01/13/2026
Another great story that shows that sometimes you really never know what you have when it comes to antiques.
“One man’s junk, is another man’s treasure” -unknown
A 91-year-old Nebraska grandma almost put her old porch crock in a garage sale. Instead, it just sold at an auction in central Nebraska for $32,000.
The 30-gallon Red Wing Stoneware crock sat outside on her porch weathering the Nebraska elements for more than 40 years. When she saw that Bramer Auction and Realty was holding a sale featuring antique crocks, she called to ask if they could squeeze hers in.
At first, auctioneer Ken Bramer wasn't sure about a last minute addition. The ads had already been placed and the sale was just days away. But he decided, "What's one more?" and went to check it out.
When Ken saw the crock, it was covered with a hand-made lid to keep out snow and leaves. When Ken spun it around, he knew right away it was valuable.
The blue butterfly markings were rare-- but what made his jaw drop was that it was stamped twice, a once-in-a-lifetime find for a serious Red Wing collector.
Ken asked what she thought it was worth.
She said, "Maybe you can get me $100." Ken replied, "I think you're going to be surprised."
A few days later, on auction day, about 300 bidders packed the county fairgrounds. When the crock hit $19,000, it came down to three bidders on the phone-- from Texas, Kansas, and Iowa.
The now 91-year-old couldn’t be there. It was her birthday and she was volunteering at church.
Later, when she walked into the fairgrounds, Ken paused the auction to tell her the news. “We did a little better than $100,” he said. “We got you $32,000.”
Ken describes her as going weak in the knees and she was helped to the stage to take a seat -- which happened to be right next to her crock. A few moments later, this photo was taken-- an unforgettable birthday surprise for an unforgettable lady.
I asked Ken about his next auction. He said it's January 24th in Holdrege. And then, like it was just another day, another auction, he said, “We’ve got a horse-drawn buggy from Riverdale, it's really old. We've also got some great primitives and antiques… and.. more crocks.”
Much more to this story (including why this crock is so special) coming up in the next issue of The Bright Side with Colleen. Bramer Auction and Realty
UPDATE JAN. 13
I just posted an update including video from the auction. Find it on my page or under reels.
Now that this post is reaching 10 million views I have been getting lots of questions. Let me try and answer a few.
"Why can't I find this story through a search engine?"
Answer: I broke the story! You're seeing it here first. I had someone who attended the auction reach out to me.
"Is this AI?"
Answer: I know the woman in the photo is so adorable and sweet she almost looks AI generated. But she's real! I spent over an hour on the phone with her, and she's still so giddy she hasn't been able to sleep through the night.
And yes, she is really 91!
"How do I know you're not AI?"
Answer: Haha. I'm a former news anchor with over 20 years experience. Check out my other stories. If you like good news, you're in the right place.
