Turning dusty attic treasures into cash can yield millions for some and disappointment for others

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Kaja Veilleux has been hunting New England attic treasures for more than 50 years. He once found a copy of the Declaration of Independence sitting on a pile of trash, and he made headlines last year when he stumbled upon a million-dollar portrait gathering dust in an old farmhouse in Maine that may have been painted by the Dutch master Rembrandt. Then there was the time, Veilleux said, he was shown a $50,000 gold coin kicking around in a tool drawer—only to have the well-meaning owner destroy much of its value before he could auction it by using a scouring pad to clean it—and scratch it. “It’s like a treasure hunt every day,” Veilleux said with a chuckle. Many people dream of cashing in on some dusty, old heirloom. In October, three sisters from Ohio sold a rare dime for more than half a million dollars. Two years ago, a case of old hockey cards found in a Canadian home sold for more than $3.7 million. Veilleux, 73, helps people sort gems from junk when he appraises furniture, antiques, and art by using his knowledge of what similar items have sold for in the past. Each Tuesday, people bring in their heirlooms and collector’s items to Veilleux’s office in Thomaston, Maine, to see what they might fetch at auction. The appraisal is free but Veilleux gets a commission if they end up selling the pieces at his Thomaston Place Auction Galleries. Erika Taylor stopped by with two artworks her father had collected in China in the 1940s when he was living there after escaping from Nazi Germany. One depicted a blooming peony and the other a grasshopper. She said Veilleux had given her an initial estimate of up to $30,000 for each of the artworks, based on the photographs she’d shown him. But when Veilleux inspected the artworks closely, he declared they were prints because paint would have permeated the paper. “It’s disappointing,” Taylor said. “But he has a lot of experience.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.