Man buys astronaut’s abandoned storage unit for $2,800 and discovers unexpected treasure 

A man who spent $2,800 on an abandoned storage unit that previously belonged to an astronaut got more than his money’s worth after he found a vintage gold Rolex inside. 

If you’ve ever caught an episode of Storage Hunters or Storage Wars you’ll know that buying up someone’s old and abandoned unit is a gamble. 

You could find a load of rusting old junk and rubbish, or you could end up with some serious cash on your hands. 

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The storage unit cost less than $3,000

One guy who was lucky enough to end up in the latter category is YouTuber Cr1TiKaL – aka Charlie, aka @penguinz0. 

“I used to watch Storage Wars with my dad and thought it’d be a cool thing to do in the real world,” he explained in a clip that has since amassed millions of views. 

Charlie parted with $2,800 for the abandoned unit and admitted that he wasn’t really expecting much – but at this point, he had no idea that the unit appeared to be formerly owned by a NASA astronaut. 

As Charlie opened up the unit he was met with some cardboard boxes, crates, and trash bags which he wasted no time getting stuck into. 

He uncovered some comic books, board games, and – somewhat bizarrely – a toilet. 

The buyer uncovered all kinds of NASA paperwork

So far so disappointing, but the YouTuber then began to unearth items that appeared to reveal the exciting past of the unit’s old owner, including a photo of a NASA spaceship and a collection of astronaut patches.

He also found a box with a label that read ‘critical space item’ and a thank you letter sent out to ‘team members’ for their contribution to the space program. 

The search continued and it was then that Charlie – and his pals who had joined him to rummage through the unit – uncovered a gold Rolex. 

The watch appeared to be a Day Date 36mm, which isn’t the rarest of the luxury watches, but still a great find.

It looked to be in tip-top condition and would be a great addition to any watch collection. 

Or, of course, Charlie could opt to sell it – and he’d likely get a pretty good price, if it’s real. 

A similar watch is currently listed on Vestaire Collective for just shy of $20,000. 

Not bad for a storage unit that cost less than $3,000, is it?