Recognise this classic car? That's because it's the same model that was driven by James Bond in the films On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Diamonds Are Forever. The 1972 Aston Martin DBS was discovered in a barn in Surrey, England, in February 2015 and went on to fetch £45,000 ($69k) at a Coys auction in London.

This 1960 Jaguar XK150 S had sat in a barn since 1996 after its owner had lost control of the car on a "wet day" and crashed it into a tree. Owned by the same person since 1969, its owner has since passed away and the car came up for auction this May. Incredibly, it sold for $127,552 (£90.3k), six times its estimate, even though the car is in need of expensive repair. The high price is down to a combination of a booming classic cars market and the rarity of Jaguar XK150s, especially of the high-performance S model.

In 2007, antiques dealer Jeff Bidelman of Rare Collectibles was asked to look through an abandoned house by the late daughter's owner, who heard rumours in her childhood that treasure was buried in a hole in the wall. It turned out the rumours were spot on. Bidelman discovered a haul of old coins worth a very respectable $200,000 (£101k).

Not only do these two rare Pontiac Firebirds date back to 1967, they were the first two of the classic cars ever to be made, used as a prototype so that the manufacturers could decide if they wanted to produce it. Found in a Connecticut barn in 2014 by Richard Rawlings, the host of Discovery Channel's Fast N'Loud, they were restored and sold for $650,000 (£389k).

Workers renovating a winery building in the Champagne region of France got the shock of their life in 2012 when they chanced upon 497 gold coins minted between 1851 and 1928 which were worth a total of $980,000 (£615k). In a surreal moment of discovery, the coins literally rained down through a hole in the rafters, drenching the astonished workers in gold. 

Ordinary people who stumbled upon extraordinary amounts of gold

Believe it or not, this 300-year old statue, estimated to be worth £1.4 million ($1.9m) in 2016, was being used as a doorstop when it was discovered. The bust, created by French sculptor Edmé Bouchardon in 1728, was discovered in 1998 on an industrial estate in Balintore, Scotland by Councillor Maxine Smith. In 2016, it was reported that the former doorstop sculpture would be going on display at the Louvre. Talk about going up in the world.

When Connecticut-based artist Francis Hines passed away in 2016, he left behind hundreds of works of art in a barn he used as a studio. Known as New York's wrapper – he famously wrapped the Washington Square Arch in 8,000 yards of synthetic fabric in 1980 – Hines worked until his death aged 96. The pieces were discovered in 2017 by mechanic Jared Whipple, who received a call from a contractor who thought he might be interested in the works that featured painted car parts. Whipple spent four years researching Hines' art and has been told the collection could be worth "millions", with some individual pieces worth up to $22,000 (£16.7k) each. He's been given permission to keep and sell the artworks by Hines' family but plans to keep the majority. Around 40 of the pieces will be going up for sale from May this year. 

Michael Rorrer was clearing out his late great aunt's home in Virginia when he stumbled upon a collection of 345 comics in the basement. The collection belonged to his late uncle Billy Wright, who had never told anyone about his hobby before his death in 1994. The carefully-arranged collection included rare comics such as Detective Comics No 27, the first comic to star Batman (pictured). Unsurprisingly, the rare magazines fetched a whopping $3.5 million (£2.9m) at auction in New York in 2012.

Do you own any of these valuable modern comics?

An unsuspecting French heir got a bigger inheritance than he'd bargained for in 2016, when the rickety house he'd inherited turned out to contain a huge stash of gold. The hoard, which had been there for around 70 years, was worth $3.8 million (£2.7m), and was distributed throughout various hiding places in the Normandy home. It consisted of 5,000 pieces, two bars and 37 ingots of gold.

Now read: The largest gold nuggets ever found

Speaking of unusual wills, a family who inherited a garage in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, were shocked to discover it contained this super-rare car. The 1937 Bugatti 57S was discovered in the garage in 2007, after the passing of 89-year old Dr Harold Carr, along with a Classic Aston Martin, a Jaguar E-Type and a Type 57S Atalante. To the family's delight, the car sold for a staggering £3 million ($4.3m) in February 2009. 

Between 1985 and 1988, workers in the Polish town of Środa Śląska uncovered a hoard of gold and silver coins and precious jewels during a renovation project on an abandoned telephone exchange. The treasure, which includes this medieval gold crown, was confiscated by the authorities. It was valued at a massive $100+ million (£53m) in 2005.

Now read about the 'treasures' that turned out to be worthless

This rusty sword, which dates back to between 600 and 800 BC, was found by farmer Ambrose Owens in 1965 on the banks of the Arney River in Northern Ireland. Not realising its significance, Owens dumped it in his barn, where it remained for more than 50 years. Owens' brother Maurice rediscovered the artefact in July 2016, and had it appraised by experts – only to discover it was a priceless 2,600-year old artefact!

Now discover some amazingly valuable treasures that were bought for peanuts