Most people dream of buying something for next to nothing and then discovering it's worth a small fortune. Justin Miller is such a person.
As a home design content creator (yes, he lives in California), every day he spends a bit of time on Facebook Marketplace looking for interesting finds. Recently, a rundown leather chair being sold for $50 by a family in Beverly Hills caught his eye, and he decided to snap it up.
After it was delivered, Miller was curious to learn more about his latest acquisition. A quick search online told him that his $50 purchase could be worth up to $100,000. What Miller discovered was that his $50 find was a rare high-back wing chair by the renowned Danish furniture designer Frits Henningsen.
Known for his perfectionism and dedication to creating handmade pieces, Henningsen has a dedicated following among design lovers. It turns out that Miller's chair dated to around 1935 and was only one of 50 ever made. After posting his discovery on social media, he followed the advice in the comments and contacted Sotheby's.
The auction house was very interested in the chair and was willing to do the necessary repairs to put it up for auction. So, Miller shipped it off to New York and waited patiently until the chair was included within Sotheby's Important Design auction in June.
Over the course of three minutes, a bidding war ensued, pushing the price will beyond its original estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. In the end, Miller's chair sold for $85,000 ($107,950 after buyer's fees).
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