Woman thrifts snakeskin wallet, nothing prepares her for what’s inside - Newsweek

The chance purchase of an eye-catching wallet ended up becoming a bonus payday for one eagle-eyed Milwaukee mother of seven.

Thrift store shopping has never been more popular. In 2024, a report published by Savers Value Village, Inc., America's largest for-profit thrift store operator, found that nearly 90 percent of North American consumers had engaged with a thrift store through shopping, donating, or both.

That figure represented a significant increase from the 83 percent recorded in 2022. One area where thrifting bucked broader retail trends was the continued popularity of in-person shopping. Meanwhile, secondhand shoppers report spending 4.5 times more at brick-and-mortar thrift stores than through online resale platforms. In fact, 77 cents of every dollar spent on pre-owned apparel is spent in-store.

Forty-one-year-old Bonnie Mata is currently raising 18-month-old twins after having already raised five children who are now adults. She knows all too well the value of in-person thrifting.

She was recently browsing the shelves of a Milwaukee thrift store when she came across a distinctive snakeskin wallet that, unbeknownst to her, contained a secret. "I thought it was pretty cool," she told Newsweek. "I really like snakeskin and alligator skin, and I thought it was pretty."

Though the wallet caught her eye, Mata was initially hesitant about buying it. "I initially threw it back in the bin, then thought, 'No, I'm going to take it,'" she said. "I opened it up and saw that it was handmade and in really good shape. It almost looked unused, so I decided to take it home."

Mata took the wallet home but didn't think much about it for the next few days. It was only later that week that she took a closer look at the wallet.

"I brought it down to the kitchen and was going to take some pictures of it to see if it was worth posting on eBay or if I wanted to keep it, and that's when I checked again and felt something that seemed like paper tucked into one of the slots," she said.

Mata had quickly checked the wallet when she first came across it in the thrift store, but this time she was able to examine each compartment more carefully.

An avid thrifter, Mata said she had always been encouraged to check garments and other secondhand items for money and other surprises. "My friend told me she knew somebody who always found money, and that I should check pockets, purses, and wallets," she said. "I started doing that, but never really found anything."

Maybe that's why she missed what was discovered the second time she searched through the wallet's various pockets. It came as quite a surprise. "When I checked and felt something inside, I pulled out this 1985 hundred-dollar bill," she said.

The year printed on the bill was especially significant to Mata. "That's the year I was born."

In an ideal world, Mata would have loved to have the bill framed as a keepsake. "I'd love to keep it. It's not every day people find a $100 bill from 1985," she said. "But I can't afford to keep it right now. I have twins and I'm not working at the moment."

Though she ultimately spent the cash, it remains a very welcome discovery. "I thought it was super awesome," she said. "From now on, I'm going to be checking purses. It was definitely my best find. I've found quarters and pennies here and there, but never inside a wallet, purse, or even a pocket."

Reyne Hirsch, former owner of the Dallas Auction Gallery and a longtime Antiques Roadshow appraiser, has seen her fair share of surprising thrift store discoveries.

She told Newsweek that finding money hidden inside secondhand purchases is more common than many people realize.

"People, especially the older generation, have hidden money in coat pockets, books, shoes, and the backs of paintings for a long time," Hirsch said. "Some Depression Era families felt keeping their money on hand was safer than the bank hence why they tucked it away for safe keeping."

Drawing on both her personal experience and years in the antiques industry, Hirsch also has a theory about how valuable items can end up being accidentally donated.

"When a person passes or relocated to smaller quarters someone often is responsible for clearing out the property," she said. "Books, clothing, old handbags etc are often bundled to donate and not checked. Estate advisors can be busy checking the silver and jewelry and don't think to check the pockets."

According to Hirsch, it's an easy oversight to make, particularly when family members or estate professionals are focused on identifying obvious valuables while sorting through large volumes of belongings.

"The same happens when it's a valuable watch or painting," she said. "If a large sum of cash, you might contact the store to see if they can track down where the belongings came from. Many times no one realizes it was missing in the first place."

Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Rebecca Flood and Anthony Murray.