best weekend: gold, silver, coins, more

[jerseyben]

Had a GREAT weekend picking, probably my best for the year!

Friday: Managed to score a nice picture frame for my wife for a buck. Stopped by the GW for my "annual score". See GW is usually bad for me but about once a year I try to score at least one thing. Picked up an 80s clear/see through Swingline stapler. Not worth a lot of money but it was just too cool to pass up!

Saturday: Invited my "best picking friend" over for some garage sale hunts. Ryan drove over an hour and joined me for some picking in my new stomping grounds. First couple sales were bunk. Third sale I scored some gold earrings, Ryan grabbed a military pin and a nice workbench vise. Went to a sale in an area that had flooded badly during Sandy. Snagged a collection of vintage video game stuff. Next sale closed out the day. Followed some small signs into a "crappy" neighborhood - so I had very low expectations. Low and behold, some guy had set up an antiques store in his backyard. Dude had display cases and a cash register and tables lining the entire yard. I didnt know what to expect at first but he actually had some good stuff back there. I was expecting antique store prices, but luckily he was quoting me "on the high side" yard sale prices! Picked out some coins and other various items. Ryan and I paid and called it quits almost an hour later.

Sunday: Woke up early and drove back to the same big sale from Saturday. I was the only person there and the owner seemed friendly so I convinced him to let me look through his locked display cases (he was outwardly afraid of theft on Saturday). Picked out a bunch of gold jewelry with very tiny hallmarks marks, paid, and left.

Final score total:
-clear swingline stapler - yearly GW score @ $2 (keeping it for myself)
-picture frame for wife - $1
-14k earrings (1.5 grams) - $3
-Atari 2600 console, 1 dozen Atari 5200 games, and 4 Intellivision games - $5
-10 40% silver half dollars - $15
-Ben Franklin half and silver Wash quarter - $4
-DOUBLE SIDED tow away zone sign - FREE (with purchase)
-2 vintage safety razors (Gillete), one of them is adjustable - $4
-some sort of Waterbury 2 piece button with NJ state seal - $1
-4 pack of yellowed (Bakelite?) dice in leather strap case - $1
-0.75 ounce sterling religious medal - $2
-NJ postcard featuring a summer camp from 1940s - 50 cents
-gold ring (hallmark is worn off but tested at least 10k), 2 grams - $1
-small screwback pin marked 14k TOP, not sure what this means exactly - $1
-2 pairs of marked 14k earrings (3 grams) - $1
-large single sterling earring (TAXCO) - 50 cents

 

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[war-digs-it]

That is a very good day!
Do you like your new stomping grounds better than the old?
New areas are always exciting, just never know what will turn
up at the next sale!

 

[allen]

Looks like you had a good weekend.

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

Great score !!
Keep @ it and HH !!

 

[vpnavy]

Ya did good jerseyben. Thanks for sharing...

 

[frankendime]

That Swingline Stapler is Outasight! Love it!

 

[diggummup]

My favorite is the postcard. Nice place to detect too, if possible. A little history on the camp/postcard-

The camp began as a 2 week experiment in 1915. Fifteen boys lived in 2 donated tents pitched at Lake Fairview in Stillwater township, Sussex county. The following year it became Sussex county's first YMCA camp. The camp became permanent when the Colgate family donated 158 acres on the slope of the Kittatinny mountains next to the lake. Each year until his death Colonel Austin Colgate was a regular visitor and enjoyed the place as much as any of the boys accoeding to a 1934 report. Over the future years, the camp would grow to become the 660 acre Fairview Lake YMCA Camps and Conference Center.

 

[jerseyben]

That is a very good day!
Do you like your new stomping grounds better than the old?
New areas are always exciting, just never know what will turn
up at the next sale!

My old area was a garage salers mecca. You could go out on a Saturday at 6am and run nonstop at full tilt until 11am and probably hit 50 sales (more if you hit townwide sales). The area was "old money" mixed with typical older suburbia (heavilly populated) mixed with vintage farms so you could find almost anything and everything. Unfortunately, it was FLOODED with competition. Countless times I would be racing against other pickers sale to sale often just missing out on a score. I almost got into fights, been pushed, shoved, had stuff snatched out of my hands, cursed at, etc. Towards the end it was getting to the point where if you werent the 1st or 2nd person at a sale, you might as well just skip it. Almost every sale was advertised on CL so it was always a guessing game based on their ad and planning was the most important part.

My NEW area is very small in comparison. It is secluded and almost in a "world of its own". It is a shore community with some decent age to it. Not a lot of money out here so the finds tend to be typical housewares and low end stuff. The good news is that the competition is pretty much limited to the locals who seem to be interested in getting a good deal on stuff that they are using for their homes and not for resale. Around here, I am able to take my time and show up when sales begin or even late and still make consistent scores. People around here do not advertise their sales on CL. It is a "follow the signs" area, so every stop is a surprise and it makes the hunt all that much more exciting.

 

[Baltimore]

Always go to the "crappy" neighborhood sales! I've had some excellent buys from thrift stores and yard sales "bad" areas. Especially here in Maryland where a good portion of the suburbanites are too scared of the city to venture deep into the not so great neighborhoods. Most of the time I end up having great buys and meeting friendly people. It's too bad that people with bad attitudes, who are paranoid, or just plain racist won't come here, but it's their loss!

 

[jerseyben]

Always go to the "crappy" neighborhood sales! I've had some excellent buys from thrift stores and yard sales "bad" areas. Especially here in Maryland where a good portion of the suburbanites are too scared of the city to venture deep into the not so great neighborhoods. Most of the time I end up having great buys and meeting friendly people. It's too bad that people with bad attitudes, who are paranoid, or just plain racist won't come here, but it's their loss!

Unfortunately, an ex-coworker of mine used to live north of Pat Park. One night he and his roomates were coming home around 1am. One of them got pistol whipped and they all got mugged. Be careful out there.

 

[Baltimore]

Unfortunately, an ex-coworker of mine used to live north of Pat Park. One night he and his roomates were coming home around 1am. One of them got pistol whipped and they all got mugged. Be careful out there.

Oh, of course. There is no doubt it is dangerous, they are referred to as bad neighborhoods for a reason. Being out late at night is a bad idea, pretty much regardless of the neighborhood. However, The only time I spend there is cruising around on sunny saturdays, which is probably the safest time for anyone to be there.