A Midwest metal dealer purchased a gold item at an antiques mart and was shocked to discover it was a rare Fabergé egg worth $33 million.

The man paid $14,000 for the item and intended to sell it, but no one was interested, fortunately.

In despair, the man typed “egg” and “Vacheron Constantin” into Google and came up with an article on surviving Fabergé eggs that showed a picture of his egg.

It has since been identified as one of the lost Imperial Easter eggs designed by Carl Fabergé. Of the 50 Imperial eggs, the whereabouts of 42 of them are known, but eight are missing. Five of them are believed to have been destroyed, but the other three escaped Russia. This was among those three.

The egg has been reported to have been sold for $33 million to a private collector. 

The Third Lost Imperial Egg.