The Dumpster's Hidden Fortunes: A $100,000 Cash Stash Inside a Tire, a £1 Million Lottery Ticket, and a $9 Million Pollock
Trash dumps are usually seen as places to discard what we no longer want. But a veteran who spent years sorting dumps around Moscow learned that fortune can hide in plain sight. Three true cases from dumps around the world show how value can survive the discard. In each story, something valuable appears where no one expects it.
In This Article:
Case 1: A Tire Hidden Inside with $100,000
Horace Chambers, a young man ordered by a court to work at a local car dump, was sorting tires when he opened one and found its inner chamber packed with cash. The stacks added up to $100,000. How the money got there—and who it belonged to—remains a mystery, leaving behind a moment of improbable luck in a place built to swallow waste.
Case 2: An 83-Year-Old Finds a Winning £1 Million Lottery Ticket
Edward St. John, 83, and a longtime friend wandered the dump near Glasgow where they had spent most of their lives. While walking among the sorted waste, St. John stepped on a slip that carried lottery numbers he recognized. He took it home, checked the results, and found the ticket matched the draw—winning £1 million. The dump seemed to repay a life spent there.
Case 3: A $9 Million Pollock Found in a Dumpster-Discovery
In 1992, Terry Horton was clearing out an apartment, loading decades of junk into a van to drop off at a recycling center. Among the items was a painting she had bought for just a couple of dollars years earlier. A friend urged her not to throw it away. Later, experts confirmed the painting resembled the work of Jackson Pollock, and it was authenticated as a real Pollock, valued at about $9 million. A documentary would later tell the story, titled 'Who Was Jackson Pollock?'
