western australia

The things you find in the bottom of pianos

@JudyEv (371316)

Rockingham, Australia

February 9, 2026 8:43pm CST

Fleur (@Fleura) wrote about doing some repairs on her piano and Fiacre (@xFiacre) wrote about checking out the bottom on a piano to see if any cash had been stowed away there. When I was quite small, a piano tuner turned up at the farm on a motor-bike. This was a great rarity and Mum immediately engaged him to tune our piano. He told a few stories about some the ‘finds’ he had come across. He said it was quite common to find a heap of old pipe bowls as these were supposed to keep the moths away. And once he pulled away by the housewife who’d forgotten she’d put some jewellery there for safe keeping. Once he knew we had a piano, he would call in every few years. The photo shows the inside of our piano.

19 people like this

18 responses

@DaddyEvil (167535)

• United States

19h

When I was small, mom, my youngest brother and I started taking piano lessons. Mom bought an old piano from somewhere and had it restored so we could practice on it. I don't remember seeing anything inside it but I was around 10 so might not have noticed.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

14h

You'd have to remove the vertical piece of timber below the keyboard to get to the space.

2 people like this

@DaddyEvil (167535)

• United States

14h

@JudyEv The repair guy had it completely open to repair it.

1 person likes this

@xFiacre (14206)

• Ireland

18h

@judyev the inward parts of pianos are fascinating. The wonderful thing about pianos is that they are unlikely to be stolen unless a gang with a suitable lorry organises themselves.

3 people like this

show previous comments

@Fleura (33871)

• United Kingdom

14h

@JudyEv A removals company brought furniture including the piano here from my parents' house. My parents' house had a steep drive down to the road. This house is down a narrow lane with a sharp corner, and then there are steps. They collected everything in a massive lorry (wheeling the piano down the drive), brought it back to the depot, transferred it into two smaller vehicles and brought it here and then carried everything in. I thought we would have to construct some kind of ramp system for the piano but they said 'Oh no, we'll just carry it' and they promptly picked it up and carried it down the path negotiating two sets of steps, up the step into the house and through into the dining room. We were gobsmacked. I mean my partner and I between us can barely get it off the ground to get over the slight sill from one room to another!

2 people like this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

15h

The older ones in particular are really heavy. We used the same removalists three times and they always groaned when they saw 'that piano' again.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

7h

@Fleura Did they do this with just two of them?

Our removalists used straps but perhaps there were just the two of them. I can't really remember now.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@jstory07 (147398)

• Roseburg, Oregon

20h

A piano would be safe keeping who is going to open it up and look inside.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

15h

Exactly. It would be a good hiding place.

1 person likes this

@LadyDuck (492931)

• Italy

14h

The place we find to hide money and jewels are funny. May be that woman had watched the movie "Casablanca", Rick (Humphrey Bogart) hide important documents in the piano.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

7h

When we were touring in the motor-home we hid money in some strange places.

Lenore Plassman

@sallypup (67925)

• Centralia, Washington

19h

You have a lovely piano. You have seen the photo of the wooden piano piece- don't know its name- that I have nailed up above the door frame to my dining room.

2 people like this

show previous comments

Lenore Plassman

@sallypup (67925)

• Centralia, Washington

6h

@JudyEv The piece enhances my aged interior.

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

14h

Yes, I remember that. It's good you've displayed it in that way.

2 people like this

Show more comments

@noni1959 (12481)

• United States

19h

When I lived in Oregon, someone was giving a way a piano and my daughter and I went to get it so we could get lessons for my granddaughter. When we had someone out to tune, he found legos, a water bottle, old vintage necklace, dried up peach pit and half a denture.

2 people like this

show previous comments

@Fleura (33871)

• United Kingdom

14h

Ew, how would anyone lose dentures there??

2 people like this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

7h

@Fleura Good point.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

15h

Honestly?? That is hilarious.

2 people like this

Show more comments

changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (17146)

• China

9h

Never have thought that stuff can be stowed in the bottom on a piano !

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

7h

I guess no-one would think of looking there.

@wolfgirl569 (129322)

• Marion, Ohio

9h

It would be like a treasure hunt

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

7h

It would indeed.

@Fleura (33871)

• United Kingdom

14h

That looks in lovely condition! Nothing unusual inside ours.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

7h

The top has had hot drinks on it or has been subject to moisture as there is bubbling on the surface but other than that it looks pretty good.

1 person likes this

@DianneN (248591)

• United States

11h

Unfortunately for us, our piano tuner found nothing in ours.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

7h

Maybe years ago, they all had hopes of finding something valuable.

1 person likes this

@LindaOHio (213354)

• United States

11h

I always wanted to have my piano tuned; but never got around to it.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

7h

Wwe try to get ours tuned regularly now.

@Kandae11 (56970)

•

15h

I love pianos. Did you find anything Interesting in yours?.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

15h

No, nothing at all so that was a bit disappointing! lol

1 person likes this

@MarieCoyle (54554)

•

19h

The inside of your piano is lovely. We had an aunt that hid things inside of hers. She had a jar she put her extra change and small bills in, and saved that towards Christmas every year. That was a long, long time ago, I had forgotten about it!

2 people like this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

14h

It would be a bit of an exercise to remove that piece of timber. You wouldn't want to be doing every week.

1 person likes this

@LooeyVille (42)

• United States

11h

I never knew that people hid things in pianos

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (371316)

• Rockingham, Australia

7h

I guess few robbers would think of looking in the bottom of a piano - and they'd have to know how to remove the panel.

1 person likes this

@FourWalls (82800)

• United States

4h

That does seem like a good place to hide valuables. That’s some attention to detail, putting a design inside the piano. I would imagine most of what the tuners find is dirt.

@Marilynda1225 (88579)

• United States

6h

I never would have thought to hide money, jewelry, etc inside a piano but I guess it's a great hiding spot. My great aunt had a very old piano and she played like a pro. When she passed my son and daughter in law inherited the piano. They paid quite a bit of money to have it moved to their house. After reading your post I wonder if there were any hidden gems in that old piano?

@JESSY3236 (21573)

• United States

5h

pretty piano. I wish I had looked really good at my uncle's pianos before we sold them.

@Ronrybs (21052)

• London, England

5h

I can understand hiding jewellery in the depths of a piano. Wonder if pipe bowls do keep moths away?