The Biggest Payouts In Storage Wars History

If you search for the biggest recorded find on the show, chances are one storage unit is going to show up every time. The unit was purchased way back in Season 3 by none other than Darrell Sheets, the gutsy gambler whose presence was a staple on the show over the years, until he left after Season 12. Sheets is famous for his gunslinging bids that occasionally pay off and just as often leave him with next to nothing.

But, while the up and down nature of Mr. Sheets' haphazard bidding history has always been entertaining to watch, in this case, it was Sheets himself who walked away smiling. He spent a paltry (in retrospect, at least) $3,600 on a locker that looked interesting, but not particularly special. Imagine the big shot's surprise when he discovered that it was home to a whole slew of paintings by Frank Gutierrez. When the proud new owner brought in an art expert to price the stash out, he was floored to find out that the whole collection was worth upwards of $300,000. While some disagree with the appraisal, according to the show's stated value, it remains one of the largest storage unit finds on record. Sometimes it pays to gamble, kids.

While Indiana Jones may be clever enough to choose the Holy Grail on his own, if he wanted to be extra cautious he probably should have held off on the decision so that he could talk things over with Darrell Sheets. Over the course of the show the Gambler — who is already showing up for the second time on our list — has found other ways to make bank besides dealing in rare art. In this case, it came in the form of a comic book and toy collection that he purchased back in Season 5 which he literally dubbed the "Holy Grail of toys."

The locker contained an endless supply of G.I. Joes, Hot Wheels, and a whole host of other collectible dolls and toys, along with an absolutely massive collection of comics — we're talking 3,000 books, which Mr. Sheets valued at approximately ten dollars a piece. The count kept rising as Sheets tallied up the mountain of collectibles, finally settling on a total that topped $90,000.

Another locker that Rene Nezhoda and his wife Casey picked up during Season 6 paid astronomical dividends. This time though, rather than vintage games, the haul had much more of a Night at the Museum vibe to it. As the couple began unloading the treasures, they discovered an endless procession of high-value pieces that ranged from a beautiful grandfather clock in mint condition to a set of Baroque by Wallace collectible silver that was easily worth at least two grand, along with an oil canvas painting that came with its own self-valuing paperwork stating it was worth $8,000!

The collection ended up including (among other things) pictures, model ships, artistic flower pots, and statues. And they weren't just from one locale, either — some of the pieces hailed from places as distant as Africa and Asia. It was the kind of event that "you chase your whole career," as Rene put it. By the time all was said and done, the jubilant couple was practically standing in a museum. After valuing the locker at $50,000 minimum, the scene ended with Casey hugging Rene as the latter scratched his head in stupefied bewilderment at the unbelievable find.

While he wasn't particularly remembered for his huge paydays, Barry Weiss, known as "The Collector," was a staple of the show during its early seasons. The retired antique collector was always entertaining to watch as he made his bids, took his chances, and often fell flat on his face. But just like Darrell "The Gambler" Sheets, every once in a while Weiss would find something worthwhile, as was the case back in the fourth episode of Season 1.  

In the episode, an oddball locker was opened up that seemed to be filled with nothing more than salon paraphernalia. Apparently dead set on opening up his own barber shop, Weiss snapped up the unit for $275. When he got inside, though, he was pleasantly surprised to find a 1928 Marshall and Wendell piano among the hair supplies. The value? Between $10,000 and $12,000. Not a bad haul, and certainly one of the cheapest deals on the list.

Midway through Season 3 of the spin off show Storage Wars: Texas, Mary Padian, who eventually joined the flagship series and was known as "The Junkster," stumbled into an interesting find over which she and her partner, Jenny Grumbles, got into a bit of a disagreement. The item in question was an antique candlemaker, with Grumbles wanting to "pop it on a shelf and sell it for fifty bucks."

Padian wasn't about to accept that kind of petty cash, though. She took it to a candle shop where the seller appraised the unsuspecting little unit at an impressive $1,400 at the least. While it isn't a shocker as far as the price tag goes, especially in a list filled with precious artwork and priceless video game stashes, the piece's estimated price still increased nearly thirty-fold in value during its valuation, which made it one of the more unexpectedly valuable treasures to ever air. The best came at the end of the scene, when the show's producers unwittingly revealed to Grumbles how much Padian had made from the candlemaker, which the Junkster had seemingly failed to mention to her now furious partner.

If half a million dollars in gold coins wasn't enough, Dan Dotson has also gone on record reporting a second anonymous sale that, believe it or not, dwarfs the pirate treasure. According to a recent interview, Dotson was approached by a woman who informed him that he had sold a storage unit to her husband for $500, and he had found a safe inside it. He had taken the safe to a locksmith and was floored when he found $7,500,000 in cash inside it.

The sketchy story got more complicated as the woman explained that soon afterward an attorney had approached them, claiming that the original owners were offering a $600,000 reward for the return of the mega-payload. They declined the first offer, but ended up taking a second one of $1,200,000. It's suspected that a random depository of cash that large likely had some sort of cartel or mafia connection, so it probably wasn't a bad idea to get it off their hands, especially with that kind of reward. After all, even $1,200,000 in cash is a pretty good return for an original investment of $500.