Saturday, a green Masters jacket found in a Toronto thrift store 23 years ago sold at auction for $139,344 more than it cost in the thrift store.
That’s because it sold for $5 at that store, where it was tucked away with other used jackets.
This authentic Masters jacket from the 1950s was found in a Toronto thrift store in 1994. Bought for $5, it sold for $139,349 this morning! pic.twitter.com/W41JefI8C9
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 9, 2017
Augusta National has confirmed this jacket is legit, and we know it’s from the early 1950s. The Club did not say who it may have belonged to.
However, the jacket no longer has the name tag in it, so we don’t know who originally won it.
The tradition of the green jackets began in 1949, so this was one of the first jackets made, we can assume.
According to the Washington Post, while every member of the club gets a jacket, only the winner of the Masters can actually bring his off Augusta grounds, which makes you think this jacket belonged to a winner. However, if the name tag is gone, I have to wonder if maybe someone managed to smuggle this one away just as a keepsake.
If that were the case, no wonder Augusta didn’t want to say who wore the jacket — what if they weren’t even supposed to have it?
In the end, the jacket got a new owner anyway.