Marvin Gaye's Lost Passport Found in Record Bought at Garage Sale
A former Motown Museum employee made an unusual—and very valuable—discovery after he returned from the estate sale of a Detroit musician: Inside a record, which he'd purchased for just 50 cents, the man found Marvin Gaye's 1964 passport.
In an Antiques Roadshow that aired on February 3, the man recounted his find to appraiser Laura Woolley.
After a Motown musician had passed, we had gone to their house to pick up some items that the family wanted to donate to the museum, and they had said, "Is there anything else you wanted? "Because otherwise, it's going to be in the estate sale this weekend." She said, "No," and I said, "What about these albums and records?"
The man didn't take any back to the museum, but he later returned to the sale and bought several albums and 45s. The albums were 50 cents each, and the 45s cost just a quarter. "When I got home, I was going through them and out of an album fell this passport," the man said, laughing. "And so it literally fell into my hands."
It's turned out to be a very valuable find. "I wouldn't put less than $20,000 on the passport if you were to insure it," Wooley told the man.
His response? "Are you kidding me? I never would have thought. I mean, I'm just shocked. I mean... wow. Oh gosh, thank you."