Woolworths receipt sparks $0.91 mystery 42 years after purchase

A Sydney man in the midst of home renovations discovered a 42-year-old Woolworths receipt – now he’s on a quest to know more.

An Aussie man has uncovered an interesting find while renovating.

Josh Byrnes, 33, was in the middle of ripping up carpet of his in-law’s Sydney home when he discovered a Woolworths receipt from 42 years ago in an old wardrobe.

“They’ve lived here since 1978, so I’m guessing the receipt was not long after they first moved in,” Mr Byrnes told news.com.au.

Hoping to learn more about it, he went to the supermarket’s Facebook page to share his surprising find, which has remained intact after all these years.

“Hi Woolworths, someone from our house attended your store on the 16/11/78 and as my wife Liz and I weren’t born yet, we can’t even imagine what was purchased for $0000.91,” he wrote.

“Any ideas?”

The receipt was found behind a box of shoes in the back of his wife’s parent’s wardrobe when tearing up the carpet.

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A Sydney man was doing home renos when he uncovered a Woolies recent from November 16, 1978. Picture: Facebook/ WoolworthsAustralia

There’s not much you can buy with $1 nowadays, but in the ’70s, it could go a lot further.

According to a recently uncovered Woolworths catalogue from 1973 shoppers could fill their baskets with coffee, spaghetti and yoghurt all for just over 60 cents.

A whole chicken was $1.09, while a kilo of mince set you back just 89 cents.

A jar of Maxwell House coffee was as little as 30 cents while beans and pasta were 15 cents each.

If dessert was what you were after, Sara Lee cakes were only 89 cents.

The shopper added that he couldn’t believe the great condition the receipt was in despite it being decades old.

“This receipt still looks great after over 40 years, but your current ones are lucky to last a few months!”

His post left fellow Facebook users stunned who also wondered what the previous shopper would have bought for just under $1.

“That’s actually pretty amazing it held up so well,” one person wrote.

“What a price of history. I wonder what they got?”

An old Woolworths catalogue from 1973 shows how far $1 could get you. Picture: Facebook/QueenslandThroughYourEyes

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Woolworths also responded to the shopper’s find saying they too are “impressed to see our receipt in such a wonderful condition even after 40 years”.

But in answer to his question, the store said: “Unfortunately, our system doesn’t allow us to pull up purchase history that old. Thanks for sharing this great find with us.”

Mr Byrnes told news.com.au he also found some other interesting things while doing the work at his in-laws’, including “a newspaper from when the war ended and bullets.”

“We got rid of the bullets (they were live), but definitely kept the newspaper.”

It’s not the first time someone has discovered a surprising find while doing renovations.

A woman was stunned when she found a note written by a previous owner on the wall.

The message, which had been hidden under wallpaper for 22 years, detailed a handy DIY tip after the previous owner encountered a problem during their renos in 1997.

“If you ever need to wallpaper this room again, it will take eight rolls of wallpaper,” the scawl on the wall read.

Last month a woman also discovered a note written on her walls during a home renovation.

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“I bought just six rolls at £17 per roll on (December 5, 1997) and didn’t have enough. It really pissed me off.”

It was discovered by someone peeling off their wallpaper during some DIY in the UK and later shared on the Bunnings Mums Facebook page.

“Only a DIY mum would be this helpful,” the Australian user captioned the snap, along with a laughing and heart emoji.

The note – which was signed off from someone named Jon on December 21 1997 – has captured a lot of attention since it was shared, many praising the “thoughtful” writer.