Several years ago an old gentleman, we’ll call Mr. Raleigh, passed away. Mr. Raleigh had worked as a janitor for the same company for over 40 years. He lived simply, never married and generally was a quiet and decent man.
His heirs were going through his possessions to close out his modest estate. Among the odds and ends of papers and receipts that make up any life, they found a shoebox full of old stock certificates with a company name they didn’t recognize.
They almost threw the stock certificates away along with many other pieces of paper that had no meaning except to Mr. Raleigh. Just as our heirs will do someday. All of our lives are filled with such tiny pieces of memories.
Research revealed that Mr. Raleigh had gone to work for the company named on the
certificates during an economic recession. The company like many others was struggling financially. It was a period of time when jobs were very scarce and any job was not to be sneezed at. The company made a deal with Mr. Raleigh. The company could afford to pay him very little. But, they would let him sleep in the boiler room and he could eat his meals free in the company cafeteria. They also agreed to give him small amounts of stock in the company in exchange for his janitorial services. The stock was virtually worthless so Mr. Raleigh just put it away.
You can see where this story is going. Research on the stock certificates revealed the company’s present name is Xerox Corporation. The stock given to Mr. Raleigh had split 30 times over the years and was worth in the neighborhood of 20 million dollars.
These valuable documents could have easily have been discarded as worthless. Luckily the heirs were alert enough to take the time to find out their value.
To answer the original question, Yes! There are many treasures lost and hidden all
around us.
Granted, few will have the value of Mr. Raleigh’s stock but there are still untold thousands of small but valuable items to be found.
Looking for lost and hidden treasures requires A.K.A. These initials stand for Attitude, Knowledge and Alertness.
A strong positive Attitude is a major requirement of all good treasure hunters. This will allow you to eagerly accept that there are untold lost and hidden treasures around waiting to be found. The right attitude will keep you from getting discouraged and will keep you going rather than give up.
Knowledge is very important. The layout of the town where you live is valuable
information. The location of old parks and playgrounds, circus and carnival sites are a few examples of valuable information.
Knowing the value of various items and especially collectibles is important. A successful treasure hunter is a warehouse of information about all sorts of odd facts. A small piece of information can turn out to be priceless in recognizing a valuable object.
You don’t have to become an expert to learn to recognize a valuable item. You only need enough knowledge to become suspicious that an item may be valuable. Hang on to the item until you can research the value.
Alertness is absolutely necessary to recognize a recovery opportunity when it presents itself. Train yourself to "see" what others ignore. We all fall into the trap of failing to see things that are very familiar.
Try looking directly at things around you with a new eye. You’ll be amazed at what will appear that you’ve never noticed.
It will take some time and work to train yourself to see differently and to be alert to recovery opportunities at all times. You’ll enjoy the effort and the world will never be the same as you master this talent.
How many coins did you pick up in parking lots and sidewalks in the last week? How many rings and pieces of jewelry? If the answer is none you need to work on your alertness and probably your attitude. I can assure you that you have walked over several lost valuables.
Develop a habit of parking at the far end of the lot and keeping your eyes open as you walk to and from the stores. You’ll find that in a very short time, you’ll begin to find all kinds of items literally under your feet. They’ve been there all along. You just weren’t "seeing" them.
This doesn’t mean you should walk around with your eyes constantly on the ground. Quite the contrary, glancing down briefly as you walk is only a small part of being aware of your surroundings. Think "Look up, Look down, Look all around."
Sidewalks are a good place to keep your eye peeled. Look along the edges where grass is thick. Be especially alert around bus stops, people drop lots of things around bus stops.
Look closely at the chain link fences as you stroll. They are natural collectors of debris. The wind will pile all sorts of litter against fences. Some of this litter can include currency.
Recovering valuable items is a terrific thrill and one I’ve enjoyed my entire life.
On the subject of recovering lost items, I strongly recommend you return any item that’s identifiable to the owner. Honesty is the best policy and will always pay off in the end.
I always return any item I find if I can identify the owner. It’s a real kick to hand a found item over to the person that lost it. Often the owner lost the item years ago and long ago gave up any hope of ever seeing it again. Some times there’s a sentimental attachment for the owner that far exceeds the monetary value the item might have.
Believe me the feeling you’ll get by returning items like this will provide a much greater reward than the loss of the cash value.
Excerpted from "How To Find Lost And Hidden Treasures In Your Neighborhood" by Ernest Barnett. "How To Find Lost And Hidden Treasures In Your Neighborhood" is available as a free bonus with Emergency Cash Generators
