It’s no secret that you can find good deals at Goodwill.
However, a Lakewood Ranch woman hit the jackpot when she bought a $44 lithograph. Turns out, it's worth more than $3,000!
There’s a lot of unusual art at the Ranch Lake Goodwill. But for dog lover Maureen Flaherty, a painting of a dog on a tin canvas caught her eye.
“I love it. I think it's absolutely beautiful,” said Flaherty.
Recently she bought the art for $44. When she was leaving the Goodwill store, a man came up to her.
“He approached me in the parking lot and said I was walking away with the best thing in there. The most valuable thing in there,” he said. “I was like wow.”
That man turned out to be Jess Sturtevant an antique collector and the owner of Braden River Antiques.
“I kind of eyeballed it from 50 feet. When you see something like that, it's just a good piece they kind of stick out like a sore thumb,” said Sturtevant.
It turns out the piece is called The “Brook Hill” Dog. It’s a lithograph on tin from 1911. It was a massed produced whisky advertisement that was in bars back in the day. And now is worth a lot of money.
“Anything that has to do with an old whisky advertisement there is a very avid collector market for it because there is not so much of it around anymore,” he said.
In auctions in both South Carolina and Boston, The “Brook Hill” Dog. Sold for more than $3,000. So Maureen decided to sell.
“I love it! But because it's of great value maybe more can come of it,” she said.
Maureen has fostered more than 200 dogs. So, instead of keeping the money for herself on April 3rd, she will auction the rare piece on eBay.
A portion of the proceeds from the auction will go towards Safe Haven Animal Rescue. It will help out hundreds of dogs with their medical needs.
Goodwill says it didn’t know just how much the art was worth, they are not surprised about the find.
“It's like opening Christmas every time a donation comes in,” said Brian McMullen, Ranch Lake Store Manager.