry! Emil couldn't believe that the drawer was actually full of priceless objects that nobody knew about.
#8. The Expertise
Emil's antique hunting expertise had undoubtedly paid off again. He had uncovered a chest of treasure hidden inside an old dresser. The fourth secret draw was filled with jewels, money from all over the globe, and personal recollections. That wasn't all, though.
Some of the objects, such as military medals and dog tags, also dated back to the Civil War. A perfectly preserved lock of hair was one of the more unusual things. The dresser had cost him $100, but Emil got a full treasure for his own.
#7. Finding The Right Epoch
All the items found in the secret stash were estimated to worth approximately $15,000. Now that's a big profit on a $100 price. He had been happy enough with just the ancient piece of furniture!
The estates sale company had dated the dresser as far back as 1890. Nonetheless, some believe it could be even older than that, considering that some of the items hidden inside the fourth drawer dated back to the Civil War.
#6. The Dilemma
However, what would Emil do with his newfound assets? He could've easily chosen to sell all of it, and keep the money to himself. Yet morally, was that the right thing to do?
After finding the secret drawer, there was only one issue disturbing Emil's mind. Strictly speaking, only the dresser had been purchased, not the contents kept inside. Therefore, was it fair for him to claim those hidden relics, too?
#5. Doing The Right Thing
Emil might have probably kept the stuff, except for one small detail: many people had already seen him open the hidden fourth drawer just a few yards away from estate sale.
Therefore, he figured he would receive at least some backlash from the public if he were to keep all those valuable items without paying the owners some more cash. Can you guess what he finally decided to do?
#4. Doubtless Man
As we've already said, Emil always tries to do the right thing. As a former US soldier, he has a particularly strong sense of duty. Without a doubt, no amount of money would cast a shadow on his moral conscience.
Therefore, the man from our story didn't think it twice. He instantly returned all the items he had discovered, so it was now up to the late man's family what to do with them.
#3. The True Owner
Emil made his choice based on his clear sense of right and wrong. > "I bought the chest of drawers. I didn't buy those things. If I kept them, I would never feel right about it. There would be a cloud over the whole thing. It's a feeling more than anything else", Emil said.
The man who helped Emil push the dresser into his car, Jeff Allen, agreed with his decision. Both agreed to return all the treasures to their rightful owner.
#2. An Honorable Man
And fortunately for them, finding the owner of the hidden treasure proved to be rather simple, as he happened to be the executor of the estate sale. As you might imagine, the owner was as shocked as any of us.
The dresser's owner remembered having seen it in his grandparents' home in Michigan many years ago, but never would have he imagined what it hid. It's needless to say that he was immensely grateful towards Emil.
#1. No Matter The Cost
This story went viral, and many people couldn't believe that Emil hadn't kept the treasure for himself. However, at the end of the day, what others think shouldn't matter. The bottom line is that Emil did what he felt was right.
In fact, most people praised Emil Knodell for his honesty, and it sure taught the whole community a valuable lesson. So, what did you think of this story?