An 83-year-old man passed away on Jan. 2, 2006. He lived alone in a house full of trash. But he had a sports card collection worth $1 million dollars:
Police were called to guard the condemned home of a reclusive man whose death led to the discovery of a valuable collection of vintage sports cards. The collection, stored in 400 to 500 boxes in John F. Hessian’s home in Boston’s Roslindale section, included cards of such long-ago baseball stars as Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.
I wonder if he ever realized what he possessed? The collection was under bags of trash:
“This is like Fort Knox inside,” said Michael Wiseman of Aftermath Cleaning Co., which was hired to tear through piles of trash 6-feet high to reach the cards.
There’s a condition colloquially referred to as Hoarding Disorder, which is a subset of OCD. Typically, those inflicted can live normal lives, save for the fact that they save _everything_ — even things that you and I would consider trash. The econ student in me likes to frame it as having a very, very highly displayed endowment effect.
Given this, it’s almost certain that he had no idea that others would value his cards more than the rest of his stuff, as everything to him had exceptional value.
i am sorry for this mans family loss i know what it like to lose someone you love i am deaply sorry for your loss i send my regards with this message