Crazy Money! Mayan Pottery Found Thrifting

It’s Crazy Money Day! 

Five years ago, Anna Lee Dozier was shopping at the 2A Thrift Store in Clinton, Maryland. On her way out, she spotted an old vase on a clearance shelf by the checkout counter. It appeared to be a 20 or 30-year-old tourist reproduction of Mayan-style pottery. She liked it, paid $4 for it, and carried it home. Dozier has worked with indigenous communities in Mexico and liked the piece because it reminded her of the country.

Some years later, Dozier visited Mexico’s Museum of Anthropology. She observed that the Mayan pottery looked very similar to the one she’d purchased. She contacted the Mexican embassy and went through a long process of authenticating it. The country’s National Institute of Anthropology and History emailed her that the vase was in fact very valuable. It was an ancient ceremonial urn at least 1,200 years old. She generously repatriated the artifact without any compensation! She was delighted to turn it over because, with 3 boys in the house, she was petrified that it would get broken!

When asked why she didn’t try to sell it or find out its monetary value, Dozier said, “Giving it back feels so much better than it would if I put it on eBay and got a bunch of money. It’s really important to recognize that some of these things, especially with such historical and cultural value to an entire country and people – you can’t really put a number on that.” Dozier is an advocate with Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Maybe That explains her generosity!

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