Woman sells vase that she brought for $3.99 in charity shop for $100k

A woman's $3.99 (£3.12) find in a charity shop bagged her $100,000 (£78,100) at auction.

Jessica Vincent picked up a glass vase from her local Goodwill, a thrift store chain across America.

Jessica was intrigued by her purchase that was marked with 'Murano' and 'Italia' on the bottom, and so, she joined a Facebook group focused on Murano glass.

After sharing a few snaps of her bargain, members suggested it was created by Carlo Scarpa, an Italian glass maker. The vase was also said to date back to the 1940s under a collection called the 'Pennellate'.

Members of the private group soon flooded her post in awe of Jessica's find.

"Those are very rare. Every collector would love to have that. But most people cannot afford them," one person responded, according to People.

She then connected with Richard Wright of Chicago's Wright Auction House after feeling stressed about her newly bought farmhouse where "everything needed to be fixed" and she didn't have heating.

The vase went on to sell for a staggering $107,100 (£83,672), leaving Jessica with around $83,000 (£64,800).

"I saved the vase and the vase saved me," she told the publication.

This isn't the first time someone's lucky find bagged them more than they expected.

Over in Manchester, New Hampshire, one charity shopper picked up a painting for $4 – initially to upcycle the frame.

Later, she decided to put it up for auction where it was estimated to be worth between $150,000 (£118,149) to $250,000 (£196,916).

The listing described the painting by Newell Convers Wyeth (1882-1945) as depicting "the tension between Ramona and her rigid and overbearing foster mother, Señora Moreno."

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.