A brother and sister in Pinner, UK, cleaned out the house belonging to their recently-deceased parents. They figured that an old vase that they found might be worth a few bucks, so they decided to have it appraised:
The final selling price was about $85 million.
Link | Photo: Bloomberg
They took it to the local auctioneer Bainbridges, in nearby Ruislip, who were in turn excited by the find and valued it at between £800,000 and £1.2m.
However, no one expected the reaction from Chinese buyers, who pushed the bidding up over 30 frenzied minutes to a world record £43m.
By the end of the auction, the price was increasing in £1m chunks as the final few bidders - understood to be mainland Chinese businessmen - vied for the vase.
The final selling price was about $85 million.
Link | Photo: Bloomberg
An object or commodity is worth what people are willing to pay for it.
And yeah, the headline is backwards as pointed out by Wes and Zavatone.
Although it does imply grammatically that the house is worth $85 million, I think most people were able to figure out the $85 mil value is for the vase.
@MWHogan: Somebody paid $85 million, so that's what it was worth. If we go back to what the vase was ORIGINALLY worth, it's way less than the estimated value it was given before the auction.
Old Vase Worth $85 Million Left Behind in House