…and it was too late to do anything about it?
I just realized that when cleaning out files recently, I threw out one of my greatest treasures - a gaudy scarlet and gold, ornately scripted Valentine’s Day card from one of my students when he was seven-years-old. 
When opened, the card played “Strangers in the Night.” I still adore that mom for letting him purchase that card.
I am heartbroken that I accidentally threw away such a treasure. Truly. 
I don’t think I threw them out, I think I hoovered them up, ,then threw the Hoover bag in the wheelie bin.
A beautiful pair of gold and pearl droplet earrings, I was so upset over that.
Never had anything of value to throw out
Oh no! Sorry to hear that. No chance it might turn up somewhere else?
I’ve found a few things I thought were long gone in the past. I call them found treasures.
wish i was posh enough to throw things out, there’s always a use
You haven’t lost it from, your description. Its just in a different form than physical. 
I am always having a clear out even though I claim to be minimalist. I am sure that many years ago I threw away a necklace made of amber which i was given by a lovely old lady but at the time i thought it was beads . Also i chucked out a little ornament given to me by another old lady and am sure it was a rare antique .
Nowadays I have little of any value so I still bag stuff up and take it to the charity shop .
P.s. a friend of mine bought a gold and pearl 20inch chunky chain from a charity shop it turned out to be heavy 18ct gold and minute natural Pearl’s. She hasn’t told me its value yet … someone is missing a necklace from their drawer
Some years ago I stepped on what I thought was a piece of broken glass on a bathroom floor, so I washed it away down the washbasin. It was only later when my wife told me she had lost one of the diamonds from her engagement ring did the link click in my mind. By then it was too late and a trip to the local jewellers was needed to remedy the situation.
