New Homeowner Stunned After Attic Find Could Be Worth Thousands of Dollars

A new homeowner in St. Louis, Missouri, got more than he bargained for when he ventured into his attic to install a new light above his garage.

On December 29, Dan—who asked to remain anonymous—went up into the attic space when he was stunned to find piles of used drinking cans. But what at first looked like trash turned out to be a vintage trove of them with potential to be worth thousands of dollars.

After initially thinking it was just litter left behind by builders or even mischievous kids, it wasn't until he inspected further that Dan noticed the extent of the collection.

"I was annoyed at first as I was only going up there to install a new floodlight above the garage for visibility in the driveway, and this was going to add time to me being out in the cold afternoon weather," Dan told Newsweek on Friday via Reddit messages. "I hopped down the ladder to grab a trash bag to get rid of the cans, and that's when I climbed all the way up there and saw the full extent of the amount of cans. One trash bag would definitely not be enough."

Looking for answers, he decided to post the find on Reddit's r/mildlyintersting thread where it has over 10,000 upvotes and thousands of comments.

The prevailing theories suggested that they might serve as cheap insulation or act as a deterrent for pests due to the noise they make when moved. However, other Reddit users were quick to express their fascination with the vintage cans.

"So my granddad told me they used to do this to keep animals from making nests in the insulation. When the animal tries to move a can it creates such a racket that they just f*** off and give up," one Redditor wrote.

While another dubbed it "tinsulation," a third Reddit user commented: "These are in great condition. Do not crush them without checking on their value. For example, can't find a Diet Cherry 7Up can anywhere to find out its value. A Diet 7Up Gold sold for $40 and the only one available has a $225 asking price."

"I figured Reddit would appreciate the 'vintage' cans and could probably explain the reasoning behind their placement. I had no idea it would attract as much attention as it did," Dan told Newsweek. "I've had my inbox flooded with people offering to purchase a few cans or even buying the entire collection from me. All in all, a crazy start to my first year as a homeowner."

Of course, Dan isn't the first homeowner to capture attention for a strange discovery in his home like the woman who found a secret door hidden behind wallpaper during a home renovation or the shocking discovery another homeowner made while renovating her staircase.