Mining for gold

Need a reason to dig a little deeper in that box of junk jewelry at a flea market or garage sale? Here's a story about a Rhode Island man who dug up a Victorian brooch set with a rare purple quahog (clam) pearl and diamonds.
He paid $14 for the piece and hopes to sell it for more than $ 1 million.

I never scored anything like that, but I have picked up a few treasures through the years. When I was a teenager I paid 25 cents for a gold-filled brooch set with a whopping big opal.
And, several years ago, I picked up a small very tarnished gold Victorian padlock bracelet for 50 cents. I don't have the tiny gold key to open the lock, but who knows, maybe I'll find that in another box one day.