I was wondering what the best or rarest thing anyone has found at a Habitat Restore. A few days ago when I went I got a metal halide shoebox for just $3 and a germicidal circline lamp. A few months before that I found some unusual red IKEA branded CFLs. What have you found at restore that is rare, interesting, or was extremely cheap?

A GE Mazda 20W Daylight fluorescent lamp for $2 is what I would probably consider my best/rarest ReStore find. Honorable mentions are a very early trigger-start Circline fixture with presumably original lamp for $5, an F14 chrome preheat strip with glass shade and 1955 Sylvania Warmtone lamp for $10, and four Holophane PHRL "Lobay" incandescent fixtures for $15 apiece. Also, the find that made me join L-G in the first place: my three Guth F40 preheat troffers for $20 total. New preheat ballasts cost me an arm and a leg, but one of the original glass diffusers had somehow survived over the years, which is very rare.

A great non-lighting find was a Fisher 210-T stereo receiver for $8. It didn't work at first but removing and reinstalling the fuse somehow did the trick.

Mine:
1954 GE f20t12/d
Free chrome f14 strips from about the 60s
F40 preheat chrome strip.  (converted to rs at some point, now f32/RS. Will make it ph again).
Possibly one of a kind ray o cell photocell lampholder thingy.
Several f40 Wraparounds which got chopped and made into 20w.

I picked up six of the Philips 23 watt 40 degree Par 38 Integrated ballast Metal halide lamps for $2 a piece at the local ReStore.

A "Westinghouse" (Norelco, made on Norelco machinery right after Philips bought Westinghouse) F20T12/CW with aluminum endcaps!  It was probably NOS too, it swirled when first lit.  I've used it a few hours, but not much.

A "Westinghouse" (Norelco, made on Norelco machinery right after Philips bought Westinghouse) F20T12/CW with aluminum endcaps!  It was probably NOS too, it swirled when first lit.  I've used it a few hours, but not much.

Well as far as I know, "Norelco" is originally a Philips's brand used in the US territory even way before their Westinghouse acquisition. Their were not allowed to use the "Philips", because some court judged that too close to a "Philco"...