A rare colonial-era newspaper was dropped in a New Jersey Goodwill bin, and you can't afford it, honey

According to an appraiser, this copy of a colonial-era newspaper was “unquestionably authentic.” (Photo: Shopgoodwill.com)
According to an appraiser, this copy of a colonial-era newspaper was “unquestionably authentic.” (Photo: Shopgoodwill.com)

Sure, your holiday ornaments may be swaddled in old newspaper pages. But this one, found in a New Jersey Goodwill donation bin, may be worth $18,000. Talk about an Antiques Roadshow wish come true.

The Dec. 28, 1774, edition of the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser broadsheet is a dream for any history buff, and the pages, framed in wood and glass, showed up at a Woodbury Goodwill store last spring. The donor? Unidentified. But possibly kicking themselves right about now.

What makes this old paper such an incredible find? There’s an article that discusses the newly enacted Boston Port Bill, which closed the port after the Boston Tea Party protesters tossed an estimated $1 million worth of tea into the harbor. Just four months later, in April 1775, the Revolutionary War began.

The newspaper also features three posts signed by the president of the Provincial Congress — none other than John Hancock, the man who signed the Declaration of Independence first, big and bold. It also features the signatures of John Dunlap, Benjamin Rush, and Anthony Wayne.

Heather Randall, the e-commerce manager for Goodwill of Southern New Jersey and Greater Philadelphia, along with her team, made sure that they took the time to examine this rare find. “We weren’t 100 percent sure of what we had,” Randall told NJ.com. But Cohasco, Inc., a Yonkers, N.Y., historical appraiser that specializes in printed products, said the newspaper was “unquestionably authentic.”

It has been appraised for $18,000 by Robert Snyder, who told the outlet that he knew of only three other editions of the paper from that day published in pre-Continental Congress Philadelphia, located at Illinois State University, the University of Chicago, and Yale.

The item was on auction for $10,000, but it ended with zero bids in October.

For now, Goodwill will hold on to it but hopes to auction it off for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.