Abandoned storage units have become such an obsession with many people there’s even been a television show created where they’re auctioned off. These storage treasure chests often contain weird and wonderful items waiting to be discovered and there really have been some crazy finds over the years.
Storing your belongings safely and securely in a storage unit is a great option for many people for convenience and peace of mind no matter the circumstances. Sometimes, though, situations arise whereby people stop paying for their unit and abandon it. Here we’ve compiled some of the more interesting storage locker finds in this list.
Millions of dollars
This story actually involves the host of US television show Storage Wars, Dan Dotson. The professional auctioneer sold the storage unit and the buyer discovered a safe inside. One attempt to open the safe was a failure, but upon the second attempt they discovered $7.5million inside – that equates to £5.8million! However, after cash was found, a lawyer representing the original owner of the unit got in touch and the new owners settled for $1.2million (£930,000).
Nicolas Cage’s stolen comic book
Back in 2011, a man bought a storage unit and discovered an extremely rare first edition, Superman. Unfortunately for the buyer of the unit, the comic had been stolen from Nicolas Cage‘s home in 2000 and was valued at $1million!
The unit buyer didn’t know the origin of the comic book, so took it to a dealer. This dealer was the same man who sold it to Cage back in 1995, and the comic was returned to the Oscar winner.
Aretha Franklin’s Dresses
Singing legend Aretha Franklin began storing her famous stage outfits in a unit following a damaging fire at her home. Franklin hadn’t paid the fees on the storage locker in Michigan for a while and it, therefore, went to an auction where the contents were sold to the highest bidder.
James Bond’s submarine car
The James Bond film ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ featured a submarine car – something that must have been odd for a buyer to find inside his unit… especially considering he’d never seen a Bond movie before. Multi-billionaire and founder of Tesla, Elon Musk later bought the car at an auction for around $1million.
A storage unit thief
Yes, you read that right – an actual burglar was discovered inside a storage unit in Missouri in 2011. Ronald E. Dennis was rummaging in the unit for things to steal when a security guard at the facility noticed the open door and proceeded to close it. Later, when Dennis was trying to escape, the security guard heard the commotion and called the police where they found him inside.
