A set of plates that were destined for the charity shop turned out to be Chinese Ming Dynasty porcelain - and sold for £100,000 at auction.
The owner of the crockery, who had no idea of their true value, was given them by a man she used to help around the house.
Her children grew up with the porcelain on the shelves and walls of their family home in Etwall, Derbys, in the 1960s.
When the woman died her relatives put the crockery into cardboard boxes and planned to donate them to charity.
But one of her sons decided to get the plates valued by an antiques expert at the last minute.
Experts at Hansons Auctioneers spotted some were Chinese ceramics and said they could fetch up to £6,000.
But even they were astounded when the collection sparked an online bidding war among overseas collectors.
The porcelain sold for a total of £112,000 - with the proceeds set to be split between the 67-year-old son and his two siblings.
He said: “I grew up being surrounded by plates and dishes. Mum liked to display them on the walls.
“She would have had no idea the dishes were valuable.
“She inherited them from a chap she used to help to look after, a former Rolls-Royce engineer.
“They were given to her as a mark of gratitude. They must have been on display in her home for 30 or 40 years.
“I thought they might make a bit of money but didn’t think they would be worth much.
“I’d been clearing mum’s house and had considered taking the pots to a charity shop.
“I took them for valuation and consigned them into auction expecting them to make around £30 to £50.
“But later on I got a call from Hansons to say some of the Chinese ceramics in the box were worth more.
“They planned to put them into a different sale with estimates of £4,000 to £6,000.
“What happened next was unbelievable. I watched the auction live online and the prices kept rocketing.
“I was shouting at the computer. My sister was watching live online from Australia and we were texting each other.
“We just couldn’t believe what was happening.”
Despite chips, a set of four small dishes achieved a whopping hammer price of £63,000 from a £4,000 to £6,000 guide price.
Three phone bidders battled to secure the set and the total paid by a Chinese bidder, with buyer’s premium, was £81,900.
The precious treasures turned out to be late 16th century Chinese Ming Dynasty wucai porcelain dragon and phoenix dishes.
Each dish bore six character marks in blue of the Wanli Emperor (1573-1620).
A separate Imperial porcelain yellow ground medallion bowl sold for £14,500, and an Imperial porcelain famille rose pink ground medallion bowl fetched £8,800.
Hansons owner Charles Hanson said: “What made the four dishes particularly special was the fact they’d remained together as a set.
“It was an unbelievable find and a tremendous result. It attracted worldwide interest.”
