Man Buys a Dresser for $100 and Discovers a Secret Drawer With Hidden Treasure

This Texas man did not know the incredible surprise he was in for when he bought a dresser at an estate sale. 

Emil Knodell couldn’t have known the surprise he was in for when he went shopping at an estate sale one day in Missouri City, Texas. The Texas man is an antiques enthusiast!

Premiere Estate Sales is an Estate Sale Service company which hosts and organizes Estate Sales all over the country. It allows people from all walks of life to buy or sell their furniture, clothes, and other items.

He spotted a beautiful dresser that immediately captured his heart. It just had to go home with him! The chest had three drawers with intricate details and wooden designs.

The dresser was a beautifully unique piece of furniture that Emil couldn’t possibly pass up. The wooden details were expertly crafted and the marble top made it a must-have item that Emil had hoped to use in his dining room.

As he tried to load the dresser into his car, he realized he would need to enlist some help. Jeff Allen, who worked with Premiere Estate Sales assisted Emil in loading the furniture.

Emil and Jeff couldn’t ignore the sound that was coming from the furniture. Jeff Allen stated, “As soon as we laid it down, it started making all this racket on the inside”. It was clear, something was in the chest.

Suddenly, the dresser had some intrigue. This was more than a piece of furniture that would go with his home decor. 

Emil took a closer look at the dresser. He had noticed the three drawers and checked the quality of wood, but what he hadn’t noticed was there was a little something hidden.

Whoever had designed the dresser did an amazing job at keeping it hidden. The secret drawer was at the bottom of the dresser and it appeared to just be part of the base.

When he opened up the secret drawer he found exactly what had been causing all that racket when he was moving the chest. It was filled with real treasure. The contents amazed him.

There was so much to discover in one secret drawer. Someone had used it as their collection so there were lots of personal items in addition to the valuables. 

Emil and Jeff were naturally quite shocked at the riches that were hidden in the drawer. It was something out of a fairy tale! Jeff said that the two were obviously very fascinated with the discovery.

Naturally, we are all wondering how much this impressive loot was worth. Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly how much the found treasure was worth, but we can estimate that it was all worth a pretty penny.

The Texas man now had to ask himself what he should do with this amazing discovery. He had bought the dresser fair and square. Technically, the treasure was his.

He was not comfortable taking the treasure. Emil decided to give the drawer back to the original owners. He reached out to the Estate Sale company and reported what he had discovered.

Emilt felt that it wouldn’t have been fair for him to keep the treasure because it was not rightly his. He explained that he had bought the chest, not the treasure inside of it, therefore he did not have any claim to the valuables.

There was more than just monetarily valuable items in the dresser. In addition to all the jewels and riches that were collected in the drawer were some things that might have been of extreme personal value to the owners. 

Jeff, who had been in charge of the whole estate sale, was glad that Emil wanted to return the goods. Emil explained, “I’m an old ex-marine and I try to do the right thing. Jeff also, the man in charge, his immediate reaction was, ‘Let’s call the owner’”.

Jeff called the estate executor, who was the son of the man who had passed away. The son had no idea of the treasure in the drawers. He did say that he remembered the dresser being in a house in Michigan when he was young.

Emil’s kindness is refreshing! An incredible story about discovering hidden treasure turned into a heartwarming tale of a man with total integrity.

When old furniture is sold, it’s not unheard of that littles secrets and treasures might be found inside. Especially since antiques are often passed down through multiple sets of hands, there can be lots of fun things to find inside.

Secretary desks are notorious for hiding treasures in them. This one in particular was a Governor Winthrop Secretary model. This desk is a fairly common find at auctions.

This kind of desk has a bit of a reputation for hiding wonders. It has lots of different compartments that are good for stashing money, secrets, and other valuables. 

A man named Phil LeClerc had a winning bid of $40 which he spent on the desk at an auction. Little did he know that he was getting much more than a regular desk when he made this purchase. 

When Phil was moving the desk around to try and get a good look at all the work that needed to be done he discovered something that completely amazed him.

In the envelope was a bunch of cash. He started counting the money with small bills. He saw $20s and $50s but before he knew it he was counting through 200 and 500 dollar bills.

Like Emil, Phil did not feel comfortable keeping the money for himself. He felt it wasn’t his to keep. He went back to the auction and tracked down the original owner to give them back the money that was rightfully theirs.

The owner of the desk needed that money to help his 94-year-old father. He had been selling items form his father’s house to pay for his care.

The act of kindness really couldn’t have come at a better time because when Phil found the owner and the auction house notified them of the money that was coming their way, it just so happened to be Thanksgiving.