An unexploded hand-grenade, haunted dolls and a set of gold false teeth: The most unusual items that you’ve sent in

Every week we receive thousands of boxes and items from people all over the UK, so you’d think that by now our teams wouldn’t be shocked by what they find. But every now and then we receive items that leave us astounded.

We’ve looked through the archives to find the strangest items that we’ve received from our customers. Here are the top five weirdest items that have been sent in:

1. An unexploded WWII hand-grenade  

In 2022, we were surprised to receive an old world war two hand-grenade.  We contacted the police after discovering the hand-grenade and a police corden was put in place so the bomb squad could attend. Fortunately, after a thorough investigation, it was found to be inactive with the scene cleared and our evacuated staff were eventually allowed to go back into the building. 

2. Haunted dolls

Another common item that we receive often is creepy dolls, and one of which was actually said to be cursed. The doll was sold as part of a bundle with other dolls following our valuation, but was promptly returned with both eyes taped shut and  ‘cursed doll’ cited as the reason.

3. Gold false teeth

We often receive sets of old gold false teeth too. While they may appear somewhat disgusting, they are actually surprisingly valuable as dental gold can be melted down to be given a new life.

4. Golden spider ornament

Another quirky item we’ve received is a solid gold spider - not one for anyone suffering with arachnophobia. Its specific purpose remains a bit of a mystery, but we guessed it was simply a golden ornament. 

5. Quirky jewellery

We often take a lot of old jewellery, but one of the most unique pieces was an old pearl necklace with an unusual twist –  it featured a gnome pendant. We also recently received a photo from a customer who’d bought items from us - in particular a teddy-bear brooch missing an arm. The customer continued to collect similar brooches and ended up with a 27-piece animal-themed brooch collection including teddy bears, cats and dogs. She recently sent a photo to us of the collection having a dinner party. 

Although these items are very fascinating - we do ask customers to be careful with what they send in, and make sure that they check our 'Items we don't buy' page before packing the box to ensure that we are able to take the item. If in doubt, they can always contact us first to check.