In October, John Carcerano of Illinois discovered something very rare as he began wandering into a thrift store. Surfing at Goodwill, he struck gold – well, at least he did with a rare Chinese porcelain plate worth thousands, which he paid for at $4.99. “I bought a rare 18th century Chinese armorial export plate at a Goodwill for $4.99; it’s worth $5,000,” Carcerano shared with *Newsweek*.
The early reactions were in apparent ignorance. He said: “The plate was underneath a modern plate and three other people were digging on the cart with me. When everybody walked away from the cart, including me after we went through it, in the corner of my eye I noticed the plate was underneath a modern one.”
Curious about its value, Carcerano used Google Lens to search for similar items online. “It takes some research sometimes, but after searching Google Lens for one that had sold for $4,400, I realized I had something worthwhile in five minutes.” After conducting a quick search, he realized that this was a rare find, with only two of these plates having been sold at auctions in history.
The plate dates back to around 1755 and is defined as a “Chinese export armorial chamfered rectangular platter” of the Qing dynasty’s Qianlong period. It measures 14 inches long and is embossed with the “arms of Mendes Da Costa.” An email from the Sotheby’s New York auction house indicated that its estimated value falls within $4,000 to $6,000.
Carcerano, owner of a small, one-man carpet cleaning business, has bought and sold antiques for 35 years. It was 2023 when Carcerano got sick and had more time than usual to check out local thrift stores. Here’s one of his favorite finds.