A Nashville man paid $2.48 for a document at a thrift store in 2006; it proved to be a rare...

A yellowed, rolled-up document bought for $2.48 at a Music City Thrift Store in Nashville sold for $477,650 at auction after it was confirmed as a very rare 1823 official copy of the United States Declaration of Independence. The document was bought in March 2006 by Michael Sparks, a music equipment technician, as reported by the Associated Press through WIS-TV. While looking around the store for household items, he noticed the rolled-up manuscript. It turned out to be one of only 200 official copies commissioned by John Quincy Adams in the 1820s. The print was auctioned in Burlington, North Carolina, and sold for far more than expected. Bidding at Raynors' Historical Collectible Auctions started at $125,000 before rising to the final sale price of $477,650.Discovery in the bargain binAccording to a report by the Deseret News, Sparks was making his usual weekly visit to the Music City Thrift Store when he picked up a candelabra, a set of salt and pepper shakers, and the rolled document. Store manager Kay Boner said that $2.48 was simply the standard price for an item like this at the time. Sparks often searched second-hand stores for interesting historical items. He thought the pri...