The 6 Best Storage Unit Finds

Most storage units are filled with the usual suspects — old furniture, boxes of clothes, maybe a forgotten treadmill or two. But every so often, someone opens the door to a unit only to find something completely unexpected.

From rare collectables to jaw-dropping cash hauls, we’ll be looking at the wonderful, valuable and downright strange things found in storage units. Whether they were found by luck, coincidence or seasoned bidders who know how to spot a promising lot, here are some of the storage unit finds that made headlines around the world.

The Best Things Found in Storage Units-

While the idea of treasure tucked away in a dusty storage unit might sound like something from a film, the truth is often just as strange. Around the world, people have stumbled upon everything from hidden safes stuffed with cash to priceless memorabilia that nobody knew was even missing.

Below, we’ve rounded up some of the most fascinating and bizarre storage unit discoveries — including a few that changed the lives of their finders overnight. Whether you’re into iconic cultural artefacts or quirky collector’s items, these famous finds are bound to spark your imagination.

The Gold Doubloons

It might sound like something out of a Steven Spielberg film, but this extraordinary find was no work of fiction. In an episode of the US TV show Storage Wars, seasoned auctioneers and regulars of the show, Dan and Laura Dotson, sold two units in California for a combined sum of $1,700. While this may seem like a lot to risk on a storage unit when you don’t know what’s inside, the buyer’s gamble quickly paid off.

Inside one of the units was a box filled to the brim with pieces of eight and gold doubloons — it was so heavy that it took three people to haul the box out of the unit. Experts estimated the collection to be worth around $500,000. While it’s unclear how the treasure ended up in a storage unit, the story made headlines and remains one of the most famous finds to date.

The Submarine Car

In 1989, a man in Long Island, New York, bought a storage unit at auction for $100. What he found turned out to be one of the most iconic film props of all time — the white Lotus Esprit submersible car driven by Sir Roger Moore in the 1977 Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me.

One of eight vehicles used in the film, the car was sold 24 years later to Elon Musk for £550,000. Although it was reported to be a fully functional submarine, the ‘car’ could not be driven on land. However, after winning a bidding war with a rival collector, Musk said he planned to “upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real.” Whether or not he succeeded remains unclear, but there’s every possibility that he just wanted something to tweet about.

The Million Dollar Comic

In 2011, a man who bought a storage unit at auction found a rare 1938 copy of Action Comics No. 1, which features the first-ever appearance of Superman. To put this find into context for those who don’t know the difference between DC and Marvel, a copy of the same issue sold for $1.5m at auction the previous year.

But the copy found in storage wasn’t just any long-lost ultra-rare comic book, it was the same comic book stolen from Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage in 2000. After it was authenticated and returned to Cage, it was put up for auction in 2011, where it fetched more than $2m, setting a new world record for a comic book at the time. With fewer than 100 unrestored copies known to exist, it remains one of the most sought-after comics in the world.

The Safe

Now, if you thought the man who found gold doubloons was lucky, wait until you hear this. A buyer who picked up a storage unit for just $500 (once again from Storage Wars stars, the Dotsons), found a safe hidden inside. Then, when the buyer managed to open it, he found $7.5m in cash.

According to reports, the buyer was later contacted by a lawyer representing the original owners of the unit, who offered a $1.2m finder’s fee in return for the remaining cash. According to Dan Dotson, a deal was struck, and the money was returned to its original owners. While details are scarce and no names were ever made public, it remains one of the most astonishing finds in storage history.

The King of Pop Memorabilia

In 2009, a storage unit containing a treasure trove of Michael Jackson memorabilia was uncovered in California. The unit had been rented by Jackson’s brother, Randy, who had reportedly fallen behind on payments, resulting in the contents being put up for auction.

Inside were hundreds of items spanning the decades of Jackson’s career, including tour-worn jackets, handwritten lyrics, unreleased recordings and various awards. Some of the items had been sitting in the unit for years, forgotten until the overdue bills brought them to light.

The collection was eventually sold to a private collector, offering a rare glimpse into the personal and professional life of one of music’s most iconic figures.

The Art Collection

In 2023, Storage Wars regular Rene Nezhoda bought the contents of an abandoned storage unit in California for $3,000 — and ended up with an art collection worth a small fortune.

Inside were more than 200 original works by Frank Gutierrez, an well-established American artist known for his bold, colourful pieces. The collection included large-scale paintings, sketches and mixed-media work, all in pristine condition. Some of the canvases were reportedly signed and dated, with a few still in bubble wrap.

Nezhoda later estimated the collection could be worth between $300,000 – $500,000. While it’s unclear how or why the artwork ended up in storage, the sheer volume, condition and quality of the pieces made it one of the most valuable finds in recent years.

Why Do These Finds Happen?

While stories of forgotten treasures in storage units make for great headlines, they don’t happen every day, and the reality behind them is often more complicated than it seems.

In most cases, storage units are cleared out and sold when customers fall behind on payments and fail to respond to multiple notices. But storage providers don’t jump straight to auction, and in the UK, there are strict rules about evicting customers and when a storage unit can be repossessed.

Unlike what you might see on TV, so-called “blind auctions” — where buyers bid without knowing what’s inside — aren’t the norm, at least not in the UK. Instead, storage companies are required to follow a fair and transparent process, and efforts are usually made to contact the customer before any belongings are removed or sold.

If it comes to a point where the storage facility has to sell its customers’ possessions in order to recoup its costs, the law states that every effort must be made to get the best price for each individual item. In other words, they can’t sell everything all at once without conducting a fair valuation.

For more information about what happens when people stop paying for their self storage, take a look at our guide on What Happens When You Abandon a Storage Unit.

Is There Something Valuable in Your Storage Unit?

While multi-million-pound discoveries are rare, it’s surprising how often people forget what they’ve packed away. Old collections, childhood toys, vintage furniture — even things that once felt ordinary can increase in value over time.

If you’re planning to revisit your storage unit soon, it might be worth having a proper rummage. You never know what you might uncover. If you’re not sure where to start, then take a look at our guide on How to Organise a Storage Unit.