It’s the dream of any amateur collector or treasure hunter, stumbling across something that has far more value – be that financial or sentimental – than previously thought.
Indeed, there’s a reason whole hordes of people treat treasure hunting as a serious hobby. Some are even so good at it as to eventually make it their profession.
Of course, genuine life-changing finds are a rarity, no matter how many storage units you sift through, how many old chests you open, how many ancient vases you purchase in the hope of finding something worth big bucks.
In May, 2017, treasure hunter Anton Lulgjuraj – who began his journey of buying up old storage units in New York state years ago – made perhaps the most interesting find of his life the day that he opened an abandoned locker to find a 50-year-old wallet.
His discovery wasn’t going to make him a millionaire, but it sure was enough to generate headlines after the identity of the wallet’s previous owner was confirmed…
It was May of 2017 when Anton Lulgjuraj purchased an abandoned locker in the hope of finding something worth selling within.
As per reports, he had no idea what was being kept in the unit, but when he opened it he found a number of items that had previously belonged to an Air Force pilot. Nestled inside a small box was an old, worn wallet.
While there was no blockbuster find for Anton to flog, the wallet housed a California driver’s license from the late 1960s belonging to one Diane Hall.
The name of the woman didn’t mean all that much to Anton – nor the fact that she was 20 years old, according to the card – but he continued to dig through the wallet, finding an actor’s equity card and a handful of old photographs.
That equity card and the photos were enough to pique Anton’s interest, and so he set about doing a little digging. Incredibly, his efforts led him to make a startling realization: “Diane Hall” had gone on to become iconic actress Diane Keaton!
Anton’s next move was to tweet the Something’s Gotta Give star in a bid to gain her attention. He reasoned she might want to be reunited with her old wallet, even if it was 50 years old.
JB Lacroix / Contributor
“I think anybody always hopes that like if they lose a wallet, there’s a hope that, you know, one day you’ll get your wallet back,” Anton said.
“And you know, so like, this is great.”
According to reports, Keaton didn’t respond to Anton’s tweet at first. Yet when the New York Daily News picked up the story, it found its way to the actress’s attention.
Keaton, who is 77 years old today, posted to Instagram about Anton’s find, and was naturally delighted.
“SOMEONE FOUND A WALLET I LOST 50 YEARS AGO! THANK YOU, MR. LULGJURAJ!,” her post read.
“PLEASE DM ME! THIS PHOTO WAS IN IT, I’M ON THE FAR RIGHT, CAN YOU BELIEVE THOSE BANGS?!”
Wow! What an amazing find by Anton, and what a beautiful end to the story, with Diane acknowledging the discovery.
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