THOMASTON, Maine (AP) — Kaja Veilleux has been hunting New England attic treasures for more than 50 years. He once found a copy of the Declaration of Independence sitting on a pile of trash, and he made headlines this year when he stumbled upon a million-dollar portrait gathering dust in an old farmhouse in Maine that may have been painted by the Dutch master Rembrandt.
Then there was the time, Veilleux said, he was shown a $50,000 gold coin kicking around in a tool drawer — only to have the well-meaning owner destroy much of its value before he could auction it by using a scouring pad to clean it — and scratch it.
“It’s like a treasure hunt every day,” Veilleux said with a chuckle.
Many people dream of cashing in on some dusty, old heirloom. In October, three sisters from Ohio sold a rare dime for more than half-a-million dollars. Two years ago, a case of old hockey cards found in a Canadian home sold for more than $3.7 million.
Veilleux, 73, helps people sort gems from junk when he appraises furniture, antiques and art by using his knowledge of what similar items have sold for in the past. But art auctions can be fickle. Who could have guessed a banana duct-taped to a wall could sell for more than $6 million?
A fake provided an early lesson
Veilleux started collecting coins at age 8 and soon found he had a good memory for visual objects. His training for a career in antique dealing has all been on the job, he said, including a lesson he learned early when he spent most of the money he had at the time on bidding for a beautiful miniature painting.
When he got home from the auction and looked at the artwork under a magnifying glass, he realized it was a print, with dabs of paint added to make it look genuine.
“I paid $350 for a $35 object, which always taught me to look at things very carefully,” Veilleux said.
In the late 1990s, he was at a house call in South Freeport, Maine. It was a hoarder’s house, he said, where piles of trash were awaiting their trip to an already-full dumpster. Atop one pile, Veilleux spotted what was later confirmed to be a 1776 copy of the Declaration of Independence.
He auctioned it for $99,000 but the state of Maine sued to take possession of the document, and won. That meant both the buyer and seller ended up missing out.
A possible Rembrandt is found in Maine
This year’s artwork find was his most valuable yet. Veilleux said he and an assistant were on a house call in Camden, Maine.
“We start going through the house and there were rare little things and big things everywhere,” Veilleux said. “Finally, we are on the third floor near the attic, and we find a stack of paintings, and in it is this beautiful portrait of a young woman by Rembrandt.”
