HOOVER, Ala. — Every year, the City of Hoover sponsors a Hazardous Waste Day to allow its residents to safely dispose of potentially dangerous trash. But one unknown man turned over something that could hardly be called trash at all. In fact, the item is potentially be worth thousands of dollars.

On Saturday, an 1892 double-barrel German shotgun was brought in by an older man who found it sitting in his closet. One of the workers that day, David Buchanan, told The Hoover Sun that the man turned it over because he said he had no use for it.

Gene Smith, Hoover Councilman and co-owner of Hoover Tactical Firearms, said the gun immediately piqued his interest. “It’s surprising the different things that people drop off,” he said.

After some research, Smith found that the gun is a fairly expensive antique that could be worth as much as $8,000. According to Smith, the gun was made by a German Jewish family manufacturer that sold firearms prior to World War I. Being the product of a small firearm builder, the gun is even more rare because the family waslikely not in the business of mass production.

“For the age, this gun is in amazing condition,” Smith said. “It’s in extremely good shape. In fact, anything you’d do to try to restore it would actually bring its value down. It’s most valuable just as it sits right now.”

Smith said the man who gave away the gun likely had no idea how much it is really worth. “There’s no way he could’ve,” he said. “If he had known that he wouldn’t have done that.”

The city does not have the information to tie an individual to the gun, but it wants to get it back in the hands of its rightful owner. “We’re hoping he, or someone that knows him, might be able to get the information to him, because we’re trying to get the rifle back to him,” he said.

However, until the city finds the right man, Smith would like to see Hoover put the piece of history on display for the public to see.

“It’s just a shame,” he said. “Hopefully, we can find some way to get in touch with him.”