I bought a medal at a garage sale for 75 cents but an expert told me two details make it worth $30,000

A THRIFTER managed to get their hands on a historic medal at a garage sale for a few quarters and could've made a potential profit of tens of thousands of dollars selling it.

The lucky buyer, KJ, took the medal he bought for only 75 cents to Pawn Stars' Rick Harrison during an episode of the hit television show.

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KJ explained to Rick that he'd picked the medal up because it had a pleasing and "ornate" design that appealed to him, later finding out through research that it was none other than Poland's Order of the White Eagle medal.

"It's the highest medal that they can give to anybody in Poland," KJ told Rick.

He added that the Polish medal was the equivalent of the United States Medal of Honor, making it extremely valuable and rare.

"It's been given to Ronald Reagan, it's been given to the Pope," KJ said.

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Rick verified that KJ's claims were accurate, as the medal is given to either civilians or military members in Poland for their merits.

The origin of the medal, which comes from The Order of the White Eagle, dates back several centuries.

"This is pretty incredible," Rick said.

"It's the way they used to make medals back then — it's beautiful enamel work," he added while closely inspecting the medal.

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The medal features the white eagle at the center on top of another eagle with two heads.

There's also a crown at the top with blue ribbons and other detailing.

"This was not something cheap to make," Rick informed KJ.

Rick explained to viewers that he was almost certain it was an authentic Polish Order of the White Eagle Medal and said he'd seen medals of a similar caliber sell for upwards of $20,000.

KJ said he wanted at least $10,000 for it, but Rick negotiated back at $5,000.

After some deliberation between them, a price of $6,000 was eventually settled for KJ, who made a significant profit after paying only 75 cents.

Still, Rick had an expert, Craig Gottlieb, come in and evaluate the medal further, which was great news for him and not so much for KJ.

COMPLICATED HISTORY

Craig explained that the medal was actually Russian, given that in the late 1700s, Poland was split between Prussia, Austria, and Russia.

"Russia actually got the largest part," he said.

The expert also confirmed that The Order of the White Eagle was founded as far back as 1325.

The White Eagle became Poland's national emblem, which was overlayed on top of Russia's eagle with two heads, known as the Russian Imperial Eagle, on the medal.

Craig noted that the two details of the White Eagle and Imperial Eagle not only made it considerably more valuable but also reflected the timeline of Russia's rule over Poland.

"This was a piece that was awarded during Russia's rule of that portion of Poland," Craig said.

"This is 800 years of history here."

MIND-BOGGLING FLIP

After some further consideration, Crag determined the medal was worth at least $30,000 to $40,000.

The only problem was Rick might have a tough time finding a buyer.

"The customers who are buying these usually already have them," Craig said.

Even so, Craig lined Rick up with a buyer in Germany who was looking to complete a military set with the Polish White Eagle Medal.

Rick sold it through Craig to the German buyer at $30,000, making him a total profit of $24,000.

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For more related content, check out The U.S. Sun's coverage of a man who discovered his great-grandfather's watch was worth over $1 million.

The U.S. Sun also has the story of an old fishing rod that a collector sold for thousands more than they'd expected.