Couple buys Michael Jackson cassette tape for 25 cents, discovers hidden treasure

CONCORD, NC (WJZY) - A Concord couple is on Cloud 9 after making what they call a 'once in a lifetime discovery'. They walked into a local thrift store, spent 25 cents, and may have come away with something absolutely priceless. 

Mike and Amber Hernon are huge Michael Jackson fans and when they saw one of MJ's cassette being sold for just a quarter they know they couldn't pass it up. 

When they opened it several days later - their jaws hit the floor.. 

"I remember when I was 7-years-old I told my mom that I want Michael Jackson to come out of my birthday cake," Amber Hernon said. 

Amber never got that birthday surprise but she'll settle for what she and her husband Mike came across a couple of weeks ago.

"She's just like babe, babe, babe, this is signed...and I was kind of like, no way!" Michael explained. 

Unknowingly, the couple bought a Michael Jackson "Bad" cassette album that appears to be autographed by the King of Pop himself. 

"Definitely a once in a lifetime chance here."

The couple found it at Heavenly Treasures in Concord, North Carolina. It's a thrift store the Hernon family regularly shops at. They were in the music section and noticed the Michael Jackson cassette being sold for as low of a price as you can get . 

"There's Michael Jackson's "bad" sitting there for 25 cents, you don't pass that up."

Amber's 10-year-old son is also a huge Michael Jackson fan who loves to dance. So a few days after they bought the cassette she opened it up to show him some pictures of MJ's moves - and there is was - what appears to be an autograph from Michael Jackson himself.

"I literally couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, I just sat there blinking my eyes because I couldn't believe this was sitting directly in front of me," Amber said. 

"As soon as she said 'It's signed' and I saw her reaction I could feel my heartbeat in my neck," Mike said.

The Hernon's noticed the marker had gotten stuck on the folds of the page, meaning it wasn't a print. So they got on the internet to compare it to authentic Michael Jackson autographs, and they believe it's real. 

"I looked on Google, like compared every little detail of the 'm' and 'is' and the star at the bottom."

"It doesn't look like a print, I've seen a lot of prints, it does look real and I'm super happy for them," Suzanna Lambert said, who is the co-owner of the thrift store. 

The Hernons said they would like to get the autograph authenticated at some point to have peace of mind, but right now they're just happy to have it. They told FOX 46 Charlotte if it's confirmed to be real in the future they have no intentions of selling it because they feel that MJ is a staple to their family and that his autograph is irreplaceable.