This marble bust of the 18th-century MP Sir John Gordon, who was also the Secretary for Scotland, was sculpted by the French artist Edmé Bouchardon in 1728. You might expect to find such an historical item in a museum. But after ending up in a house sale in 1930, the bust was bought by the local council of the small Scottish town of Invergordon for the paltry sum of £5 – the equivalent of around £270 ($337) today.

Council members bought the bust with the intention of displaying it in the town hall. However, it was quickly relegated to the shed, where it was used as an impromptu doorstop, forgotten for decades until it was rediscovered in the 1990s.

Today the bust is valued at over £2.5 million ($3.1m). It's enjoyed stints in museums in Paris and Los Angeles, and now, Highland Council committee members are debating selling the sculpture. An offer exceeding £2.5 million has reportedly been made, with the aspiring buyer even offering to pay for a replica of the bust that would go on show in Invergordon.

Epic finds: most valuable treasures bought for peanuts