History Main / GrailInTheGarbage

* This is more or less the premise of ''Series/Warehouse13'' -- it's essentially a Grail in ihe Garbage of the Week show. Your mileage may vary as to whether the eponymous warehouse itself qualifies as an "unlikely place". The Warehouse is more of a holding place. The Artifacts themselves are frequently found in odd places, like garage sales or the like. One Artifact is found in an old collection in someone's attic because they collected doorknobs and happened to find one from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

* ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'': Regular demons and breakable objects have a small chance to contain Legendary items, top-tier gear whose true power can be unleashed by a nephalem. Justified by the lack of nephalem in the past millenium - in the hands of a mortal or demon, these items are still killing machines but don't show noticeable superpowers. Also, most of them are copies - superpower copies, but copies nonetheless.

* On October 31, 1919, Joseph-Émile Bourdais of Paris bought three skulls for the sum of 3 francs. Some years after, he started to believe one of them was the head of King Henri IV, robbed during the sack of the Saint-Denis Basilica by revolutionaries on 1793, and spent the remainer of his life trying to demonstrate it. On 1955, his sister sold it for 5500 francs (or 115€), and on 2009 this head was rediscovered and finally found to belong to Henri IV.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin (Secret of the Unicorn)'', Tintin buys a model of a three-masted sailing ship, the Unicorn, for a pound, but it is later discovered to contain a parchment scroll which has a map of buried treasure.

* In one ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' ColdOpen, Reese accidentally breaks a cheap painting's frame. Before he glues the painting back down, he gets the chance to laugh at the name of the artist who painted the one framed beneath it: "[[ItIsPronouncedTropay Pic-ass-o]]".

** There's another episode where Moe sells Marge a dusty bottle of wine he has lying under his counter, only to find out that its one of the last of its kind, and insanely valuable. He then proceeds to wipe his tears on the last copy of the lost Shakespeare play.

** A season 25 episode revolved around Homer and Marge purchasing a painting from the Van Houtens and discovering that it was worth $100,000. [[spoiler: Only to turn around and find out that it was actually a bootleg copy worth nothing.]]

** ''ComicBook/TheVision2015'' reveals that the team had a piece of Vibranium - one of the most valuable materials in the Marvel Universe - lying around in their old hideout. Chase ended up throwing it away because he couldn't find a practical use for it.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' fanfiction, ''Fanfic/NeverHadAFriendLikeMe'', [[JerkassGenie Norm's]] [[GenieInABottle lava lamp]] winds up in a second-hand junk store. It is sold for six dollars.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter''

* [[FollowTheLeader Mirroring]] ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the eponymous ''Sword Of Literature/{{Shannara}}'' is found in the last place you'd expect it -- in a bunch of junk that a looter picked up off a battlefield. Despite every legend about it saying it was embedded in a block of "Tre-stone" in the druids' castle. Subverted, though, when the looter knows that the battered, cheap sword with the gold paint peeling off it is the most valuable weapon in the world, even though the heroes don't, and refuses to let go of it.

* This is more or less the premise of ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' -- it's essentially a Grail In The Garbage of the Week show. Your mileage may vary as to whether the eponymous warehouse itself qualifies as an "unlikely place". The Warehouse is more of a holding place. The Artifacts themselves are frequently found in odd places, like garage sales or the like. One Artifact is found in an old collection in someone's attic because they collected doorknobs and happened to find one from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had the Clock King steal a priceless antique clock to test his time-warping device. Once satisfied it worked, he nonchalantly tossed the clock in the trash and [[{{Revenge}} headed off to take out Mayor Hill]]. No one ever said he was a profit-minded villain.

* A bizarre ''intentional'' example from ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' in which Grodd breaks Luthor out of prison so that he and a small group of other super-villains can break into a hidden island base and steal the fabled Spear of Longinus, which pierced the skin of Christ as he lay on the cross and supposedly would make whoever wielded it invincible. It's soon revealed that Grodd only arranged that heist as a test to see if Luthor could follow orders. Rather than wield the spear and attempt to conquer the world, or at the very least sell it to the highest bidder, Grodd intends to hang it on the wall of his office.

** In Season 7 episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E24UncommonBond Uncommon Bond]]" of ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic FiM]]'':, Sunburst purchases a "blind buy barrel" at an antique store. One of the books it contains happens to be the journal of Star Swirl the Bearded, the most powerful unicorn archmage in history, and provides clues about his disappearance as well as those of other legendary figures collectively known as the Pillars of Equestria. This starts up the whole overarching plot of the season finale that occurs immediately next after this episode, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E25ShadowPlayPart1 Shadow]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E26ShadowPlayPart2 Play]]".

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'', Ray finds himself in possession of the shears belonging to the Three Fates, finding them on the ground just as he needs to cut something. He keeps them, forcing Clotho to chase him all over New York to try to (discreetly) get them back, because she's the one who dropped them in the first place. As far as he can tell, they're just a pair of scissors, but they're ''really awesome'' scissors.

* ''WesternAnimation/EarthwormJim'' does something similar to the above, with a literal Holy Grail included in the treasures.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' has Hay Lin pick up the Horn of Hypnos out of the dumpster behind the Silver Dragon. She experimentally blows into it a few times, accidentally hypnotizes a few people (without noticing), and then cheerfully donates the mysterious golden horn to her school band. This doesn't end well, since Lord Cedric is looking for it.
** The next time the Horn of Hypnos turns up, it's at a camp in Meridian, where Blunk is trying to trade items. He recognizes the Horn and, knowing its value (and danger), quickly trades several items to obtain it from the man who had found it- who, incidentally, had no idea what it was.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In Season 7 episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E24UncommonBond Uncommon Bond]]", Sunburst purchases a "blind buy barrel" at an antique store. One of the books it contains happens to be the journal of Star Swirl the Bearded, the most powerful unicorn archmage in history, and provides clues about his disappearance as well as those of other legendary figures collectively known as the Pillars of Equestria. This starts up the whole overarching plot of the season finale, "Shadow Play".

* A recurring sketch on ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' involves a seller at a garage sale casually selling incredibly valuable artifacts for a low price. The Holy Grail itself, for instance, was sold for five pounds, as having already gained eternal life from drinking it, he sees no reason to keep it around. And later, the wardrobe that's the entrance to [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]], as now that he has a garden at his new house, he doesn't really need the extra space.

* In [[Literature/GrailQuest J.H. Brennan]]'s ''Saga of the Demonspawn'' series, the main character Fire*Wolf... well the poor guy is a barbarian turned wealthy sorcerer-aristocrat yet in the 10 year span between the first and final book, he somehow never finds any armour until a decision in the last book. If Fire*Wolf wasn't robbed of his coin pouch or he picked up 10 gold from fights in the city, he can go to a second-hand clothing store. There he finds a thin shirt which the shopkeeper charges at a whopping 80 gold. Fire*Wolf will haggle it down to 8 gold and the frustrated shopkeeper relents. He's disappointed at getting so little money because that shirt is made of Levenskin, a magical material that makes it as tough as leather armour. And this new armour is good enough that it can actually change your chance of getting hurt in combat by a fair margin.

* In [[Literature/GrailQuest J.H. Brennan]]'s ''Demonspawn'' series, the main character Fire*Wolf... well the poor guy is a barbarian turned wealthy sorcerer-aristocrat yet in the 10 year span between the first and final book, he somehow never finds any armour until a decision in the last book. If Fire*Wolf wasn't robbed of his coin pouch or he picked up 10 gold from fights in the city, he can go to a second-hand clothing store. There he finds a thin shirt which the shopkeeper charges at a whopping 80 gold. Fire*Wolf will haggle it down to 8 gold and the frustrated shopkeeper relents. He's disappointed at getting so little money because that shirt is made of Leavenskin, a magical material that makes it as tough as leather armour. And this new armour is good enough that it can actually change your chance of getting hurt in combat by a fair margin.

* In ''Webcomic/HowIKilledYourMaster,'' Liu Wong pulls the [[MacGuffin governor's seal]] -- which will grant its bearer a claim to rule the region -- out of a random well when he goes to get a drink.

* A frequent result of ''Website/GaiaOnline'''s economy system. Limited-release items such as Monthly Collectibles or subsidized advertisement freebies can become popular and explode in value long after most users who actually got them have stashed and forgotten them, or possibly even left the site.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had the Clock King steal a priceless antique clock to test his time-warping device. Once satisfied it worked, he nonchalantly tossed the clock in the trash and [[{{Revenge}} headed off to take out Mayor Hill]]. No one ever said he was a profit-minded villain.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'', Ray finds himself in possession of the shears belonging to the Three Fates, finding them on the ground just as he needs to cut something. He keeps them, forcing Clotho to chase him all over New York to try to (discreetly) get them back, because she's the one who dropped them in the first place. As far as he can tell, they're just a pair of scissors, but they're ''really awesome'' scissors.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'', the eponymous HumongousMecha is left in a scrapyard for several years, before Coop buys it for two bucks. Which he never pays.
* In ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' the Kerwood Derby, a hat that makes whoever wears it absurdly smart, is found in a store.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "The Real You", Finn buys the magical, intelligence-enhancing Glasses of Nerdicon from Choose Goose, who is willing to part with them in exchange for ''hearing a funny joke''. Of course, the glasses end up making Finn [[GoMadFromTheRevelation go temporarily insane]], but while wearing them he also manages to concoct a BatmanGambit to impress Princess Bubblegum and make her science exposition a success.
* The Planet Express gang from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' witnesses an auction house sell ''The Milky Way'' to "the being of unimaginable horror." He's the only one who puts in a bid.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In Season 7 episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E24UncommonBond Uncommon Bond]]", Sunburst purchases a "blind buy barrel" at an antique store. One of the books it contains happens to be the journal of Star Swirl the Bearded, the most powerful unicorn archmage in history, and provides clues about his disappearance as well as those of other legendary figures collectively known as the Pillars of Equestria. This starts up the whole overarching plot of the season finale, "Shadow Play".
* Double Subversion in one ''WesternAnimation/SaturdaySupercade'' episode. (''Donkey Kong Jr'' segment.) Junior and his friend win a teddy bear at a carnival game booth, and all of a sudden, two thugs are chasing them trying to get it. When they have a breather and try to figure out what's so special about the bear, they find out that it's just a plain old toy, but it's stuffed with money, and it doesn't take them long to figure out it's ''stolen'' money.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' episode "Beach Bummed!", Cosmo and Wanda lose their wands in the sand at the beach and try to find them. While digging, Cosmo finds a Honus Wagner baseball card, a magic lamp and Music/ElvisPresley, but dismisses them.
-->'''Wanda:''' Cosmo, I found something!\\
'''Cosmo:''' Let me guess. ''Another'' Holy Grail?
* A bizarre ''intentional'' example from ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' in which Grodd breaks Luthor out of prison so that he and a small group of other super-villains can break into a hidden island base and steal the fabled Spear of Longinus, which pierced the skin of Christ as he lay on the cross and supposedly would make whoever wielded it invincible. It's soon revealed that Grodd only arranged that heist as a test to see if Luthor could follow orders. Rather than wield the spear and attempt to conquer the world, or at the very least sell it to the highest bidder, Grodd intends to hang it on the wall of his office.

* In ''Series/AuctionKings'', When doing a pick, they never just take what they came for. Paul and Jon often find very valuable things in basements. Oftentimes, the owner didn't even know they had it.

* This is more or less the premise of ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' -- it's essentially a Grail In The Garbage of the Week show. Your mileage may vary as to whether the eponymous warehouse itself qualifies as an "unlikely place". The Warehouse is more of a holding place. The Artifacts themselves are frequently found in odd places, like garage sales or the like. One Artifact is found in an old collection in someone's attic because they collected doorknobs and happened to find one from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
* As a show starring an antiques dealing rogue, ''Series/{{Lovejoy}}'' often featured this without the supernatural aspect. In one example a church is facing financial ruin, none of the fittings are suitable to raise anything like the money required and as they resign themselves to failure the priest stops to feed his dogs. Cue the priceless antique he uses as a dog bowl.

** ''Series/PawnStars'' often have customers selling artifacts they found in their attic or at a yard sale, making the owner Rick Harrison wonder why he can never find something like that in a yard sale.
** ''Cash in the Attic''. Some of the stuff sells for less than expected, but sometimes truly rare and valuable items are found.

* A recurring sketch on ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' involves a seller at a garage sale casually selling incredibly valuable artifacts for a low price. The Holy Grail itself, for instance, was sold for five pounds, as having already gained eternal life from drinking it, he sees no reason to keep it around. And later, the wardrobe that's the entrance to [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]], as now that he has a garden at his new house, he doesn't really need the extra space.
* Reality shows like ''Series/AuctionHunters'' and ''Series/StorageWars'' have these found in abandoned storage units, when the owner couldn't keep up with the fees. However, just as often, these end up being subversions when the buyers get very exciting about finding a valuable item among a ton of junk but the appraisers then tell them that it is actually worth very little. In one instance on Storage Wars, Barry convinced himself that he found a Stradivarius violin when it is fairly clear to the audience that it is a fake. An expert later confirmed that it was a Czech replica.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'': The episode "Citizen Joe" features a random guy buying an Ancient communication device at a yard sale. Unlike a lot of these things, this is actually justified in-universe: unless you have the right (fairly rare) genetics, it's functionally equivalent to a glass paperweight. It happens that the guy DOES have the right genetics, though....
* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', the geeks go to a yard sale and buy a box of grab bag items. One item turns out to be a missing prop from ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' movie -- The One Ring (well, one of three copies of the One Ring used in the film). Hilarity ensues as they all struggle to possess this "precious".
* In one ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' ColdOpen, Reese accidentally breaks a cheap painting's frame. Before he glues the painting back down, he gets the chance to laugh at the name of the artist who painted the one framed beneath it: "[[ItIsPronouncedTropay Pic-ass-o]]".

* Rene Artois of ''Series/AlloAllo'' has an old painting in his cafe which Rene's mother-in-law accepted from a penniless Dutchman in return for "certain favours". He thinks it's worthless until the cultured General von Klinkerhoffern drops in and immediately realises [[Creator/VincentVanGogh who the penniless Dutchman actually was]].
* ''Series/{{Motive}}'': The motive for the murder in "Framed". A woman purchased a painting from a thrift shop, not realising it was a lost masterpiece. She used the painting as a canvas and painted a cat painting over the top of it. A gallery worker saw the painting and identified what it really was, and bought the painting; planning to strip off the cat painting. When the woman discovered the truth, she attempted to reclaim the painting and ended up killing the gallery worker.
* PlayedForLaughs on ''Firefly''. In "Out Of Gas" everyone almost dies for lack of a converter, a critical engine part. Three episodes later in Ariel, the crew is looking for equipment in a junk yard. Kaylee picks up a converter, looks at it for a moment then tosses it aside.

* During the crossover between ''Podcast/{{Jemjammer}}'' and ''Podcast/TheFallenGods'', Mara explains how the Literature/{{Dragonlance}}s were legendary artifacts that were all said to have been destroyed. Shortly after the combined parties discover that Finn the cook been using one as a spit in his kitchen.

* [[DittoFighter Charade's]] {{backstory}} in ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur'' says he bought shards of the ArtifactOfDoom Soul Edge from a random merchant.
* In ''VideoGame/IcewindDale'', the best longsword in the game, Pale Justice, is found on the corpse of a hapless adventurer in Dorn's Deep. What's more is that its inventory icon is the same as any regular longsword (by the time you're using +3/+4 weapons) and shopkeepers will buy or sell it for a pittance.
* Can be done deliberately in ''VideoGame/EvilGenius''. You just stole TheArkOfTheCovenant or the HolyGrail? Eh, put it in the break room.
* In ''VideoGame/FableII'', Murgo the merchant has the MacGuffin... he actually knows it's magic, but he has no idea what it can actually do. It is revealed in a DLC that it was given to him by your mentor, [[spoiler:Theresa]], which [[BatmanGambit set the whole plot in motion]].
* In the ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' [[AllThereInTheManual printed side-story]], ''Curiosities of Lotus Asia'', [[http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Curiosities_of_Lotus_Asia:_Chapter_06 one chapter]] revolved around Marisa asking Rinnosuke to reinforce her [[AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome Mini-Hakkero]] with some of his rare {{Hihiirokane}} so that it would never rust. In exchange, Rinnosuke asked for... the pile of scrap iron that Marisa obsessively collects for no reason. Why did he want Marisa's pile of junk? [[spoiler:Rinnosuke had identified the Sword of {{Kusanagi}} amongst them]].
* In ''VideoGame/BarkleyShutUpAndJamGaiden'', Barkley at one point visits Spalding Building[[note]][[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spalding_%28sports_equipment%29 Don't ask]][[/note]], where he can find a character's InfinityPlusOneSword in one of the trash cans. He also lampshades it when he finds a powerful healing item in another can: ''"It's B-Ball Juice! Who the hell throws B-Ball Juice away?"''

* Most ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games have the Leftovers, one of the most useful held items in the series, hidden in a trash can. It ''is'' just a small pile of half-eaten food... that just so happens to be able to regenerate itself, giving the Pokémon an infinite supply of free health.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'', you can sometimes find a really good gun when you open up a dumpster or dung pile. ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' also does this with Eridium, which is the {{Unobtanium}} that drives the entire economy of the planet: you can find ingots, individually or in stacks, sitting around in lockers, dumpsters, and the refuse piles of wild beasts.
* Before the events of ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'', a merchant finds Perry - a boy who had been [[BalefulPolymorph turned into an umbrella]] by an EvilSorcerer - lying on the ground. Later, unable to sell it, he offers it to Toadsworth for free. In the actual game, Perry is an EmpathicWeapon that Peach uses to rain destruction on enemies, rescue Mario and Luigi, and save the Mushroom Kingdom.
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has a heavily hat-based in-game economy between the players, where [[CrackIsCheaper some virtual hats can cost several hundreds of real life dollars]]. This also means that there are varying degrees of currency, including using other expensive hats as a large denomination of metal (the primary currency) to free up spaces in one's backpack. One of the common things newbies do is to trade away a pair of earbuds or a Bill's Hat for a bunch of weapons. Both are promotional items that seem worthless, but on the hat market are worth 40 and 20 real life money (or 40 and 20 in-game refined metal). By comparison, any given weapon in the game is worth 1/18th of a buck (18 weapons to make 1 refined metal).

* In ''VideoGame/DeadIsland'', the vendors will sometimes sell white, common weapons, which have much, much better stats than the rarer, colored weapons. For instance, you could see them selling a blue colored machete which does 500 damage, then the white colored machete right below it does 650 damage...
* ''VideoGame/CastleInfinity'': The discontinued game itself was [[http://boingboing.net/2005/06/21/dead-online-game-res.html resurrected]] after a server was recovered from the hosting company's dumpster.
* The original UsefulNotes/AppleII ''VideoGame/{{Prince of Persia|1}}'' source code, which Jordan Mechner had lost circa 1989, was found 20 years later on some floppy disks inside his dad's closet.

* In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', there is a powerful KillSat, but the controller and targeting device is long lost... [[spoiler:You find it in the hands of a street urchin in East Side, who's using it as a toy gun because... [[LethalJokeWeapon It looks like a toy gun]]. Good news; the system is down, meaning it pretty much ''is'' just a toy gun. Bad news; you can re-activate it. Without even ''meeting'' said urchin]].
** [[spoiler:Thankfully, when you acquire the targeting device, companion dialogue from Veronica suggests it has a safety, and has had the safety on the entire time.]]
* In an early sidequest in ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey IV'', you are tasked with recovering an armor set that was used as collateral in a bargain; the merchant only agreed because the armor was said to have been created by a minor master. When retrieved, it's pretty much unusable, and the merchant will angrily bestow it upon you, thinking he's been cheated. Unfortunately ''for him'', a quick visit to the local blacksmith will reveal that the armor was indeed created by said master, and it's repairable for free!
* ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'': Regular demons and breakable objects have a small chance to contain Legendary items, top-tier gear whose true power can be unleashed by a nephalem. Justified by the lack of nephalem in the past millenium - in the hands of a mortal or demon, these items are still killing machines but don't show noticeable superpowers. Also, most of them are copies - superpower copies, but copies nonetheless.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'':
** There are ten ancient Dunmer strongholds dotted in a rough circle around the island of Vvardenfell. Each has been taken over by bandits, undead, or worse, though each has a working "Propylon Chamber" on the roof. If you have the proper Propylon Index, you can use the chamber to zap to one of the two adjacent strongholds. Unfortunately, the Indeces are scattered across the island with [[GuideDangIt few clues in the vanilla game]] as to where to find them. Several characters are using them as bookends or paperweights, while another is found in a dark basement storage room with no other loot of value and that you have no plot/quest related reason to enter. A free DLC, ''Master Index'', adds a quest with an NPC who will point you to them. Once you find them all, he'll create a "Master Index" for you which will allow you to use all of the chambers as well as travel from the Caldera Mages Guild to any of the chambers (which are all quite remote). Because of how isolated they are, there isn't much value in using them outside of two situations (a Tribunal Temple quest where you have to traverse the island after taking a vow of silence and as a vampire where all other fast travel options are not available).
** Two Swords of White Woe (Ebony Broadswords with a Drain Health enchantment) can be found in separate guard towers in Balmora and Suran. One (Balmora) is on top of a closet while the other (Suran) is tucked under a bed. Guards are present in both areas, but timing your thefts and utilizing their blind spots will allow you to swipe the swords freely. Both [[DiscOneNuke can be acquired quite early]] and will carry you into at least the mid-game before becoming outclassed (at which point they can be sold for a pretty penny).
* In ''VideoGame/{{Aveyond}}: Rhen's Quest'', Rhen finds Talia's Priestess Ring in a junk shop for 10 G because everyone thought it was a fake. The shopkeeper mentions that a real Priestess Ring would have been priceless.
* In ''VideoGame/StardewValley'', the player can find valuable gems and metal bars in the trash cans around town. No wonder this place is having money troubles.

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[[quoteright:300:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/homer_finds_some_stupid_comic.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"Why is this priceless ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' comic 5 cents? [[ComicallyMissingThePoint If it's priceless, it should be free!]]"]]

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* Seen in a ''ComicBook/{{Witchblade}}'' spinoff, in which a medieval woman warrior called Katarina Godliffe ([[MST3KMantra don't ask about the plausibility]]) discovers the Witchblade while shoveling manure in the year 1175.
* In the ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' book ''The Secret of the Unicorn'', Tintin buys a model ship from a street vendor to give to Captain Haddock as a gift. It turns out the ship has a scroll concealed in the mast which, when combined with two others from identical ships, leads to a fortune in gold and jewels.
* DoubleSubversion in ''ComicBook/ArchieComics''. Jughead finds an old violin in the trash bin outside the pawnshop. When a suspicious man tries to steal it from him, Archie believes that it's a Stradivarius violin. He and Jughead head off to a music shop to get it appraised, only to learn that the violin is no Stradivarius, just a complete piece of junk. [[spoiler:On the other hand, it really is a lot more valuable than it seems, and not in the way that the gang thought it would be: the violin's bow is the cache for stolen diamonds.]]
* In Franchise/TheDCU, the Guardian's origin involves him finding a seemingly indestructible shield in a costume shop.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' fanfiction, ''Fanfic/NeverHadAFriendLikeMe'', [[JerkassGenie Norm's]] [[GenieInABottle lava lamp]] winds up in a second-hand junk store. It is sold for six dollars.
* In the ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic MLP]]'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TheRiseOfDarthVulcan'', the protagonist Ted finds junk jewelry in a pawn shop, and adds it to his Halloween costume. It turns out he nabbed the [[ArtifactOfDoom Alicorn Amulet]]. He is brought to Equestria by it, and with it, becomes a mighty villain.

* In the ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Constellations}}'', [[VideoGame/{{Okami}} Sunny]] gets Taylor an old painting to hang in her shrine. What she does not know initially is that it is ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Treasures_of_Japan_(paintings) Zhou Maoshu Appreciating Lotuses]]'', a Japanese national treasure that was thought lost when [[EldritchAbomination Leviathan]] sunk Kyushu. Lung and the [[CoolOldLady baachans]] that visit the shrine later are very shocked when they see it.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin (Secret of the Unicorn)'', Tintin buys a model of a three-masted sailing ship, the Unicorn, for a pound, but it is later discovered to contain a parchment scroll which has a map of buried treasure.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* Audrey II in ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors'' mysteriously appears in a plant vendor's inventory.
* In ''Film/TheForbiddenKingdom'', the golden staff of the legendary Monkey King is found in a Chinatown pawn shop specializing in Wuxia DVD's.
* The [[WhatCouldHaveBeen original ending]] for ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' would've involved King Arthur finding the grail in... Harrod's. "All Things for All People, Everywhere" indeed. Unfortunately, the Pythons ran out of money (and for that matter, time) and had to end it with everyone getting arrested for the murder of a famous historian.

* Zig-zagged in ''Film/KillBill'', when we discover Bill had commissioned Hattori Hanzo to craft a sword specifically for his younger brother Budd as a gift. Hanzo's swords are the greatest in the world, and Bill describes the one he had made for Budd as "Priceless". After Bill and Budd had a falling out, the latter pawned it for $250. Bill is visibly heartbroken when he hears this. [[spoiler:Then subverted when it's revealed Budd kept the sword after all, showing he still had some love for his brother. Then played straight when it turns out he was keeping the sword in his golf bag with his clubs.]]
* This kicks off the plot of ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks.'' A small-time con artist swindles a second-hand bookseller out of an old, tattered book that's falling apart (the con-man only takes half the book), which is actually an ancient spellbook filled with magic incantations. Not believing in magic, he winds up selling the spells to chumps by mail-order, claiming to be a magical professor running a correspondence school for apprentice witches. Imagine his surprise when one of his chump customers winds up actually ''learning'' the spells and becoming a full-fledged witch, who promptly teleports to his location one day to ask about learning a more advanced spell. This Trope is even highlighted in the lyrics to the song "Portobello Road," which is where the pair wind up going to try and track down the other half of the original spellbook.
-->''Portobello Road, Portobello Road / Street where the riches of ages are stowed, / Artifacts to glorify a regal abode, / Are hidden in the flotsam in Portobello Road,''

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
** The One Ring. In ''Literature/TheHobbit'' (written first), Bilbo finds the ring on the ground, after Gollum misplaced it. So you have an ordinary ring owned by some deformed hobbit. (As the narration says, "It [[{{Understatement}} was a turning point in his career]], but he did not know it. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment.") Then Bilbo discovers it can make the wearer invisible.
** Then in ''The Lord of the Rings'', we discover that Gollum's friend first found the ring many years ago just lying at the bottom of a river. So it seems like Bilbo has an "ordinary" ring of invisibility -- until we learn it is far more than that.
** Gandalf thinks that Bilbo doesn't know the true value of the {{mithril}} mail shirt that Thorin give him, and that he left it as a ''mathom'' in the Shire. The truth is that Bilbo really knows its true value and gave it to Frodo.
** To a lesser extent, there is the small dagger that Bilbo finds in the troll's lair. He doesn't think much of it at the time; it's a useful blade to someone his size, but doesn't seem to be anything else. As it turns out, it's an elven blade forged in Gondolin during the First Age, just like Orcrist and Glamdring. (Bilbo later gives it the name "Sting".)
** Glamdring qualifies on its own, as it was once wielded by Turgon, King of Gondolin.
* The eponymous book in ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'', which contains the entire world of Fantastica, is found in (or rather, stolen from) an unsuccessful antique bookstore.
* ''Chivalry'', a short story by Creator/NeilGaiman, features an old woman who buys the Holy Grail in a secondhand shop. She has a bunch of items like it, and uses them to decorate her house. After she buys it, Sir Galahad of the Round Table stops by and offers her such gifts as the Philosophers' Stone, an Apple of the Hesperides, and a phoenix egg, in return for giving up the Grail. Giving it to him, she goes to the store a second time. She considers, for a moment, buying what is heavily implied to be the lamp from the tale of Literature/{{Aladdin}}... before realizing she has nowhere left to put it.

* [[FollowTheLeader Mirroring]] ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the eponymous ''Sword Of Literature/{{Shannara}}'' is found in the last place you'd expect it -- in a bunch of junk that a looter picked up off a battlefield. Despite every legend about it saying it was embedded in a block of "Tre-stone" in the druids' castle. Subverted, though, when the looter knows that the battered, cheap sword with the gold paint peeling off it is the most valuable weapon in the world, even though the heroes don't, and refuses to let go of it.
* In ''The Serpent's Egg'' trilogy, [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Typhoon]] gives a busted up crown to [[BrattyHalfPint Penelope]] as a reward for watching a very much alive and ready to hatch ''dragon egg'', which she was told was a rock. It was far bigger than her. [[spoiler:The dinky little thing turned out to be the [[MacGuffin Crown]] they had been looking for the entire time, but didn't realize it till she placed it on the head... of the enemy. It proceeded to [[GoodHurtsEvil kill the ]][[TwistEnding evil]]. Then, she put it on the Elf Prince's head, to no real effect.]] Notably, she tried to steal from Typhoon earlier, and had to clean his entire hoard with a bowl of... [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment spittle]]. Which was pretty stupid, seeing as he literally saved their lives from a damn army before that. [[spoiler:But maybe, Typhoon knew about it, being the leader of the Black Dragons.]]

* ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' has an {{anvilicious}} example, where Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden discover a prototype ''perpetual motion machine'' abandoned and decayed in the gutted ruins of the Twentieth Century Motor Company. John Galt actually ''abandoned'' [[NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup the prototype, the plans and theoretical research that led to it]] because he designed it on the clock and they had a right to it - but more importantly, he knew that no-one capable of understanding it would ever work there again because civilization had ceased to value the ''original'' "perpetual motion machine" - the human mind.
* Janet and Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''[[Literature/TheNorbyChronicles Norby]]'' series begins when young Jeff Wells buys Norby, a battered, apparently malfunctioning robot that the proprietor doesn't even think is worth selling. Said robot turns out to be a completely sentient alien artifact capable of antigravity, telepathy, FTL transportation, and ''time travel''.

* ''[[Literature/MythAdventures Myth-Gotten Gains]]'' starts out with Aahz finding a talking sword in a shop's discount bin. The sword claims to be part of a legendary set, and it takes some effort to convince Aahz of this. It takes even more convincing to get Aahz to buy it, as Aahz is a total cheapskate and doesn't need a sword anyway.
* The Literature/HerculePoirot novel ''After the Funeral'' includes the character of Cora Lansquenet whose hobby is going to various yard sales and antique shops in order to buy paintings that she thinks might be valuable. She did find one of modest value once, but it was mostly luck, and her art dealer friend makes it clear that Cora didn't really have the eye for art that she thought she did. [[spoiler:It turns out that one of the paintings she'd bought on her most recent buying spree was an original Vermeer, but she never recognized it for what it was.]]
* In the fourth and last book of the ''Literature/ShadowGrail'' series, the heroes find various items from Arthurian myth that they need (including the Grail) disguised as ordinary items in a junk box at the Goodwill store.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** ''Literature/WyrdSisters'' has the witches hide the crown of the kingdom of Lancre in the prop box of a troupe of actors, among several fake crowns made of painted tin and glass jewels. The real crown goes unnoticed and ignored for years, because it is a simple and plain coronet, and the others look so much fancier.
** Variant. Harry King is in charge of all of Ankh-Morpork's sanitation and recycling, from chamber pots to dog muck to trash. He is constantly bewildered that people ''let'' him be in charge of all this. People pay him to take away their chamber pots and trash. He then sells this waste to anyone who needs it, from tanners to gardeners, then gets paid to take away ''their'' waste too, which he then sells to someone else. It barely takes him any time at all to become the richest man in the city, and all it cost him was his sense of smell.
--->''Harry King felt like the only man in a mine who knew what gold looked like.''
** One of these forms the entire basis of the plot in ''Literature/{{Thud}}''. Dwarves have access to a number of fantastical items, including items simply called Cubes: small, nigh-indestructible boxes that are able to record sounds and play them back from ages past. Considered to be completely priceless, they are jealously held, and even the rumor of a Cube is able to launch a dwarven expedition to recover it. And one of the most important ones ever, containing [[spoiler:the official words of peace between the kings of the Trolls and the Dwarves from the infamous Battle of Koom Valley]], is found at the bottom of an old abandoned well under a heap of mud and rubbish.
* The obscure book series "The Earthkeepers" has two books that have plots that reference this trope, "The Mystery of the Gun in the Garbage" and "The Mystery of the Headless Tiger". Both stories involve the protagonists finding the titular item in their conservation efforts and winding up facing off against villains who will stop at nothing to get them back with the first book involving main characters Chad and Penny being shot at and kidnapped respectively and the second book involving a HostageForMacGuffin situation with Chad's mom.
* The plot of ''Literature/TheAffix'' was set into motion by the death of the gem's previous keeper, who left it in a storage unit away from the rest of her supernatural collection. Mike bought it at auction, and the Affix temporarily adopted him as its new keeper. This way of turning up in unlikely places is implied to be typical of the gem, which causes severe causality distortions that can also [[ClingyMacGuffin return it to its keeper]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Ys}} IV: Mask of the Sun'', the Gold Pedestal that [[ChekhovsGun Adol sold to Pim's Trading Shop in the first game]] is the key to raise the Ancient City.

* Janet and Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Norby'' series begins when young Jeff Wells buys Norby, a battered, apparently malfunctioning robot that the proprietor doesn't even think is worth selling. Said robot turns out to be a completely sentient alien artifact capable of antigravity, telepathy, FTL transportation, and ''time travel''.

* A woman in in San Francisco [[http://www.cnet.com/news/woman-tosses-200000-apple-i-computer-into-recycling/ brought a $200,000 Apple I computer to a recycling center,]] unaware of its rarity.

* [[http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-23203033 A man]] found vintage comics worth £20,000 (US $24,972) in a dumpster... and used them to make a papier-mâché sculpture.

It's an artifact of earth-shaking power. Its value is immeasurable, its history is the stuff of legends. It's... being offered at a clearance price at the [[LastPlaceYouLook local discount store]].

--->'''Dr. Venture:''' ''[on why he's selling the Lightsaber]'' Kenner wasn't interested in making them for toys; they cost two million in parts alone. And the army said "We don't swordfight anymore."

* In the [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic MLP]] fanfic ''Fanfic/TheRiseOfDarthVulcan'', the protagonist Ted finds junk jewelry in a pawn shop, and adds it to his Halloween costume. It turns out he nabbed the [[ArtifactOfDoom Alicorn Amulet]]. He is brought to Equestria by it, and with it, becomes a mighty villain.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' [[AllThereInTheManual printed side-story]], ''Curiosities of Lotus Asia'', [[http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Curiosities_of_Lotus_Asia:_Chapter_06 one chapter]] revolved around Marisa asking Rinnosuke to reinforce her [[AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome Mini-Hakkero]] with some of his rare {{Hihiirokane}} so that it would never rust. In exchange, Rinnosuke asked for... the pile of scrap iron that Marisa obsessively collects for no reason. Why did he want Marisa's pile of junk? [[spoiler:Rinnosuke had identified the Sword of {{Kusanagi}} amongst them]].

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', Far Song, generally considered one of if not the best bow in the game, has apparently spent decades sitting buried in the stockroom of a tiny podunk blacksmith shop in Redcliffe. [[spoiler:It's so well-buried that the only way to get it is to kill Owen, or get him to commit suicide by failing to find his daughter, and wait for his replacement to move in and go through his stuff.]]
** EvilPaysBetter indeed...

* In ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'', you can sometimes find a really good gun when you open up a dumpster or dung pile. ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' also does this with Eridium, which is the {{Unobtanium}} that drives the entire economy of the planet: you can find ingots, individually or in stacks, sitting around in lockers, dumpsters, and the refuse piles of wild beasts.

* ''CastleInfinity'': The discontinued game itself was [[http://boingboing.net/2005/06/21/dead-online-game-res.html resurrected]] after a server was recovered from the hosting company's dumpster.

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