Why do some people worship barn finds?

I've always been of an opinion there is (and has always been) a very vague line between a "collector" and a "hoarder", but most of the general public or even old car enthusiasts don't seem to be able or willing to recognize the difference.
Many are & have always been fascinated by the romantic notion of finding something cool/special/unique/etc in some old building/shelter, i.e. barn, garage, warehouse, etc, but in past 10-15 or so years media has just (over)capitalized on that by sensationalizing it, just like "patina", "rat rod", etc.

Having personally restored several vintage cars most enthusiast or restorers considered a lost cause due to severely dilapidated condition along with half or more of the subjects components/part missing and with no financial upside in view to be had at end of it, I can kind of relate to the "romanticism" of it all ...

 

EDIT:

 

My personal belief is that the only “barn finds” to be celebrated…and I wish I could find a better word…are those of particular chassis numbers that were thought to have been destroyed or lost for all time….like if a couple of 156 Sharknoses were to be found in an ancient olive grove outside of Maranello.

 

There's very little MONETARY celebration owed (IMHO) to a proper barn find, and I've had some gems. It is more the allure and mystery surrounded in the "how and why did this get here, and to be like this?!?!".

The dudes forking out big $$$ to actually buy said barn find, that remains a mystery as to why, unless as Jack stated above, it some immensely important history tied into it.

 

I think it’s origin is the quaint thought of finding a very rare item, buying it for pennies, putting some good-ol-fashioned elbow grease into the project and then busting out an eye-popping gem that everyone admires and fawns over.

Now, as the OP mentions, it has morphed into a nearly cult-like fascination where people pay sums for these items that often leave them deeply underwater at the end of the project.

I agree, there is nothing inherently romantic about a barn find, in fact, just the opposite.

 

Agreed, a proper barn find is a Sharknose, Porsche 550, BMW507 or a MB 300SL.

Not a Dodge Dart found in your great-aunt’s musty, dusty garage.

 

If "barn find"="car that was neglected for a couple of decades, indifferently maintained, and then stored for a few more decades" then sort of odd to increase associated value.

If "barn find"="car put into storage very early in its life, and largely never subject to much mucking" then I could see paying a premium; having all the original bits, and having good reason to believe that those bits might be original is academically worth something tangible.

 

I think the lore is Mom opening the garage door to reveal that time-capsule 1971 Hemi ‘Cuda Joey put in there just before he shipped off to Nam, never to return.

 

Yes, this:

...a marketing term, similar to real estate where saying the actual description would lead to low interest in a sale.

I've restored several neglected and un-maintained cars over the years, the only thing I look for is that nearly all the original parts are with it (which usually means it's not run for 30+ years) and the price is right. These are a special category of "barn find" which barely exists now.

edit: and the joy of saving rare stuff from the scrapper I suppose...

 

Oh, you mean like this...

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Or finding this stuffed into a storage container in rural North Carolina...

 

I think the idea of finding an unknown car, almost always with the thought of it being cheap, is definitely a thrill.

As a person who has popped several Dino's like this, it is not easy and NEVER cheap. It is honestly harder to do today because people have value ideas that are no where near realistic.