It should come as no surprise that we love old homes. They’re often very unique, have lots of lovable quirks, and have a long and storied history. There are also lots of surprising things left by the previous owners that you can find among their various nooks and crannies.
Our team at Bored Panda is showcasing some of the most incredible and cool treasures folks have found while renovating or tidying up their historical properties. Scroll down for a peek at how lucky some people have been. Pssst, Pandas, don’t forget to upvote the photos that wowed you the most!
#1 I Found This Victorian Terracotta Tiles Underneath Layers And Layers Of Wood And Linoleum. It Was Such A Pain To Get There, But So Worth It
Image source: Euphoric-March-8159
#2 I Developed A 120-Year-Old Photo Found In A Time Capsule
Someone in my family told me about a possible time capsule in our old house. After investigation, I found a box dating from around 1900 and the belongings of a little girl judging by the objects found inside.
Image source: Mat0fr
#3 Uncovered This Beauty – We’re Still Finding As Much History As We Can. We Have Found That This Pub Of Mine Was Built In At Least 1835 As A House, Before It Became A Pub In The 1870s
Image source: rjle_x
#4 I Was Doing Some Painting And Carpet Removal In Our 1920s Dutch Colonial When We Realized These Stained Glass Windows Were Underneath The Wood Paneling
Image source: p_hil
#5 I Found Louisa May Alcott’s First Editions In The Century Home I Acquired. Rare Book Lottery Won
Image source: offensivemailbox
#6 Discovered Original Tin Ceiling In Our 1920s Foursquare
Image source: hailthethieves
#7 I Was Sorting Though Some Old Bricks That Was Left Over From Our 1890s Townhouse, And Came Across This
Image source: chuchubott
#8 Note Found 3 Years After Death
Image source: ChangaFett
#9 I Found A 130-Year-Old Recipe Book While Cleaning Out My Grandma’s House
Grandma was from the UK, and it contains handwritten recipes. I’m struggling to read most of them, but they get more plain in the times during the world wars.
Image source: KimJongsDongUnMyFace, KimJongsDongUnMyFace
#10 Medical Chest I Found In My Grandfather’s Attic. I Think It’s From Japanese Showa Period
Image source: ASexualWalrus
#11 Plate Warmer Rediator In Our 1888 Home. We Bought The House About 5 Years Ago. I’ve Been In And Seen Hundreds Of Historic Homes And Never Seen Anything Like It
Image source: BigguyZ
#12 We Found This Beautiful Old Cast Iron Furnace Vent, Original To Our 1897 Farm House
Image source: danielle_meow
#13 We Found This Tunnel In The Basement Of Our Rowhouse. The House Was Built Between 1850-1874
It’s located in southeast Pennsylvania. Directly above the tunnel is a public sidewalk and street. If you continued down the tunnel, you would be under a cemetery established circa 1750. The house is rumored to have been part of the Underground Railroad, and the realtor alleges the tunnel is connected.
Image source: Bll9tu
#14 I Found This In The Yard Of My Old House In Agra, India
Update: My father sent a few samples to the Archaeological Survey of India in Agra, as suggested by many, so thank you. Those of you who said they are Terracotta figures, you were correct. They are Portuguese Terracotta figures from the 3rd to 4th century. I can’t believe I thought these figurines were nothing of value and considered throwing them away.
Image source: NotYoshii, NotYoshii
#15 A Woman From Edinburgh Discovered A 135-Year-Old Note Buried Under The Floorboards Of Her House
The Victorian time capsule was found in the exact place in the floorboards where it had been left on October 6, 1887. The Victorian-era note reads: “James Richie and John Grieve laid this floor, but they did not drink the whisky. October 6, 1887. Whoever finds this bottle may think our dust is blowing along the road.”
Image source: kibelem
#16 We Find Out That Our New 1912 Foursquare House Has Hundreds Of Old Books In The Attic
Image source: swidge
#17 I Found My Great-Great-Grandfather’s 1899 Certificate Of U.S. Citizenship, In Which He Renounced His Allegiance To The Emperor Of Austria
Image source: Ovvr9000
#18 Apparently, I Slept 10 Feet Away From A 1910 Singer Sewing Machine My Entire Life Without Knowing It
My family inherited our 1920-built home from a family friend whose father built it, and when she passed away, we also got everything inside it. That was over 30 years ago, and we found lots of treasures over the years. My mom recently, dug in the eaves and found this 1910 Singer sewing machine with a cabinet. It was closed, so she always thought it was just an old table until she opened it last week. It needs a new lightbulb, and the pulley belt disintegrated, but other than that, it appears to be in good shape. For now, it’s going to be a nice showpiece in my home, but one day I’ll replace the parts. I just can’t believe it took us 30 years to find it.
Image source: StainedGlasser
#19 I Was Cleaning Out My Dad’s Old House Today And Stumbled Upon His Amazing Spider-Man Collection. He Has Every Issue From #15 To #700
Image source: Drees14
#20 I Found Some Coins In A House I Recently Bought In Alexandria, Egypt
Image source: IbMas
#21 While Replacing A Wall In My Basement, I Found A 100-Year-Old Marriage Certificate
Image source: woden_spoon
#22 I Found These Stacked In A Secret Drawer Left In My 1885 House
Image source: Djourou4You
#23 The House I Grew Up In Was Being Torn Down, So I Went Up Into The Attic And Found This Between The Rafters. Label Reads: “Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1765”
Image source: agaconn
#24 I Found This Lamp In The Old House During Renovation
Image source: drunkradar
#25 Fireplace Lottery?
I decided to take a sneak peek behind a wall that covered up one of the fireplaces on our first floor, hoping to find an exposed brick. I Didn’t find it, but we came across something else. Our House was built around 1898, and we wonder if this is original to the house. I will remove the entire wall tomorrow to see what else I’m working with. I’m hoping to restore this thing to its glory.
Image source: Zealousideal_Bet4105
#26 Found A Box In The Rafters In The Garage. Thought I Found A Safe, But I Ended Up With Even Better. Now I Have To Get A Player For These. Can’t Wait To See What’s In Them
Image source: Downtown-Growth-8766
#27 I’m Clearing Out My Recently Deceased Grandfather’s Attic And Found Just Over 200 Grams Of Gold Powder
Image source: Brody1911
#28 I Removed A Huge Mirror Today And Discovered My House’s Original “Flavor”
Image source: perfecto-pineappolo
#29 Found This While Cleaning Behind The Stove Of Our Century Home
Image source: 7roix
#30 Vintage Board Games I Found In Attic Of My New House, Which Was Built In The 70s
Image source: jlvy85
#31 Real Treasure
I was in the middle of a bathroom renovation in my house and found a handwritten x-marked spot on the map. It led me into the attic, and at a certain spot under the insulation, I found a little treasure chest. One of the cool things about it was this.
Image source: Ok-Bookkeeper-3624
#32 I Found Another Century Home Clean-Out Treasure. 1960s LOTR Collection
Image source: offensivemailbox
#33 Found These In Our 107-Year-Old House. Here’s Some Of My Favorites
Image source: _planties
#34 Kitchen Wallpaper In The 1914 Home. I’m Redoing The Kitchen Pantry In My House, And I Discovered This Old Wallpaper That I Didn’t Know Was There
Image source: porcupineschool
#35 My Parents Tore Their Floors Up And Found This Beautiful Flooring
Image source: miraculouslyfound
#36 Here Are The Contents Of A Safe I Found In My 200-Year-Old House
Image source: StimpyMD
#37 My House Was Built On Old Gypsy Camp From The 1890s. Last Night, I Found This Wedged Between The Cinderblocks In My Basement
Image source: VictorianTariq13
#38 In My Grandparent’s Basement I Found A World Atlas From 125 Years Ago
Image source: Mackelowsky
#39 Found These In The Basement Of An Old House. Apparently, The Bottom Two Are Kris Daggers From Indonesia. The Top One May Technically Be As Well
The Kris is an old weapon with lots of history and legend. I found out that the previous owner of the house served in Indonesia during WW2. The blades were taken from there. I’m trying to find out how old these are and their exact origins.
Image source: Freecake4Everyone
#40 1935 Kilgore Cap Gun With Original Box And Caps That I Found In The Attic Of A 1920-Year-Old House
Image source: RukaFawkes
#41 I Found A Suitcase In My 1859-Year-Old House Wall, And This Is The Contents Of It
Image source: pendletonpackrat
#42 We’re Renovating A House, And Just Found A Cache Of Blueprints Drawn By The Last Owner Under The Floorboards
Image source: tomdyckhoff
#43 Found This Under The Floor Of Our Entryway
I’m tearing up the floor of our entryway to insulate and level. Typically, folks would throw their trash under the floor when things broke, but I was lucky to find a whole plate. Our 1700s home used to be an inn and tavern, a post office, a train depot, horse and carriage storage, and a market.
Image source: 1737_Farmhouse_Rehab
#44 Found This Old Well Inside A 1700s Renovation I’m Working On In Chester
Image source: plasteredguy2fly
#45 A Wall Was Removed In A Victorian House We Are Working At, Which Revealed An Old Cast Iron Fireplace. It Is Estimate To Be Around 1850
Image source: blu_skydive
#46 I Found A Couple Pounds Of Razor Blades In My Wall. Apparently Old Medicine Cabinets Have A Disposal Slot
Image source: Bookprof
#47 Found In Grandma’s Basement
Image source: Independent_Yam_4011
#48 Layers And Layers Of Wallpaper Found In My Kitchen (1900s)
Image source: kiravai
#49 I Found A Hot Tub And Steam Room Behind My Basement Wall
Image source: Ron_Qwanson, Ron_Qwanson
#50 My Dad Owns A 200-Year-Old House, And Just Found An Old Bible In The Attic
Update: It was made in 1802, and I think there was a “King James” sign in it.
Image source: FarmerBradford
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