Lots of heirlooms have significant monetary worth and that’s all the heirs care about. In other cases, heirlooms are more highly valued for their sentimental importance than any dollar signs on the bottom line. Sure, new owners could sell recently inherited items for a couple dozen, a few hundred, or even several thousand dollars, but often the thought of parting with a particular item is just too painful. But whatever the motivation for desiring an heirloom, having a treasured or coveted item go missing or get stolen can hit people pretty heavily.

Take this recent news story that talks about a stolen kayak. It’s a gorgeous craft — the owner could probably fetch a fair amount of money for it — but at first glance, it doesn’t necessarily look like something a person would miss deeply. Then you read about what the kayak means to the woman who owns it, and you can see why people in her community were moved to help her get it back …