You can find genuine treasure in some very unusual places and quite often when you least expect to find it..
Do you ever go “treasure hunting?” I’m not talking about salvaging some sunken privateer or pirate’s ship at the bottom of the sea or trying to find some buried treasure on some uninhabited island in the middle of the Pacific, Atlantic or Indian Oceans; oh those would be marvelous treasures to find and they are out there somewhere but that’s not what I’m referring to.
I’m not talking about panning for gold or seeking gemstones in a brook or an
abandoned mine or digging for diamonds in Arkansas. I’ve sought that sort of treasure too and have some really wonderful pieces but that is not what I am talking about either.I’m not talking about those heirlooms and treasures hidden from the enemy in times of war or even poking around the old cellars and attics of deserted homes. It is wonderful when these heirlooms are found or you find something of real value in some great-granny’s attic but that is not what I am talking about when I ask, do you ever go treasure hunting; and I’m not talking about going with your metal detector up and down beaches or camping areas after the crowds have gone home. Oh I have found some really cool stuff doing just that, but that is not what I am talking about.
I’m talking about yard sales, and rummage sales, white elephant sales and garage sales; browsing through your neighbor’s junk and clutter they are trying to get rid of cheap, so they don’t have to haul it to the dump, landfill or recycle center; all so they can make room for more junk and clutter. Many a great treasure has been found in a junk heap. You know the saying, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” That can be more than just a little bit true.
I’m talking about browsing thrift shops, second hand stores, used book stores, Salvation Army or Good Will stores, places like these where if you know what you are looking for, and even if you aren’t quite sure, real treasure can be found. I’ve been really surprised at some of the treasures I have found and been able to purchase for a very few dollars or even less than a dollar to find out later what I had purchased was worth a small fortune. The person selling it didn’t know or if they did know they didn’t care. They just wanted to get rid of it and make a little pocket change if they could.
It wasn’t too long ago that my sister and I were off on one of our weekend jaunts.
We were actually headed to the Vermont Country Store in Weston and out to dinner later. On our way we drove past a thrift shop that sold antique, vintage and second hand items. As we passed the shop a couple of items sitting in the yard caught our eye and curiosity turned us around and we came back. The items weren’t exactly what we thought they were at first glance but we decided to browse a bit anyhow.
What I found there really surprised me. I have some dishes that belonged to my mother-in-law before she died. They were given to me. No one else wanted them and I didn’t really care all that much for them either but I took them thinking that my children might want them someday if for no other reason than that they had once belonged to their grandmother and I have found out since also had belonged to their great-grandmother. I have the whole complete set.
In this shop we stopped at was one dish, exactly like those I have. The price they had on it was astronomical. I showed the dish to my sister and I showed her the price marked on it. She cringed.
“You’re not going to buy that,” she said, giving me one of her “don’t be stupid” looks.
I said, “Of course not, but if I am ever destitute, I have the complete set. If one dish, and a small one at that, is worth this much, just imagine what the whole set is worth.” We just smiled at each other and headed back toward The Vermont Country Store.
I was in one of those corner thrift shops one day some time ago and waiting while the couple ahead of me was checking out. They were buying several household items and second time around clothing so I had a few minutes while they bartered on some of the prices. You can actually do that in some of these places.
Anyhow, on the counter where the cash register is was a small box of old, mostly costume jewelry, some of it even the plastic, “Made in China” stuff and I began to browse through it, just out of curiosity. It was something to do while I waited.
I found a couple of brooches in that box that looked like the “real thing” and they looked old. I was a little surprised to see them in that box. I held them in my hand and I looked at them and I thought about them. My brain kept saying “treasure, don’t put them back.”
I almost just tossed them back in the box. They were nothing I needed but I am a rock hound and I am pretty familiar with gemstones and can recognize the real from the fake, most of the time. I kept turning them over and over in my hand and studying them. They intrigued me.
These brooches
were rather attractive and would go nicely on a scarf or lapel or even on my blouse. I liked them and more than that I was curious about them. I wondered if they were really what I thought they were and if they were as old as I thought they might be. There was no price on them but the box had a sign on it that said “5 for a Dollar.” That was a good deal even if it was just “junk jewelry.”When it came my turn to check out I asked what they wanted for the two brooches, they weren’t marked. The woman looked at them, looked at me and looked at the box I had taken them out of. “Oh, how about a quarter a piece,” she said as she rung up the coffee pot and kettle I was buying to use for camp dishes. The pot and kettle weren’t necessarily old but they were definitely second hand, cheap enough and just what I was looking for, at the right price.
The cashier rang up the kettle and coffee pot and started to ring up the brooches, she glanced at the sign on the box and quickly said “You got to buy five to get them at that price,”
Sensing, I think, that she thought she might be over-charging me, I said, “A quarter a piece is fine, but are you sure you only want fifty cents for them. They are very nice brooches and probably worth more than a quarter.”
“Oh sure, that’s just a bunch of junk jewelry that’s been lying around here and no one ever buys except little girls who like to play dress up. If you want them for a quarter each, they are yours.”
“Sold,” I said. “I actually like them and they’ll look nice with my scarves.”
She added in the two brooches at twenty-five cents each and my total order came to seven dollars and fifty cents plus tax. I walked out with a smile on my face. Even if those brooches weren’t worth much of anything I had gotten a very good deal, even on the pot and kettle and I liked the brooches even if I didn’t need them.
A couple of weeks later I took the two brooches to a jeweler just out of curiosity and had them appraised. My suspicions had been right. Those brooches were from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and they were real, real marcasite and silver and real gold with fire opals and carnelian, just like I thought. I was very pleased with the appraisal.
The materials they are made of aren’t really all that valuable, gemstone, yes, semi-precious, that too and the little bit of gold and silver is worth something but there’s not enough there to be worth a lot; it is the age of these pieces, how they were made, the design of them and that little telltale signature that gives them their real value. I’m not going to tell you what they are worth but I will tell you this, their value is many, many multiple times and times again what I paid for them.
It is fun to go treasure hunting and sometimes your find a real treasure even when you aren’t really looking for it. It just catches your eye and you know. I love to peruse the items in these shops, at yard sales, flea markets and such places. You just never know what hidden treasure you may find. I don’t find a treasure every time I go treasure hunting but on the other hand sometimes I find a real treasure when I’m not treasure hunting purposefully.
I’m not big on shopping. I like to get in the store, buy what I need or came for and get out. I’m not one to hang out in the super Wal-Mart or any other store and am not an impulse shopper; but oh I do love to treasure hunt. Not only can you find some real and genuine treasure at lower than bargain basement prices, you can find a lot of history and some wonderful memories that go back a long way when you are my age and remember the stories Grandma told. I don’t buy anything very often but it sure is fun to look and just imagine.
“One man’s junk is another man’s treasure,” and it might just be genuinely so.