UK shopper paid £1 for vase; it later sold for £484,000

A small yellow vase bought for just £1 at a charity shop in Hertfordshire turned out to be an imperial Chinese piece made for the Qianlong Emperor, eventually selling for £484,000 at auction.The unnamed shopper had no idea of the vase's importance when he spotted it in the charity shop. According to Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers, he simply bought it because he liked the look of it. Thinking it might be worth something, he later listed the vase on eBay with a low starting price.The response quickly suggested that his £1 purchase was far from ordinary. Messages and bids began pouring in, prompting the owner to remove the vase from eBay and seek professional advice. He took it to specialists at Sworders in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, who examined the piece and identified it as Chinese imperial porcelain.The discovery eventually led to a remarkable auction result.