# Man Bought A Used Couch And Found...…...Inside!!



## fmdog44 (Jan 20, 2020)

Sometimes, buying second hand can really pay off.
A Michigan man bought a couch and ottoman from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore shop last month but recently discovered a happy little bonus in the furniture — US$43,000 in cold, hard cash.
“It still boggles my mind,” Howard Kirby told CBS affiliate WNEM in Bay City, Mich. “I still have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming or something.”
After buying the furniture in December, Kirby found the ottoman a little uncomfortable as the weeks went by. His daughter decided to investigate and discovered the cushion was stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash. It wound up totalling a whopping $43,170.
After finding the hidden treasure, Kirby decided to track down the previous owner of the furniture in the hopes of returning the cash to its rightful owner. He found Kim Fauth-Newberry, whose late grandfather previously owned the couch, and gave her the money.
Kirby admitted he could have used the cash but decided keeping it wasn’t the right thing to do.
“I always thought what would I do if that ever happened and now I know, and it makes me feel good,” Kirby said.
The store manager where Kirby bought the furniture was touched by Kirby’s generosity.
“To me, this is someone that despite what they’re going through – and in spite of their own needs – says ‘I’m just going to do the right thing,’” Rick Merling said.

_What rubs me wrong on this story is apparently the family that owned the couch did not give him one cent for returning it. This was on the local news yesterday and they never said a word about anything other than a thank you. _


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## Catlady (Jan 20, 2020)

I agree, they should have given him at LEAST 10% of the total. 

 It also bothers me that this granddaughter wasn't even the owner of the money.  And why did the old guy have $43k hiding in the furniture, who was he hiding it FROM?  Lots of questions there.


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## applecruncher (Jan 20, 2020)

I also feel they should have offered/given him a couple thousand dollars.  Something odd though...why hide that much $$ in a piece of furniture?


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## Keesha (Jan 21, 2020)

Cheap  @$%#.... ers!!!!


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## rkunsaw (Jan 21, 2020)

The IRS might be interested in why he hid so much money.


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## Aunt Bea (Jan 21, 2020)

I don't see anything sinister or strange about keeping a little stash of cash where you can get your hands on it quickly when needed.

Money is one of those topics that we don't talk about.   We might all be surprised at just how much nice clean cash is stashed in sugar bowls and sofa cushions across the country.

It probably started out as a few bucks and just accumulated slowly over time.


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## applecruncher (Jan 21, 2020)

Aunt Bea said:


> I don't see anything sinister or strange about keeping a little stash of cash where you can get your hands on it quickly when needed.
> 
> Money is one of those topics that we don't talk about.   We might all be surprised at just how much nice clean cash is stashed in sugar bowls and sofa cushions across the country.
> 
> It probably started out as a few bucks and just accumulated slowly over time.



A few dollars or even an accumulation of a couple hundred is one thing, but $40,000+  is another matter imo. Even if the money is legitimate, it should be in a bank or safer place than a furniture cushion.  A fire or break-in could wipe it out. Furthermore, if something happened to the person who owns/hid such a large sum, heirs would be entitled to it. But nobody benefits from money they don't know about.


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## Catlady (Jan 21, 2020)

applecruncher said:


> A few dollars or even an accumulation of a couple hundred is one thing, but $40,000+  is another matter imo. Even if the money is legitimate, it should be in a bank or safer place than a furniture cushion.  A fire or break-in could wipe it out. Furthermore, if something happened to the person who owns/hid such a large sum, heirs would be entitled to it. But nobody benefits from money they don't know about.


Even worse, the couch could have become decrepit and the couch thrown in the dump or set on fire.  I can understand, like you said, hiding a few hundred for emergencies and such.  My cousin hid it in the freezer, only because her husband spent every penny available.


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## StarSong (Jan 21, 2020)

The grandfather likely lived during the Depression-era and didn't completely trust banks.  Or perhaps he thought his family would take the funds from him.  That generation lived by the motto of Cash is King. 

Without other proof, it seems unlikely that he accumulated these funds through illegal schemes. $43K isn't all that much money if he'd been stashing it bit by bit over decades - no more so than if he'd put that same amount in a bank account.

Agreed that a reward would have been in order.


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## Catlady (Jan 21, 2020)

I remember reading about this guy who dressed in rags and lived in a house full of old stuff and people gave him food and stuff.  When he died his relatives went to clean out his house to sell it.  They found a lot of coffee cans filled with money, I think it was at least one million $.


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## fmdog44 (Jan 21, 2020)

One reason not to hide money is you might forget where you put it. Happens all the time, like those couch people.


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## Camper6 (Jan 21, 2020)

You know people!!

When people abandon stuff and you end up buying it, you are under no obligation to return it.

You buy it on an as is, no guarantee option.  The word abandon comes in to play.  People put stuff on the curb which they no longer want and you are entitled to take it free of charge.  If the fix for a lawn mower is quick because you have knowledge you are under no obligation to return it to the previous owner.

I mean if people can't keep track of $40,000 or even check to see if there is anything of value in it then why should I have to search for the owner. 

Now if this case went to court and the previous owners found out about it would they have a chance of getting it back?

I will return a wallet with identification and the cash but guess what? I would return the cash but I would keep a portion just in case you run into one of those who say thank you and don't give a reward.  Then if they offer it you can just turn it down.


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## RadishRose (Jan 21, 2020)

I would have liked the man to have received a reward. But, no one is entitled to a reward for doing the right thing or any other kindness. Then, it's no longer a reward; it justs becomes a payment for a service.


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## Catlady (Jan 21, 2020)

I may be morally wrong, but I have a rule.  If I find money that has IDs (wallet etc) I will return it.   If I see someone drop a wallet or bag full of money or see money fall out of an armored truck, I will return it.  In his case I would have kept the money, especially since he needed the money.


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## RadishRose (Jan 21, 2020)

I'll be honest, I would be hard pressed to give the money to the grand daughter. Was there a will naming her as sole beneficiary? Were there others who would have been first in line per their state law?


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## Pecos (Jan 21, 2020)

This story delighted my wife who is on the constant lookout for "goodness" in humanity.


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## Camper6 (Jan 21, 2020)

RadishRose said:


> I would have liked the man to have received a reward. But, no one is entitled to a reward for doing the right thing or any other kindness. Then, it's no longer a reward; it justs becomes a payment for a service.


The point is. Does he deserve a reward.? Not entitled. Expected. A reward for finding the owner? He didn't have to go through the trouble. A reward makes so much sense.


Her great grandfather gave her the money and she kept it in the couch? I'm skeptical.


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## PopsnTuff (Jan 21, 2020)

Saw that on the news last nite....that was very commendable of him to return the money to the relatives....just hope there's no drug addicts in the fam where the money will get fought over and used unwisely.


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## Catlady (Jan 21, 2020)

I just found this story:

There's Joe Temeczko, who roamed his Minneapolis neighborhood looking for throwaways to fix up and sell or give away. The Polish immigrant and former prisoner of war did odd jobs, had no family, and lived in a modest house filled with the things he scavenged from the street.
His attorney, William Wangensteen, describes himself as "blown away" when Temeczko's bank called a few years ago, trying to enlist Wangensteen's support in persuading the little old man with the thick accent to convert his million-dollar bank account into more lucrative investments.

Before that, Wangensteen had no idea that the handyman who rotated the attorney's screens and storm windows every spring and fall was so rich. Wangensteen says Temeczko would get free food from local charities and read newspapers in the store so he wouldn't have to buy them.

Temeczko took the news of the 9/11 attacks hard; he had his will rewritten, leaving $1.4 million to the City of New York. He died a few weeks later in October 2001 at age 86.  Temeczko's bequest helped fund a park renovation, as well as "The Daffodil Project," in which thousands of volunteers planted more than two million flower bulbs across New York City as a living memorial to 9/11 victims. Appropriate, because Temeczko loved gardening and often shared the products of his labors with friends and neighbors.


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## AnnieA (Jan 21, 2020)

Catlady said:


> I may be morally wrong, but I have a rule.  If I find money that has IDs (wallet etc) I will return it.   If I see someone drop a wallet or bag full of money or see money fall out of an armored truck, I will return it.  In his case I would have kept the money, especially since he needed the money.



I don't think you are.   The family got rid of the furniture. The guy who hid the money obviously didn't share with his family that he had it.    In this case, I think the buyer was morally okay to keep it.   And I've gone back through a fast food drive through line before to return money because I realized the clerk had given me too much change.


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## toffee (Jan 22, 2020)

finders keepers ---losers weepers ...hahahaha


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## treeguy64 (Jan 22, 2020)

I have mixed feelings about the couch story: It was impossible for the new couch owner to know the truth behind the $43G's before he embarked on his search. With that in mind, he did the right thing, as I would have done. However, had I known that the money had belonged to a now deceased individual, and that his granddaughter was a no class piece of work who would not have offered me a hefty reward for giving her the stash, there's no way I would have given it to her. Absent a will leaving her the couch money, I'm not even certain she actually had any legal right to it, especially if there were other blood relatives around. Oh well........


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## hollydolly (Jan 22, 2020)

Catlady said:


> Even worse, the couch could have become decrepit and the couch thrown in the dump or set on fire.  I can understand, like you said, hiding a few hundred for emergencies and such.  *My cousin hid it in the freezer,* only because her husband spent every penny available.


 apparently the freezer is one of the first places burglars look ...


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## Liberty (Jan 22, 2020)

Aunt Bea said:


> I don't see anything sinister or strange about keeping a little stash of cash where you can get your hands on it quickly when needed.
> 
> Money is one of those topics that we don't talk about.   We might all be surprised at just how much nice clean cash is stashed in sugar bowls and sofa cushions across the country.
> 
> It probably started out as a few bucks and just accumulated slowly over time.


Many years ago, not long after we were married... we bought our first house in Cleveland, Ohio - west side - lots of old houses there that were built before the depression, but whose inhabitants obviously lived through the depression in them.  One day there was a big fire behind our house, a few streets over.  

The wind blew up and over and all at once money started flying through the smoke filled air. Later we found out the wallpaper had been layered with bills.  Like maybe a hundred thousand bucks or so.  Think about that - how much that amount of cash would have been worth during the depression.  

There were rumors our house had cash in it to, but after peeling some 13 layers of wallpaper off a balconed "nursery" bedroom wall without finding nary a nickle, your's truly started to repaper that old wall, giving up any hopes of discovering a fortune between the patterns!


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## Aunt Bea (Jan 22, 2020)

I remember cleaning my father's house one day and seeing the floor covered with twenty-dollar bills.

I had backed into an old marble-topped table next to his chair and it dislodged a loose pile of money that he apparently kept on the wooden crosspiece below the marble slab.

I was a nervous wreck because I knew if I didn't get them back into place exactly the way he had hidden them I would never hear the end of it.  I did the best I could and neither of us ever mentioned it but I have a feeling that he knew it had been discovered.

I hope that when I die whoever cleans out my apartment and finds my little stash has the good sense to keep their mouth shut and enjoy it, it will make a great story for them when they get old!


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## Liberty (Jan 22, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> apparently the freezer is one of the first places burglars look ...


Bet the thieves wouldn't venture into the kitty sand!


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## Catlady (Jan 22, 2020)

Aunt Bea said:


> I had backed into an old marble-topped table next to his chair and it dislodged a loose pile of money that he apparently kept on the wooden crosspiece below the marble slab.  I was a nervous wreck because I knew if I didn't get them back into place exactly the way he had hidden them I would never hear the end of it.  I did the best I could and neither of us ever mentioned it but I have a feeling that he knew it had been discovered.



So, what happened after he died, did you find the money, did he move it after you found it?

I read about a similar story to the OP's.  Someone bought a used dresser and planned to sand it and paint it.  He found a manila envelope full of cash attached underneath the bottom drawer.  He also found the previous owner and returned it.  I don't remember all the details, if he got a reward for his detective efforts of finding the owner.   I bet most of those ''previous owners'' didn't even know about the hidden money.


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## debodun (Jan 22, 2020)

I say "finders keepers"!


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## applecruncher (Jan 22, 2020)

hollydolly said:


> apparently the freezer is one of the first places burglars look ...



Yes, and another is women's underwear drawer.
Saw a program where a former burglar gave lots of info.
He said best place for cash and jewels is a floor safe. Burglars don't want to take time to look for it.


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## Catlady (Jan 22, 2020)

Can you imagine some of these people, who found masterpieces in garage sales and bought them for a pittance, were to feel compelled to return the item to the seller?  No way, finders keepers for sure!

https://www.history.com/news/8-multi-million-dollar-masterpieces-found-in-unexpected-places


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## applecruncher (Jan 22, 2020)

Masterpiece from a garage sale...it's MINE.


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## debodun (Jan 22, 2020)

My mom found a $20 bill all scrunched up in a jewelry box she bought at a garage sale. She kept it. People should go thorough and check items before selling them. It's their loss otherwise. I keep money I found on the floor of public places. Cash is a difficult thing to prove ownership. Once I found a $10 bill on the floor of a pharmacy and didn't turn it in. What's to say the clerk would have just kept it? I just hope it wasn't someone prescription co-pay money.


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## Catlady (Jan 22, 2020)

I once found a $20 in my coat pocket and was delighted.  Then I realized that it wasn't ''found money'', it was ''forgotten money''.  I was not celebrating anymore.


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## StarSong (Jan 23, 2020)

Catlady said:


> I once found a $20 in my coat pocket and was delighted.  Then I realized that it wasn't ''found money'', it was ''forgotten money''.  I was not celebrating anymore.


I celebrate finds like that anyway!  I love welcoming errant prodigal sons money back to the fold!


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## OneEyedDiva (Jan 26, 2020)

Wow...God bless him!  I think it's unconscionable that the family he returned all that money to didn't give him a reward.  I certainly would have given him a healthy one and people I talked with said they would have too.  After all if he wasn't so honest and kept it, they wouldn't have gotten jack back.


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## Catlady (Jan 26, 2020)

OneEyedDiva said:


> Wow...God bless him!  I think it's unconscionable that the family he returned all that money to didn't give him a reward.  I certainly would have given him a healthy one and people I talked with said they would have too.  After all if he wasn't so honest and kept it, they wouldn't have gotten jack back.


I think I would have kept the money.  He had to "research" to find the owner, it's not like a family member or neighbor gifted him the couch.  In fact, not only did he not get a reward, he probably even lost the money he paid for the couch (the article doesn't say).  And the couch belonged to her grandfather, who probably died and they sold the couch.  The money wasn't even hers.


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## Gardenlover (Jan 26, 2020)

Once you find money stashed someplace in a deceased loves home, it sure slows down the process of cleaning the house out to sell. It also makes you wonder if you found everything that may have been hidden. While cleaning my grandmother's mouse house (lol ) out after she died, my dad found cash hid in books and furniture. If you follow such practices make it known to someone you trust.


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## Catlady (Jan 26, 2020)

Gardenlover said:


> Once you find money stashed someplace in a deceased loves home, it sure slows down the process of cleaning the house out to sell. It also makes you wonder if you found everything that may have been hidden. While cleaning my grandmother's mouse out after she died, my dad found cash hid in books and furniture. If you follow such practices make it known to someone you trust.


It makes you wonder why those people have a need not only to hoard cash, but in different places.  Could be their fear of burglars finding the stash, but how can they remember all those hiding places?  At least pirates had a map with an X.    I've started accumulating cash ever since @Aunt Bea said it was a good practice to keep emergency cash on hand in case of some disruption or other emergency when banks have shut down and only cash can be used. Great idea!


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