Thrifter bought a ‘pristine’ plate for just $5 — he found out it was worth a whole lot more

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

An Illinois resident scored a thrift store find that can’t be beat. After purchasing a plate for $4.99 at Goodwill, carpet cleaner John Carcerano discovered it was worth way more than that.

Carcerano found out that the piece of porcelain, which was initially hidden by a more contemporary piece, was an 18th-century Chinese armorial export plate.

Using Google Lens, Carcerano took a photo of the item and discovered that a similar one had recently sold for $4,400 — making his decision to purchase quick and easy.

“I knew within five minutes that I had something valuable,” he told Newsweek. “Only two of these have ever sold in the last 50 years of auction history.”

Carcerano, a regular thrifter who bought and sold antiques on the side for 35 years, discovered the object alongside three other people who were “digging” through items on a cart at the same time.

“When everybody walked away from the cart, including me after we went through it, in the corner of my eye I noticed the plate was underneath a modern one.”

After snapping it up, he took the item to several auction houses, including Sotheby’s in New York, to verify its authenticity.

“The guy at Sotheby’s is a Chinese export specialist — he identified it. I sent the plate information and detailed photos to Bonhams; they identified it. I also sent it to Leslie Hindman’s located in Chicago,” Carcerano said.

The specialist at Sotheby’s said the plate was specifically a “Chinese export armorial chamfered rectangular platter” from the Qing dynasty’s Qianlong period, around 1775, according to Newsweek. He said that the estimated value is between $4,000 and $6,000.

Carcerano also turned to antique Chinese porcelain groups on Facebook to confirm his suspicions.

“What makes my plate stand out is the condition — it was never eaten on or used; no scratches. It’s pristine,” Carcerano said.

His many years of antique shopping certainly paid off — and he credits knowing when to start poring over the goods.

“Sometimes I spend a few hours waiting for the carts to come out,” he told Newsweek. “I find it’s best to get them when they first come out because by the time they make it to the shelves, most good stuff is gone.”