Seldom does one come across an ancient Cyrus cylinder while delving through a second-hand goods sale.
The one discovered among the myriad items at the annual Regent Anything But Books Sale yesterday was a replica, but Neil Copeland bought it because of his interest in ancient languages.
"I'm just curious to see what it says,'' he said.
The original Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder, containing Akkadian cuneiform script which praises Persia's Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great, sets out his genealogy and portrays him as a king from a line of kings.
It is also considered to be the oldest known declarations of human rights.
It dates from the 6th century BC and was discovered in the ruins of Babylon in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) in 1879.
The cylinder is now broken into several fragments and is in the possession of the British Museum.
Regent Anything But Books Sale co-ordinator Hannah Molloy said the replica was so detailed, it had identical cracks and chips.
"It's a very good replica. It looks like it's been done quite carefully. The cracks and the chip are all true to life - it's the right size.''
While the original cylinder is not for sale at any price, Mr Copeland was prepared to pay up to $200 for the replica.
He was delighted to find it priced at $5.
"Five dollars is a stunning bargain.''
It was one of thousands of items at the sale, which included DVDs, LPs, CDs, jigsaws, random household goods, toys, music, magazines and art works.
Ms Molloy said the sale was the "baby sister'' of the Regent Theatre's annual 24 Hour Book Sale, which will be held in June this year.
"It was born out of all the amazing stuff that people were donating, other than books. We just didn't have room for it all at the book sale, so we decided to split them out and have two sales.
"The Anything But Books Sale has proven to be quite popular with people. It's a glorified op-shop or garage sale.''
Ms Molloy said it was hoped up to $10,000 could be made from the sale, to pay for capital projects at the Regent Theatre.
