Carpet cleaner buys plate for $4.99 at Goodwill — is stunned to learn it's actually worth thousands

Thrift stores hold some hidden gems and one can find them if they are lucky enough. John Carcerano, a carpet cleaner from Chicago, sure was lucky on the day he made his routine thrift store visit. According to Newsweek, Carcerano strolled into a Goodwill store located in Evanston back in October 2024. He had been buying and selling antiques as a side hustle for the past 35 years. In 2023, he fell ill but he didn't give up on visiting local thrift stores, hoping to find something valuable. That day at the Goodwill store, he was intrigued by a porcelain plate and purchased it for $4.99 only. 

But it turned out to be a rare Chinese porcelain and its real value was in thousands of dollars. "I bought a rare 18th-century Chinese armorial export plate at a Goodwill for $4.99; it's worth $5,000," he told the publication. "I spent more time than I usually do at the Goodwill thrift store in Evanston. I was recuperating from being sick and I didn't work for eight months. I had several surgeries and chemotherapies." When it came to finding the plate, he almost missed it because the rare plate was stacked under modern plates and three other buyers were digging into the Goodwill cart. 

Carcerano knew that the particular store was in proximity to a wealthier neighborhood in Chicago's northern suburbs. So, the chances of finding something valuable were pretty high over there. To check on the authenticity of the porcelain plate, Carcerano took help from Google Lens. "Sometimes it takes some digging, but I did a Google Lens search and found one that had sold exactly like it for $4,400 and I knew within five minutes that I had something valuable. Only two of these have ever sold in the last 50 years of auction history," he revealed. Carcerano shared the pictures of the plate with the news outlet over email. 

The plate was later validated by specialists at multiple major auction houses like Sotheby's New York, Bonhams and Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. A specialist at Sotheby's described the plate as a "Chinese export armorial chamfered rectangular platter" from the Qing dynasty's Qianlong period, dated around 1755. The plate, which was revealed to be 14 inches long, was decorated with the arms of Mendes Da Costa. It has an estimated value between $4,000 and $6,000. "What makes my plate stand out is the condition — it was never eaten on or used. No scratches. It's pristine," Carcerano shared.

A Sotheby's specialist wrote in the email, "As far as I am aware, I don't think a Chinese export plate with Jewish arms has been offered in a Judaic sale before, therefore I am very excited to be able to work with you to bring this to market," reported the news outlet. "At this point, I do plan on getting it to Sotheby's in New York," the man added, revealing that he had considered other ways to sell the plate too. "If I put this online myself and let it sit a little while, I think I would get just as much money as Sotheby's. Sotheby's has a chance of going way over the auction estimate."