New member, sales nut and todays picks.

[war-digs-it]

New member, sales nut and today's picks.

Hi. First off I apologize for being a parasitic lurker to the site and this forum in particular.
My name is Warren and have been using your information for about three years or so and I want to thank all of you that post here, especially those that post weekly.

I enjoy garage sales and estate sales and make part of my living doing so. I learned on my own about the fine silver and gold on my own years ago but that tends to be drying up here.
Now I look for anything to make a dollar on.

Enough about that, today an estate sale gave me these goodies. If I can figure out how to add some pictures...

Now the Gorham set I had to pay full melt price, it's in excellent condition so I'll probably piece it out.

The West German wheel barometer will bring in a few dollars as well as the old car phone.

My happy dance is when I realized what was in the black box... a scale miniature railroad coupler, the estate people and many others could not figure out what it was. I don't have any details yet but hoping for the best! If you know all about these, do tell!

Good luck and happy hunting!

 

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[war-digs-it]

Oh yeah, I should add that I paid a total of $10. for the stupid phone and barometer, $1300.00 for the Gorham Chantilly and a whole $20.00 for the railroad coupler.

 

[vpnavy]

Nice finds (can remember using a cell phone just like that) war-digs-it.

 

[woodstock]

I'm not sure about the Nobility Plate set is this what you called Gorham Chantilly , they do have sterling sets but those are clearly marked . Your case says "Nobility Plate" and if it said "Nobility Sterling" I wouldn't ask if you're sure it's Sterling ? And it would be super nice for you to post the Hallmarks for all to see. It does seem a bit pricey ... $1300 ? Just curious .. Woodstock

 

[war-digs-it]

Ha, I never noticed what was stickered to the box. I do know sterling when I see it though, especially when it is well marked with Gorham hallmarks or the name in words. I have bought and sold somewhere around 12 sets in the last year by various makers and melted nearly that many.

This is a 63 piece set, settings for 6. I will be able to sell it for at least $2000.00 This type and condition brings a good premium over melt.

 

[diggummup]

What size are the couplers? What are the marks, just random mold/code letters and numbers I presume? Are they heavy duty or lightweight? What kind of metal? They look accurate and functional.

 

[war-digs-it]

The boxes usually get scrapped unless they're either perfect or original and in pretty good shape. They stack up and then it's time to thin the herd.

 

[war-digs-it]

What size are the couplers? What are the marks, just random mold/code letters and numbers I presume? Are they heavy duty or lightweight? What kind of metal? They look accurate and functional.

Hi diggumup. I placed better pictures in the what is it forum as I am still fumbling with the photo uploading. The entire length of couplers together is 16.5 inches, they are serious heavy duty and polished and look like quality chromed steel, not plated. Far heavier duty than a class iv hitch. Fully articulating, locking and functional.
I have been playing with them for hours.

 

[diggummup]

Hi diggumup. I placed better pictures in the what is it forum as I am still fumbling with the photo uploading. The entire length of couplers together is 16.5 inches, they are serious heavy duty and polished and look like quality chromed steel, not plated. Far heavier duty than a class iv hitch. Fully articulating, locking and functional.
I have been playing with them for hours.

Nice! The size is about 1/4 scale I would think. I've never seen a chrome one though. Very interesting and cool as hell. I can't even find anything close other than this aluminum model one- Scale Railroad Coupler

 

[war-digs-it]

I was lucky to get it after a dozen others looked at it and said "what the heck is that". I picked it up, put it back down and began to walk when it hit me. The semi-pro sales company people (married couple) got into a little tizzy when I told them it was railroad affiliated, after I paid of course.

 

[jerseyben]

Scratching my head about the car phone and the sterling set. Still, nice finds and best of luck in future hunts.

 

[war-digs-it]

Scratching my head about the car phone and the sterling set. Still, nice finds and best of luck in future hunts.

I'm kicking myself for the car phone a little, the sterling set is something i'm very comfortable with. Even if I melt it and A.R.A. takes their fee I will not lose a dime. Parting it out if it takes months will bring paydays. I have sterling items I bought in bulk years ago that still sell for a far above melt and what I paid.

 

[jerseyben]

I have a guy in NJ who is my sterling mentor. He buys and sells sets regularly so I am sure you are on to something. I guess I am just not comfortable tieing up that much money.

 

[war-digs-it]

Understood... it took me a long time and I still get nervous. I'll try to pay back what you and the others on here have done for me and I am thanking you with great gratitude. Unfortunately the first couple years I had to melt some beautiful things to keep rolling and learning but it has worked. The only thing I have done is heeded the advice of the greatest on this forum and went with the go big or go home attitude.

 

[billjustbill]

I'm kicking myself for the car phone a little, the sterling set is something i'm very comfortable with. Even if I melt it and A.R.A. takes their fee I will not lose a dime. Parting it out if it takes months will bring paydays. I have sterling items I bought in bulk years ago that still sell for a far above melt and what I paid.

With your experience of buying and later selling items, let me ask a question about something I have and am caught between scraping it or selling the pair....

I bought an undented pair of "Weighted Sterling" candle stick holders. This set have some unique options. The plaster filled base has threads where the candlestick goes. A middle section screws into the base, and has a center candlestick holder with 5" long, 1/4" flowing hollow silver pipe arms with candlestick holders on each end. The top section screws into the center candlestick forming a vase and ending with a higher single candlestick holder.

All the holders are plaster filled inside. Last time I scraped a bad and broken set that was just a two piece candlestick holder, and silver was at $28, the cleaned sterling sheeting came out to $64 in scrap.

What would a set of these 3-piece candlestick holders be worth if (cleaned or not cleaned) sold for their natural appearance?

 

[war-digs-it]

With your experience of buying and later selling items, let me ask a question about something I have and am caught between scraping it or selling the pair....

I bought an undented pair of "Weighted Sterling" candle stick holders. This set have some unique options. The plaster filled base has threads where the candlestick goes. A middle section screws into the base, and has a center candlestick holder with 5" long, 1/4" flowing hollow silver pipe arms with candlestick holders on each end. The top section screws into the center candlestick forming a vase and ending with a higher single candlestick holder.

All the holders are plaster filled inside. Last time I scraped a bad and broken set that was just a two piece candlestick holder, and silver was at $28, the cleaned sterling sheeting came out to $64 in scrap.

What would a set of these 3-piece candlestick holders be worth if (cleaned or not cleaned) sold for their natural appearance?

Hi, sounds like you have a set of convertible candelabras. Wide range of sale value depending on maker and condition.
First check is make sure Nothing is loose internally, no wobbly parts on a particular piece meaning the base to the stem. Second check as you said about NO dents, minor dings on the very base ring are ok and list as such. Good so far? Polish with silver cream and make it look like it was made yesterday. Heavily tarnished pieces need repeated polishing over a few days to get gem bright. If you have a matching pair that's a little bonus. It is definately worth the extra work to polish and take good pictures as this should bring double melt price.

 

[war-digs-it]

The buyer of this one is begging for another. Duchin Creations. not super but it was dent free but black when I bought it. Polished once a week for a month as it tarnished noticeably after a week or so.

 

[clovis97]

The couplers are are cool. I've never seen anything like them.

At first I thought it was for a scale 'live steam' engine or car, but I strongly believe it is a salesman's sample.

Polished steel, sturdy presentation case, and a full sized version would be too heavy to carry.

 

[billjustbill]

The buyer of this one is begging for another. Duchin Creations. not super but it was dent free but black when I bought it. Polished once a week for a month as it tarnished noticeably after a week or so.

The pair I have are "Duchin Creations", too. They have two swirl and curved arms. Ever tried one of those white powder and metal plate cleaners that clean tarnish away using the mix in warm water?

 

[diggummup]

The couplers are are cool. I've never seen anything like them.

At first I thought it was for a scale 'live steam' engine or car, but I strongly believe it is a salesman's sample.

Polished steel, sturdy presentation case, and a full sized version would be too heavy to carry.

I was thinking sample or maybe one used on those little kiddie trains like the one Steve Martin was engineering in the movie "The Jerk". Any salesmen's sample i've ever seen was a true and accurate representation of the full size version, which this is, except for the color. I've never seen a chrome or polished steel coupler. That being said, it could still be, and probably is a sample piece. The first thing that needs to be done is to id the actual type of coupler that it is. It looks like a Janney coupler, though I don't know what type. Exciting piece regardless. Interested to find out the rest of the story, whatever that may be.