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  • 2007-07-19 (xsd:date)
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  • Did a Homebuyer Discover a Barn Full of Classic Cars on His Property? (en)
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  • One of the many fortunate discovery scenarios people sometimes fantasize about involves taking possession of a dwelling and turning up something of great value left behind by a previous resident — perhaps a forgotten stash of currency, discarded coins that were once common but are now worth a pretty penny to collectors, jewelry hidden away and never retrieved, etc. Purchasing an old farmhouse and discovering the property included a barn stuffed full with a few hundred vintage automobiles is a reverie probably outside the range of even the most optimistic daydreamer's imaginings, but that's the backstory that was created to enliven a set of photographs circulated in early 2007 that showed an eclectic collection of old cars in a decaying building. The referenced pictures (the full set is viewable here) were indeed taken in a barn somewhere in Portugal, but the lucky find aspect of the story doesn't quite ring true. As Tom Cotter of Sports Car Market magazine noted when he looked into this story: What Cotter found out by tracking down the photographer was that the owner of the barn (and the 180 or so vintage cars contained within) was not a lucky buyer who had just purchased the property and was astonished to find a treasure trove in one of the farm buildings. The owner was an automobile dealer in the 1970s and 1980s who had built up an assemblage of cars over the years and stashed it in the barn (locking and soldering the doors shut when the structure was full) and who simply hired a photographer to document his collection: A partial inventory of the various models of automobiles stored in the barn can be viewed here. (en)
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