US Woman Discovers "Hidden Treasure" Stuck In The Door Handle From Her 112-Year-Old Home While Renovating It

Renovating an old home often comes with stress, long hours and unexpected costs. But for one couple in the US, the process also brought a surprising discovery hidden inside their house for decades, reported Newsweek.

Abbey Gingras, 31, lives in Salt Lake, Utah, with her husband in a small Craftsman bungalow built in 1913. The couple has been renovating the house for about 18 months. Like many homeowners, they wanted to avoid high renovation costs. A survey by Platinum Homebuilders and Design of 1,000 US homeowners showed that 47 percent of people went over budget during renovations in the last three years.

To keep costs down, Gingras and her husband chose to do most of the renovations themselves. Gingras has been sharing the entire process with people on Instagram through her account, @the1913bungalow.

During this process, they had to perform many slow and laborious tasks. This included removing thick layers of old paint from doorknobs, plates, and hinges throughout the house. The previous owners had also painted these metal parts while painting the walls, which had accumulated multiple layers over time. The couple's goal was to clean them and restore their original shine.

During this cleaning, while Gingras was removing a door handle plate, she discovered a strange object. A ring was stuck inside the plate. Both were surprised and delighted by this discovery, as finding such a hidden item felt like a treasure hunt. They immediately informed their friends and family.

Gingras believes the ring may have been hidden there for a long time. Judging by the multiple layers of paint on it, he suspects it was probably placed there when the house was first painted, in the 1920s or 1930s. The ring appeared to be gold and had a ruby or garnet-like stone embedded in it. He suspects it may have been hidden intentionally by someone thinking it was valuable, or it may have accidentally slipped through the keyhole, possibly by a child, and then forgotten.

However, it soon became clear that the ring was not precious. A nearby jeweler, after examining it, revealed that it was neither real gold nor contained any real gemstones.

Despite this, the ring has become special to Gingras. Knowing it has been a part of the house for so many years gives it sentimental value. Gingras and her husband have decided to keep it, and she wears it occasionally to remind her of the story of their home's restoration and the past it holds.