They’d been poking through their grandparents’ ceramics room, which was bursting with both finished and unfinished art projects, when they discovered something hidden in an old cupboard. Intrigued, the Imgur user opened it up—and discovered something truly shocking!
One Imgur user who goes by the handle Todirel had been snooping around in their grandmother’s cluttered ceramics room when they found something surprising. Hidden in the back corner of the room was this tall cupboard.
The cupboard was more than it appeared—the bottom of it was actually removable, and the false bottom concealed a rectangular cavity tightly packed with gravel. The Imgur user suspected there was more than gravel inside that secret compartment…
Todirel brushed away the loose gravel only to reveal the combination dial for a hidden safe! They wanted to investigate, but there was just one problem: their grandmother didn’t know the combination. Todirel’s grandfather, who owned the safe, had passed away…
No combination? No problem. The flimsy tin box couldn’t stand up against power tools and some good ol’ brute force. Todirel’s father used a grinder to break open the hidden safe and pry off the top.
Whether Todirel’s grandmother knew the contents of the hidden safe remained to be seen. Since she didn’t know the combination, it was safe to assume she wasn’t totally sure what was inside. It was possible that no one living knew a thing about the contents…
Luckily, the safe wasn’t empty! There in front of them was an object wrapped in cloth—alongside a lone note. Of course, the Todirel instantly grabbed the note, which had been written by their late grandfather…
The note read, simply, “Abandon all regret ye who enter here.” It was a play on the famous passage from Dante’s Inferno, “Abandon all hope ye who enter here,” which was supposedly scrawled above the entrance to hell. “This is his way of playing around,” the Imgur later said.
The note wasn’t the only cryptic thing they found. The large cloth bore a Chinese character, which meant “double happiness.” This symbol was typically seen at weddings. It sounded like Todirel’s grandfather was a positive guy…
Todirel had barely been able to examine the rest of the contents of the tin when the dial suddenly broke off just from just sitting on the table! Surely, this tin box was very, very old in order for that to happen…
Todirel pressed on, curious as to what was inside the cloth. The black cloth had been wrapped around an old leather pouch. The seal on it—though faint—read 1776. Even better, however, was what they found inside the pouch…
Todirel removed a handful of items from the pouch, each one sure to make collectors’ and history lovers’ heads spin. The first was pocket watch—perfectly protected by aBritish Army issue barrel cloth—which looked fresh from the factory line!
Stamps from all over the globe also filled the leather pouch. Right away, Todirel spread them out for a better view and found some were from countries that didn’t even exist anymore, like the Soviet Union, Zaire, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic!
There were even more fascinating historical items, like this silver “lamp,” as Todirel called it. One commenter pointed out it was likely an incense burner, which left them disappointed. How could would it be if it was a genie lamp?
One of the more spectacular—and personal—finds were photographs of Todirel’s ancestors. This image of their great-great-grandmother posing in a window frame must have been over a century old!
After Todirel posted this photo of their great-grandfather, one Imgur user commented, “Your great grandfather is so classy it HURTS.” Who could deny that? Everything from the pipe to the round-framed spectacles screamed “dapper.” Still, the safe held even more surprises…
After some further digging, the Imgur user found this plastic container, which housed several coins, an old key, and some other assorted items. Were any of them significant?
The answer was yes. What stood out first was the collection of rare coins from empires and countries long gone. Coin collectors online pointed out which ones were particularly valuable…
“That 1921 Morgan silver dollar is in pretty awesome condition,” one user commented about the coin on the bottom-right side of the photo. “I’d hold on to it if I were you!” Others fawned over super rare Pakistani coins in the collection.
Also inside the plastic container were two pieces of World War I memorabilia. This medal “was given to commonwealth troops that served in theater,” one user confirmed. Still, the crest’s origins stumped even the most historically attuned Imgur users.
There was one last item that mystified them all: a key. No one, not even Todirel’s grandmother, knew what it unlocked. The Imgur user hoped to find the answer soon. Imagine if it lead to even more treasure?
Those are some seriously awesome and historical finds—a great way for Todirel to discover more about their ancestors! What heirlooms of yours would you put in a hidden safe?
