Taking a Break

I've found some of the oddest pieces lately - an 1869 medal for "soldiership" (needs some restoration), a ring with Egyptian hallmarks (not 18K, but interesting), and two service pins with holes where diamonds would go (who would take pin-head sized stones but not scrap the gold).  Pictures take time, and time is what I have in short supply - a wedding in May, the holidays, the Big Lug's retirement, and the Great Purge are taking up my life and shaking it hard.

And I'm happy as a clam.

But multitasking is not my strong suit, so I'm going to take a break from this blog - a month, a season, no clue, but I really, really need to focus on something not here.

I'll be back, with pictures, I promise.  Eventually.  And if you see a very tall woman with a crazed look in her eyes, muttering about tablescapes and donations, it'll probably be me.

Happy Holidays!

On a Tear

Not much on the hunting front lately, but lots and lots of inheriting forward.  I'm stripping the house of anything that's in good shape that's not worth enough to go to the trouble of selling by the usual routes.  This entire Fall is dedicated to that particular aspect of my five tenets of money-making, and in some respects it's the most powerful:  nature doesn't abhor an excess but a vacuum.

In other words, I can't get more if my house is one hatbox away from an episode of Hoarders!  And I won't feel peaceful until the stuff that I do have is in some sort of order!  And I refuse to wait until the last minute to sort receipts for tax purposes!  And I need to paint these walls, fix things that are broken, and repurpose a whole lot of other things before I lose my mind!  Arghhhhhh!!!!!

I feel better now.

Crazy Times ... Just Crazy Times

So, I didn't mention Yard Sales in my last post because Fall is traditionally the Spring (and maybe Summer) thing.  Around here, to raise money for the holidays you are more likely to get stuff to consignment stores.

Not much to report from the weekend, either - I found a couple of tiny pieces, some things for Acid Trip's newest hobby (related to Steam Punk), but mostly I succumbed to a close encounter with salmonella.

In an unrelated incident, I wrote my first letter to a President.  I suggested that since games of chance are now legal in so much of this country (and heavily regulated), Wall Street doesn't have a leg to stand on when calling certain uncapitalized instruments (derivatives among them) "investments."  All we need to do is call them what they are, like "roulette," reclassify them as "gambling," then regulate and tax accordingly.

Oh, and I'm also clearing my office of its clutter, organizing it, and redoing it as a treasure-writing-jewelry-hobby room.  I'll take pictures, as soon as I have something in place.

All in all, a very weird week.  And I'm too tired to dispute it.

Crazy Times, Short Post



Why I love consignment shops (14K).




Why I love estate sales (14K).



Why I love thrift stores (9K, one marked Chester 1913).




Why I love metal detectors (22-ish K).



Have a great week!

A Wet Week

Within minutes (it seemed) after my last blog, the heavens opened and poured upon my earth a torrent such as I'd never seen before.  At one point (though I was in a classroom 7 miles away) we apparently received close to 3 inches in about an hour, a rate that was backed up by the mud and leaves that washed over my retaining wall, into my stairwell, and under my basement door - mud and water I found when I returned to the wild shriek of the water alarm.

Luckily, it was just around the door (and backed up in the stairwell, which cleared once I scooped off the drain) so after a few minutes of work we were fine.  Other than finding our our new fridge was (probably) handled roughly and went out of square (causing the corner metal to poke our just far enough to give the gasket a bad fit) and is already going to cost us money to fix (no proof), it's been students, students, and more students as I careen away from vacation and toward the October first SAT.

I had time for a single estate sale, and that on the last day with 20 minutes left before they shut down for the weekend, where my superpowers came through with flying colors.

Is this the coolest thing ever?  It's a group who loves antiques and restoration, one I never knew existed until I found this in the $1 pile (and, yes, it's 10K, and nice and hefty).  The Big Lug says my superpower is finding things everyone else missed.  I think I might have found more than just gold.  Questers 1944 looks like my kind of organization.

Stay tuned to find out!

Travelling Without a Net

I'm a list-making kind of gal, a planner and backup planer.  I like structure.  I like routine.  I like having a map even when I don't get to use it.  I just spent almost two weeks in turmoil, flying by the seat of my pants.

It started with an earthquake.

Not that it was as bad here as it was in Central Virginia, but this California girl didn't much like feeling her house shake while she was standing over a basement.  I've been through two 7-pointers (and above) and I have to tell you, this was the scariest one yet because I was standing over a giant hole.

Then Irene slammed into us.  A tree fell onto a power line, so we went black around 2am, and the Big Lug and I took turns watching the pump hole for rising water.  Yes, we have a generator for that purpose, but since we'd never used it before we didn't know we had it too far from its current ground, and so we need to sink a new one closer to the manual transfer switch.  Helpful hint - don't find this out during a hurricane.  (All turned out well, though, because we've done so much terraforming we had nothing but a trickle of water come in, and that we hand-bailed only twice in the 18 hours we had no power.  Yay!)

Then we went on vacation, and it almost finished me off.

The Big Lug didn't like that I had a list of 50 possible things to see, and three hotels that centered them all already all-but-booked (a loose plan, but a plan nonetheless).  He'd been organized and structured and overscheduled to death at work, and I was pure shake-and-bake from the natural disasters (and the accompanying cancellations of students, and extra, unlooked-for work - our fridge blew during the power surge that knocked out the electricity).  He wanted no plan, no framework, no list.

He wanted to point the car and just ... go.  I wanted to make him happy.  So (trembling a bit) we just ... went.

From Fallingwater in Western PA (on my Bucket List so the only place I insisted on) to back home (a day early thanks to the Noah-like Flood we're still experiencing), we had no motel reservations more than a couple of hours in advance, no restaurant call-aheads at all, and almost no major highway drives.  We went back road to state highway to (once) someone's driveway.  We had no cell signal for most of the trip.  We hit every antique mall he could find on the GPS (though one day I got my consignment and thrift fix).  We ate at places my gut is still trying to shake.  We talked, a lot, and we slept not-so-well at night.

And though mostly I found few things that were great deals (in a thousand miles) I did find a couple:

For the most part I spent too much on things worth not much simply because I had to buy something from the truly fun people we met.  These, however, were the cheapest ($6.40 total for all three) and yet all are 14K (the heart looked better before I tried my hand at knocking out the CZs).  Both pendants were on steel or plated chains, and neither were marked clearly, if at all (looked like "+K" on the back of the pearl ... and diamond) but the earrings are marked well, and sharply (just tiny).  Not a haul to brag about, but no small shakes, either, especially since the Hunt wasn't the purpose of the trip.  I lived by the seat of my pants and lived to tell the tale.

Yes, I'd become entrenched, and needed to trust myself and others.  Yes, things went wrong, and yes, we found unexpected gems along the way.  Yes, I wanted to throw up many times from nerves or punch something in frustration.  Yes, we had a boatload of fun.

And, no, I will never do it again.

Not without a little bit of planning, anyway.

Running With Irony

Last week, I briefly mentioned a swap of clutchbacks in a thrift - theft, in fact, albeit what most people would consider "minor" (and I justified as) because both pair of "crap" earrings were $4 (so it wasn't as if I changed out an expensive thing for a cheaper thing).  I have a conscience (with feathers) that doesn't just tweak me on things like this but practically shoots an air horn in my ear:  hence, the penance of donating jewelry (one crime to "fix" another).  Thanks to this, however, I forgave myself for my very unusual slip of ethics.

But Mama Angel is the gift that keeps on giving, and hyperfocused, too!  Last week was about helping me toward an unreal streak of great deals (that coin, if you didn't look, is 1/10 oz of pure gold) but this week was about digging in the knife, just one more time.  It wasn't the yank toward getting my practically-Hoarders living room cleared out on Saturday (instead of yard sales), nor was it the reminder that I hadn't paid bills or balanced the checkbook in two weeks (all of which kept me from The Hunt); no, it was a little revelation at the original site of my heinous act.

I stopped back at that thrift Saturday (between errands) to check on my donated jewelry (mostly sold!) and to see if anything new had been set out.  Nothing caught my eye except, of course, the "crap" earrings I'd put back, those of the formerly guilty conscience, the pair I didn't buy.

 They looked less ... plastic this time, and shinier.  So I removed the craptastic backings I'd traded out and looked more closely at what I'd passed on.  And ... can you see it?  The streaks?  The color?  The plaque at the top of the left earring - the one that says "585"?  Yeah, it's like that.

So, to summarize: I hammered myself with guilt, paid for a shabby steel pair of earrings (which I gave away) and two gold clutchbacks (which I kept) ... then forked out more for the ivory and 14K pair I'd passed on (which now have the swapped-out clutchbacks) after donating gold and silver pieces.  Mama Angel, at her knifey best, went out of her way to show me the irony of it all ... and, of course, to get in that one, final word.

Fair enough.  They look fabulous on me, after all.

A Really Good Week ... Or Two

I started writing this on Tuesday, but I had to wait and see how the whole week played out.  Hint - today was the first day I didn't find a great piece.

It hasn't been all good since my last allowance - I've had some bug since I returned from Indy, and between the gut bombs and the headache, I've been pretty miserable, especially since I've worked the whole time, too.  Last week, of course, the amethyst and white gold necklace was the most gorgeous (and keeper) moment.

I'm telling you, look at everything - this was in the silver tray, and priced that way.  It wasn't the only thing (a gorgeous 10K ring at a different consignment store - good deal not great - and two pair 14K earrings at a thrift that were a steal) but it was the start of it all.

Speaking of silver.

The butterfly I found today, in a consignment store, for just a couple of dollars. The rest were all week - that fat bracelet, especially, was $5 at a yard sale (well over an ounce) and the single hoop earring above the star bracelet was one I found in a parking lot (I knew there was jewelry at that center that day, but I thought it would be in my normal haunt, not behind my left passenger tire).  The circle pendant is studded with diamonds (and so a faboo bargain).  FYI - not everything I've found is there.  I gave a gorgeous pin (with onyx) and some others away already, for penance, after I swapped a gold clutchback from one pair of crap earrings to another at a thrift store (so the crap pair I bought would have two good backs instead of just one).  Sterling, great costume, and a really nice gold ring and necklace went to my favorite charity shop, and I don't regret it for a moment.

The vacuum filled.  And nicely.

Gotta tell it from the start, or at least from Saturday.  I'd planned to drive the 80 miles to a flea market I haven't even been to all year - I usually hit craigslist and check "jewelry," just like everyone else, and I wanted a change from the usual "sorry, someone was here at the crack of dawn" and the picked-through baskets.  Morning came but I could almost hear Mama Angel telling me to stay local and just follow my nose, so I did.  And everywhere - everywhere - my nose blew me (shut up) I found something amazing.  A tangled chain and link bracelet and sterling bangle here, a pair of wedding bands there, that chunky silver bracelet along with a hideous 80's ring (with what I thought was a spurious mark) in one place, and 18K clutchbacks (on steel earrings!) in another.  It was so bizzarre and amazing I almost didn't explode on Sunday when I went to teach back-to-back classes with no a/c, no elevator (5th floor), painters and tilers blocking everything ... yeah, I honestly thought it was a gift so I would only frighten the building manager with cold, angry Bunny, not kill him with raging, "she'll rip yer throat out!" Bunny.

And though it saved at least two lives, the trend continued!  I kept letting the wind take me and ...

The coin pendant I thought was "clad" silver (just a couple of bucks) ... isn't silver.

Seriously, how could I think it was a dime?  Because it had a generic "guarantee" from a mint, and I'd seen a similar pendant in a different shop for about $20 more than I paid for this one.  I snapped it up because it was cool.  I kept it because it's 1/10 oz of pure gold, and wearable!


The earrings in the far back of the big picture, the blue stones that look like iolite, are in a pair that was marked "gold?" with a smushed mark I thought looked like part of 925 except the "5" was more an "L" ... until I turned it upside-down saw it could be a 7 ... and the curves of a 5 and 0.  Yep!  It was!  And sapphires and diamonds!

The other puppy was a gamble, too, even though the 14K is clear on both parts - the pendant is big, as you can see, but that chain is heavy and Cheetos orange (but not marked "Italy"), a darker shade than the pendant.  It wasn't within my comfort zone for speculation (I draw the line at $30 these days).  But I'd trusted the nosy, feathered one this far, I might as well go all the way.

When I got it home I decided to do electronic test instead of scratch, because the chain was big enough not to get severed by the pulse.  "755" and above is 14K on my machine.  It read "003."  I'd weighed the pendant already and it not only tested right, it's worth enough to my gamble if I choose to sell it (as long as gold stayed relatively high) so - oh, well, live and learn.

I started to put it in into my "to be donated" bag ... and then I remembered that some gold was coated.  I used my pink eraser on the links, and tried again.  814.  My eyes bugged out (it's one very heavy chain), so I tried another unerased part (3 again) and another erased part (805).  Then I started dancing.

Overall, although I spent about two and a half allowances (which I had, thanks to the bug), I now own some of the more beautiful pieces I've ever seen, and at a fraction of what they're worth.  Best deals were those heavy shell earrings and that coin pendant.  Favorites are the amethyst necklace and the sapphire earrings.  Best motivator to teach everyone about what's fake and what's gold is that chain.

Things that make me smile, however, aren't in any pictures:  the stuff that's already made it into my trash can or the gallon-sized "donation" Ziploc, the stuff that cost me about a third of what I spent overall.  It's all a treasure of a different kind because it will give twice - once when I pay the charity shops and yard sale people for the chance at a great piece, and again when I cull out the dreck and give back the nicer bits to sell again.  Plus, though it shows I'm not always right, I'm right more often than I'm wrong, and that's amazing to me.  And unlike those dry, bloodless stocks and bonds, this is something I can actually wear.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

Can you?

Economic Whoas

I've been teaching and cleaning more than hunting lately, so other than one great piece (white gold in the silver tray again) I have few stories to tell yet.  The economy has me mesmerized, the politicians disgusted, and the spirit (of most of the people I see) sad - they're not crazed or fearful but ... shell-shocked.  And yet, I see a determination I don't think I've ever seen before.

Funny that we're all prepared to buckle down and fix this, and without the finger-pointing, excuse-making, and bitch-slapping our elected officials are doing.  We are ready to roll.

Wouldn't it be nice if our our respresentatives would represent that?

Speaking of Thrift Shops

To the lady next to me earlier today, the one who said, to the clerk, "One hundred and fifty dollars is too high for this piece.  It's plated, see?  Fourteen-kay here but five-eight-five on the tag.  It's gold plated sterling."

I love you.  When you have your yard sale, give me a call because I really, really want to buy your stuff.

Seriously.

To the Honorable ... Whoever

Over the weekend, gold went nuts on eBay - bullion and coin sales were in the high 1600's and low 1700's per ounce.  I thought things would level out once it looked as if the debt ceiling was rising, and since it's already passed the house ... but, no, not only is gold still rising as I write this, all the index futures are tanking.  Yes, Europe is in trouble, and yes our GDP (etc.) numbers aren't all that.  But it really looks as if no one around here is really certain that all the "Honorables" in government can actually pull it off.

I'm one of them.  So far all I've seen is 537 people who are thinking of the next election rather than the fact that our economic boat is filling with water and they're arguing about whether we should scoop or suck.  I've seen much (too much) grandstanding, pontificating, and bluster; tons of set jaws, narrowed eyes, and finger-pointing; mountains of threats, promises, and in-fighting; but action?  Not so much.  And I think I might know why:  how many of our elected officials has ever had to (personally) dig him-or-herself out of debt?

I'm not talking about doing without lattes in order to pay the education loans they incurred for law school or foregoing a new car to pay down the mortgage on the vacation house on the beach.  I'm talking about being in a hole so deep you can't see up, that you're so far underwater you have to use one card to pay another, that you search couch cushions for change to buy milk for the kids and babysit to get your car payment.  I'm talking cold sweats every night for months (or years) and wondering if your life insurance would come soon enough to help the rest of the family to survive.

Well, guess what?  I've been there.  I got out.  And I have the scars to prove it.  And as someone who's had some actual practical experience, I have some advice for our lawmakers.

1)  Stop treating government as if it's a business.  It is not a business.  Business gets to do something with profits (actually generates them) and is, or should be, responsible for its own debt.  (And, by the way, outsourcing isn't "cutting the size of government."  Admit it's stupid - on so many levels - and get back to civil service, for all of you.)

2)  Lending money with no requirement of repayment is only for people related to you by blood, and then only if you have it to lose.  I will respond in kind, if necessary (starving = feed them, evicted = a place to stay ... for days, not weeks) but I will not hand cash to a money drunk.  Not any more.  I owe them nothing that will enable bad behavior.  (And borrowing that way is illegal for real people - it's called "fraud.")

3)  There is no such thing as "good" debt, only "acceptable" debt, and you cannot grow consistently by borrowing to gamble on, well, anything else.  If I must borrow, I have an asset to back it up (like a car), and I still pay it off as fast as I can.

4)  I had to cut expenses, sell some assets, and work more hours to get us out of the hole.  That meant I cut my own allowance and I raised more money in addition to trimming the household expenses that weren't constants.  Everything was on the table when it came to both cuts and revenue.  Everything.  No exceptions.

5)  I had to put my name on our debt.  My name.  If you had to put your names on all of those ancillary (and bullshit) Pork Barrel riders that attach to every single bill that goes through your houses (including the one that authorized emergency funds to pay our troops!), I'll bet the budget would cut itself by 20% in its first year.  (And if it doesn't, then shame on all of you.)

6)  I don't start a project unless I know I can pay for it.  In other words, I not only "balance" my budget, I don't even base that budget on what I don't have.  Not only that, but when I earn less I IMMEDIATELY cut things (to make my emergency fund last longer, if necessary).  And I plan ahead for vacations and renovations, save even for things that might be expenses in the future (like for an air conditioning system that's now nearly 20 years old).

7) The biggest help for me was to change my attitude toward the money:  you are not in charge of our finances, you are responsible for it.  We succeed or fail based on what you decide - all of us, including your own families - and you will be remembered for your actions (or lack of them).  And though we (people) seem to not care sometimes, we really do, especially when you cut into our lives.  I hate to say this, ladies and gentlemen, but the worst thing we can do to you is NOT to vote you out. Your current actions (or lack of them) are stirring even us moderates out of our (possibly) apathetic, (seemingly) sheep-like fog.  Do you really want to see what happens when your "flock" turns on you and your parties? (Hint - anyone seen a Whig lately ...)

By the way, I'm not saying government is a household any more than it's a business but it's closer to the latter and you know it.  And that means you don't need economists to fix this problem but people who've actually crawled out of the muck.  See, we who have stared down this particular abyss (and lived to tell the tale) know that what you really need in order to survive (and thrive) is not theory, not storm and fury, and not great sound bytes - you need common sense, calm resolve, constant vigilance ... oh, and a really, really good thrift store.

Okay, maybe that last one was just my secret weapon.

Carpe Interruptus

So, my research (which I shoulda done before jumpin' to that conclusion) has turned up the fact that Chanel always signs pieces "Chanel," and that the back-to-back C's are just on the front of the jewelry.  A field trip to a galleria is scheduled as soon as my student rush subsides, but until then I feel like such a drug company right now.  (Jumping the gun with the announcement?  Get it?)  Plus, I saw the mark again on a pair of 14K clutchbacks on a pair of studs that were probably consigned by the same person.  Either there's a lot of Chanel around or I goofed.

::retreating with an awkward bow and rather pink cheeks::

Carpe Chanel

Indianapolis was so much fun I almost can't stand just the memories of it.  I went to meet with my two best friends from high school.  Over the (many, many) years, we've kept in touch and seen each other separately, but not all together since our ten-year reunion.  Why choose Indy?  One lives east, one lives west, and one in Indy.  Seems like the halfway point, yes?

In between getting busted for noise (I haven't laughed that much in decades) and running around eating out, we all had some down time.  I saw my cousins (did I mention most of my dad's side lives there?) and I did some touristy stuff, but mostly (duh) I hunted.

Three pairs of gold earrings (studs are white gold) and 14K ankle bracelet (it had the sterling heart attached so was priced to that), two pair sterling (screwbacks, heavy) earrings and bracelet (big one), the freshwater-and-sterling collar, plus a couple of gambles.  The ring and sterling necklace in the back were the highest priced, and I sigh over paying so much but I knew the former wasn't stainless steel as the clerk said, and I thought the latter had diamonds in the goofy- looking pendant.  Wrong on both.  And the dangly onyx things weren't even plated.  But all were within my risk-budget, and the heaviest pair of gold earrings were very, very inexpensive (plus 20% off that day), so I'm happy.

The ring actually had me going, though - it had no mark so I scratch-tested it, through the platinum acid with no deterioration.  My heart ka-thunked ... even though I have a platinum watch and this didn't quite look right ... and who would put a CZ in platinum (a dishonest husband or a sticky-fingered jeweller?) ... but I hoped ...

So, since last Saturday was our quarterly antiques show, the only time I see my best-paying gold guy, and I was already planning to go with a bagful of broken, awkwardly designed, or just plain ugly gold and silver jewelry (really, what were we thinking in the last few decades????) I asked him to give it a look.  "Not platinum" he said immediately, then told me palladium tests the same ("but it's not that" ... dammit!) and so does stainless steel (not magnetic, though, I checked).  He says it's likely titanium (cheapest of the list) but he can't verify because he doesn't know if it also tests that high.  (Kind of a stupid acid test, then, huh?)

Sorry, getting ahead of the timeline (and needing to calm down).  I flew back Wednesday night, and, despite my laughing-and-talking-sore throat, and my holy-crap-is-everyone-but-me-a-night-owl? exhaustion, headed out bright and early Thursday morning.  Only one thrift "drew" me, and it turned out they were having a sort of grab-bag day. There were a dozen or so sitting in a basket on a long, loaded table.  I bought 5, plus a pair of mismatched earrings I'd seen before but never looked at.

The result almost filled a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.  I sorted into "good enough to donate," "keep for my own nefarious purposes," "give away to friends and family," and "total crap."  Most (shock) fell into the last category (and so is in a landfill somewhere).  The stuff on the right is mostly donate.  The black necklace is for my daughter.  The stones, etc., for DragonBunny.  This stuff is mine.

Gold at the bottom, sterling at the top from grab bags, mismatched pair were one of each.  Score!

And it was even better than I knew when I took this picture.  See the stud just above the big, WG hoop?  The one that has a more substantial setting?

It's that probably-titanium ring with the earring in it.  See, I didn't test things until after I took the initial pictures, gold, silver, and stones.  When I thought the metal was platinum I decided it would look better if I replaced its small, fake stone with what turned out to be a quarter-carat-plus (and very, very clean) diamond from the single.  I took another picture to check it out.  Would've looked cool, no?  But, alas, now the earring will go in the safety deposit box until I find something it belongs in (or another just like it).

Then the week got even better.

After my disappointing (but honestly unsurprising) news on Saturday, I decided to focus on the emptiness of my jewelry box and the nice chunk of change I'd gotten to put toward my outrageous retirement plans (and maybe a storage locker?).  I also decided the Lug and I deserved bonuses - non-allowance based presents - so I bought the Lug three beautiful pipes and myself a rare milk glass egg.  Then, since I had classes scheduled in a couple of hours, I left early to hit a store I hadn't hunted for two weeks.  Armed with a bit more cash for my own treat (hey, I did all the work, yes?), and finding a trove of new vintage stuff in the cases, I was like a guy in a tool shed - I grabbed a stunning necklace, a pair of amethyst studs, and a fairly pricey bracelet in rapid succession.  But when I turned to check out, Mama Angel slapped me with a reminder to check everything, including the separate brooch display thingie (sterling sometimes but almost always costume).  I sighed, but as usual, I listened.  And found a gold-priced-as-metal piece ... which reminded me I don't need to spend more to get more ... which meant I put the bracelet back ... but not the necklace because it was so, so gorgeous (and under $50) that I wore it out of the store.

Seriously, isn't it amazing?  14K, onyx, and two small diamonds.  I've already worn it a lot.  And all three pieces had been sitting there for at least five days.  I was in a serious case of stun, but I just kept thinking what if?

So yesterday, I went back to the grab-bag place first thing in the morning, and I took a bunch of silver studs to donate.  In the back of my mind I hoped to find another plastic sleeve full of beads and whatever - with one, particular earring in it - but the grabs were all gone. Ah well, check everything anyway.  A fabulous sterling necklace for a friend, a pair of cheap, junk earrings with a 14K and 18K clutchback on the beat-up metal posts, and there, in the back of a case that was still hidden by the sale table, a ring.  A class ring from 1964.  10K and heavy.  And not only priced well to begin with but everything was more than a third off because it was the last Monday of the month.

The ring (Monday) and the brooch (Saturday).  Each $10 or less.  And each had been sitting in its respective case for five to fifteen days.  The ring is simply heavy, engraved, and a great deal intrinsically.  The brooch is heavy, too, but ... well, I didn't choose the title of today's blog at random, now did I?  Yep, the pin holds both its 14K mark ... and two C's, linked, back-to-back.

Check everything.  Have fun.  And leave no gemstone unturned!

I love my life!

Happy hunting to all!!!

Hunting In Foreign Parts ... Again

I will admit to forgetfulness - I am in Indianapolis right now, at the tail end of the most fabulous reunion of the Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse that could ever happen.  (Yes, high school ... we haven't been together, all three, in twenty years!)  We talked, we laughed, we got busted by the hotel management for noise ... good times.

And, of course, I hunted, even found some great pieces (and one mystery piece), but the focus was on a different sort of treasure.  The best kind.

I'm headed home this evening.  I miss the Big Lug like crazy.  He's already told me we aren't going to do this again - next time he comes with me even if he has to stay in the hotel room by himself the entire time.

He misses me, too.  I am happy.

Good hunting to all - and to all a better night!

The First

I went to a storage auction yesterday, and another today.  I'd prepared myself ahead of time to write a cool, first-timer blog, comparing and contrasting with all three shows, with thrifting, maybe even tell a nice allegorical story about messes and life.

Trouble is, yesterday wasn't my first auction.  I stood at the door of that locker in the steaming heat, and it felt so familiar.  Couldn't remember why, but suddenly, in the middle of trying to decide between Cascade and Finish, I remembered a day about 15 years ago - I was standing in a crowd of 50 or 60 people, staring at rows and rows of stainless steel fryers, cabinets, and shelves thinking "I can't use any of that."  It was a storage auction.  I was there.

Does that make me cool?  Or just old?

Don't answer that.

So what have I run into so far?  Well, I'll tell you one thing - times have either changed (and TV lies) or I happened to be in on a major auction of the sort I have yet to run into (and TV lies).  I found out that in two days' time, ten auctions (with a total of 32 lockers) went down to three (with a total of 6 lockers) within 24 hours before the start time (lesson - call ahead before you leave the house to see who paid their fees at the last minute).  I found out that most of the buyers are nice, cooperative, and kind of fun to be around - drama (TV doesn't lie, but probably exaggerates).  I found out that most lockers, at least in this area, are full of trash the owners don't want to clear (the nice people talk) yet the things still sell every time (for $25 or less) and that very few hunters will let you see what they find inside (TV doesn't lie about that).  I found out that these auctions are exactly like thrifting in that you have to have a little faith that if you keep going and going, eventually you'll find something that gives you that tingle of promise (all woo-woo aside, did I tell you those earrings I found Tuesday are David Yurman?).  And I found I kind of like it all.

Today, one of the winners allowed me to hang around - a couple of college kids, trying out a new thing.  I took a picture of the inside.

Five bucks for all of it.  He sold one of the chairs and some tools, to what Dave (on Storage Wars) calls "vultures,"  people who hang around and pick through to buy any or some of the items without having to clear the locker.  Personally, since the kid doubled his money in about two minutes he did great.  And he was so sweet, so wide-eyed, that I wanted to make sure he ate more (a Mom thing).

Plus, there was more.  While I stood there, talking, they started opening boxes.  Books.  The second one his friend pulled out looked vaguely familiar, so I asked to see it.  First edition Taylor Caldwell.  Not a well-known title, no dust jacket, but a first edition Taylor Caldwell!  And another, a Norah Lofts.  A couple of sconce-type lamps with smoked glass and 70's switches (the kind that are coming back).  I told them to flip through the books (I've found money) and Google the crap out of titles.  They took my number.

So sue me, I'm a compulsive teacher.

Overall, it was pretty fun.  I will definitely do it again.  And I might even buy something ... when my back heals and Acid Trip has time to help me.  I have a feeling I will discover a great prize at the bottom of several of these boxes of crap.

Oh, and before you ask, the footlocker was almost empty.  Just an almost-new, still-in-the-box Ikea table.  Good deal for $5, but no treasure of the Sierra Madre.

That's for me to find.

Risking It

I didn't go to the storage auction yesterday, because I did a second sweep on Google and found seven of them within a 15 mile radius tomorrow and Thursday.  No driving 80 miles, yay!  I plan to shadow, anyway, mostly ... but who knows?  I've been taking risks lately and they've been paying off!

Mostly.

This was today's Wheel of Fortune.  When Mama Angel gave me that feeling, the one that said "go donate purses" (including one Italian leather bag that I was saving to consign in the Fall) I didn't have a problem - hey, I'm in "planting" mode, remember?  But when I realized my attention (and intention) went straight to a thrift in which I've never found anything of substance (next to my bank) ... well, let's just say, I sighed, smiled, and went in to give, not receive.

To my surprise, I found these three lovelies, true pairs all.  Since I do not look too closely at markings when things are cheap (though I swore I saw something on two) I decided to take a chance on them.  I paid about $14 (with tax) for all.  I could handle it if I was wrong.

See, I might talk about my prizes, but I end up with as much trash as treasure.  I can't tell you how many dollar-heres and fiver-theres I've lost.  Those add up, but don't hurt (much).  C'mon, admit it, a bunch of mosquito bites are just irritating.  Wasps, scorpions, and rattlesnakes, on the other hand, make me want to cry.

I don't usually bet real money on a non-sure thing, but I risked $50 for each of these.  Both are unmarked.  And to say both were iffy is an understatement - the ring, especially, made me crazy, and not just because it was choppily made, has weirdly blue turquoise (or amazonite, maybe), and had more than one suspicious patch in the metal.  No, it was the fact that the woman who ran the consignment store said she doubted "very much" if it was actually gold (she worked in a jewelry store for ten years), but that the consigner insisted it was and wouldn't lower her price as much as the manager wanted her to.  On the other hand, the cherub is nicely detailed, well-made, and there's a squishy place where a mark could have been, one that looked a lot like "585" (yes, in the magnifier - I do not spend that much money without a ton of study).

Long story short:  the ring's 14K and the cherub isn't anything at all.

And I'm okay with that.  Sometimes it's all about stepping out of our little, safe, 50-cent box.  The storage auction thing isn't really a risk since I don't plan to buy anything at all (okay, unless it's cheap ... or I get that feeling ... or Mama Angel hits me over the head with a chair).  Not yet, anyway.  And today wasn't either - mosquito-level crap doesn't count.  I'm not even talking about $200 on something you can see is marked "900 pt," either (though at the time that was about all I had).  No, I'm talking about the real risk of doing something we love just because we love it.

I don't usually look closely at things until I get home - I have found that when I know what I have, some part of me stops looking really hard ... or listening, I haven't figured out which it is - but today I opened the bag in a different thrift store.  See, there's a sweet, fabulous lady I know who works there Tuesday mornings.  She told me today that when she was working, she found stuff and sold some on eBay but since she retired, "nothing."  I panicked.  That's what started my Mom's crazy-cat-lady spiral.  "Nothing."  The only cure I know is to fill it up.

The three pairs of earrings above weren't all gems.  One was total crap.  One was sterling only.  And one was marked "925" ... and "750."

Feel that rush?  Get it again when you realize that silver-to-gold it's about fifty-fifty???  Then once more when you hit the scale and find they weigh almost half a troy ounce?

Feel it?

See, it's not the potential cash (I won't get rich this way).  It's the rush - the discovery rush, the I-paid-how-much? rush, the Thank-You rush ... all of that and more, all at once.

That's my something.

Now go out and find yours.

Updates

Just a quick post - sorry, but I'm busy focusing on my real goal, which is to raise our bottom line.  Right now that means a massive yard project, and though my back is stronger it ain't better so the landscaping's taking longer than expected ...

... The week was pretty good, thanks to a gamble on what I (and, obviously, the consigner) thought was possibly a spurious 14K mark on a decorative chain (it wasn't!), to an unmarked 10K wedding band, and to a couple of nice leads by Mama Angel (including some 14K gold beads on an otherwise average necklace).  Not enough to cause early retirement, but a great fill-up of the Hope tank.

... The Great Car Hunt is over, and the winner is (drumroll) a Hyundai Elantra.  I had it finally down to two - Honda Accord and Hyundai Elantra (gas mileage, owner satisfaction, etc.).  I took the Big Lug for the deciding factor, the Butt test, and the Honda was the marginally clear victor.  However, after telling the salesman three times (my initial, my subsequent, and this particular and supposedly last search trip) that I HATE the song-and-dance of checking with the manager, back, check, back he did it anyway.  And since my husband has less patience than I do (and no problem with quick decisions) we left, went to the Hyndai guy, were not only treated like a king and queen but offered a packed car for the same price as the Honda (bottom line up front) as well as free oil changes and tires for life!  Combine that with the fact that this dealership is about a mile from my office, I'm averaging 29 miles to the gallon, and I am a very happy camper!

... The first Saturday flea wasn't as great as usual, but I found a couple of interesting pieces of silver - two service pins and a "Return to Tiffany" heart (no bracelet, just the heart) for 50 cents each, and a pair of (I believe) 100-year-old milk glass salt shakers in really good shape for $2.

... I really thought I had a handle on something to distinguish 14K gold pins from their trashy counterparts.  Remember the picture?

Do you notice that the hearts have more of a crosshatch, and the others are plain?  Well, I found this and thought "ah-ha!"

It bends easily without cracking, it scratch-tested as 10K, and even though I couldn't find a mark, I figured I was made (especially since it was thrown in with something else I bought).  Nope.  I looked closer at the scratch-bit, found silvery metal beneath (noooooooo!), then electro-tested and got very low numbers.  So now I know my scratch test isn't perfect on gold (with heavily plated items) and my electronic tester isn't always great on white gold (it gets confused easily these days) which means ... do the best I can.  And don't generalize about pins!

... Oh, and I won't be posting on Monday next week.  I'm going to hit my first storage auction.  As long as I can rearrange a tutorial.  And drive 80 miles to get there, possibly in traffic.  And work up the courage to wade in with a bunch of pros.

Overall, even with the crapy things that were risks that didn't pay off, I quadrupled (or quintupled, depending on the research for the shakers) the money I spent.  Now, since I didn't spend a lot that means I didn't make a lot, but "it doesn't suck" beats the blisters off "WTF", right?  And, truth is, it was a boatload better than not sucking.

Life is good.  Happy Hunting!

Patience, With a Side of Envy

To find the needle in the haystack, sometimes you just need a big butt, lots of sitting, and even more patience.

Today is about white metals, which might be silver, platinum, white gold, palladium, or just steel, aluminum, titanium, or (horrors!) "pot" metal, which is a mixture of tin, zinc, and/or whatever is lying around the factory that day.  It's not always easy to tell what you're holding - platinum and palladium are very similar to each other (and the buffs and scratches don't ease out with wearing), and white gold looks exactly like silver with a bit of tarnish on it (unless they're both rhodium plated, in which case they're interchangeable).  Quality of work will help distinguish them much of the time, as will a magnet (at least in finding stainless steel) but mostly we rely on marks.

That's not always a good thing.  Though spurious white gold marks are not nearly as numerous as their yellow counterparts, I've run into two - one on a pair of shell earrings from a post in 2009, and one ... well, we shall see.

Let's get to it.

Which one's gold, which is silver, and which is something else?  Difficult, isn't it?  Two have tool marks inside, two are a bit yellowy, all look pretty much the same.  Will turning them over help?

Maybe, maybe not.  Even looking closely with my loupe, I saw only one mark (on the middle one - go ahead and look), but I "knew" it was sterling anyway (by the westernness of the design and the antiquing).  Why the quote marks?  Because I have seen at least one pair of white gold earrings with this type of design and antiquing.

The ring on the left I really thought was unmarked white gold, but it tested low (though not as low as silver usually does).  Non-magnetic, too.  One day I'll find out how palladium tests so I can compare it.  That leaves the ring on the right.  Yep, white gold.  And it is marked - the first picture shows the hammered look to it, and if you look closely you will see some divets are smaller than others.  A full rear look, and some long-distance viewing (not up close) will allow you to see the Dremel-tool-like writing inside.  It's a man's ring, and I think it's wedding band ... mostly because I also have the two female counterparts of the wedding set (sans diamond, alas, since the empty prongs say it was probably about 2 carats).

By the way, I bought them in a thrift shop, and the only reason I even looked into the box in which they resided was that someone else asked to see one of the other rings, causing DragonBunny to rear her ugly head and crane her neck to see what had caught the woman's interest.  The lady put the scruffy, tin ring she'd looked at back, but, as is my habit, I looked at every single one in the box, through my magnifying glass.  Nothing.  But as I reached out to put this one back I saw the "14K" resolve itself in the dots like some insano Magic Eye poster.  My breath caught.  Nah, I thought, but for the price I was willing to take a chance.  In the sunlight on my way to my tutorials, I could see the yellow glow of the ring - white gold is still gold, just alloyed with white metals instead of heavy on the copper - and also the rest of the signature, "by Jurus" (a Baltimore jewelry designer who's been around since the 60's - thanks to a stoplight and my smart phone).  Once home, I tested it, almost swallowed my tongue, and then raced back the next day for the other two pieces.

Really.

Okay, what about an easier one?

Two, two, two tests for one!  Both are fairly traditional designs for either silver or white gold.  And the picture on the right even has some tarnish to help you along.

Okay, so you spotted it - left to right (both pictures) sterling, gold, gold, sterling.  Yet in both cases, the person who priced this jewelry priced them as silver or even as white metal.  And yes, both are clearly marked.  Seriously, I look at everything.

Okay, one more.

So, both are marked.  Which one's silver, and which one's white gold?

If you guessed that, in order, you're half right.  The first one is, indeed, sterling, but the second is only marked "14K."  Funny thing is, almost every metal on the planet but gold will give me a rash if I wear it on a hot day.  This one didn't.  And it's really, really silky feeling.  And it laid just right.  I've no idea what it's actually made of, but I'd like to find more of it.

So, what's the upshot?  Simple:  white gold is often mistaken for sterling, either because the sorters assume or they just get in a hurry (they're not lazy, trust me) and miss the mark.  That means look at everything.  It's time consuming and needle-in-a-haystack slow, because there's just not as much of the white stuff compared to its yellow bretheran, but there are some awesome deals to be had.

Oh, and don't skip the Cheetos-orange stuff in your studies, either - remember that 22ct pendant!

One last thing.  I've been talking about doing a storage container auction for quite some time.  Since shows like Storage Wars and Auction Hunters have created a feeding frenzy among the normals, I will probably wait for the furor to die down a bit before actually doing it, but check out the "Cash It ... " blog link down and left.  Dave did it and blogged about his finds.  (One reason I won't jump right in.)

I love this life.  Happy Hunting!!

Needles, the Third

So, I had a run of ten days, ten glorious days in which I found something precious at almost every, single place I stopped my car.  Now it's been four days of nothing, a great sucking hole without even a decent piece of Taxco silver.  I was psyched last week - exhausted, but psyched.  And I decided I had to stop the group photos, if only because it looked so much like bragging.

Okay, maybe it was a tiny bit of crowing ... a soupcon of whooping ... a smidge of nanny-nanny-boo-boo ... But after my bout with Lutheran/Catholic hybrid guilt (which, like mirrors and candles, just magnifies it) I decided to spend the next few weeks doing the teaching thing exclusively.  Until I have another amazing week and cave to my baser, more gloaty id.

This week is about pins.

One of these things is not like the others.  Actually, each of these things is unlike the others (one has cultered pearls, one is single, one is hearts - ha!  I have eyes, too!) but my question is more about what it's made of.  Hard to tell, for the most part.  Okay, the single circle has really (really) deep grooves and it looks an awful lot like the circle pins I see at least twice a day, every day, everywhere I go.  But the others aren't too far off the pattern, right?  Right.  Plus, not one has a mark that's visible to the naked eye (or even one covered with a loupe, as mine was ... it's very well-hidden).

Tell you what - rank them.  What're they worth, least to most?  (No peeking!)  Got it?  Scroll down.

Ha!  That didn't help did it?  Not much, anyway.  Two of them have the telltale mark of my electronic gold tester.  However, only one passed.

Yep, the hearts.

Funny story about that one - it was in a basket in my favorite charity shop, nestled amongst pins very much like the other two for weeks and weeks, with a $3 (or $4?) price tag on it.  I must've picked it up a dozen times, and put it back, too.  Until one day, when they were in the process of moving and so discounting everything 25%, I picked it up and saw something on the back of one of the hearts.  Like the face of Jesus in a piece of wheat toast, I saw something that looked an awful lot like "14K" - blurry but it didn't scratch off with a fingernail.  And (I sneaked) it bent easily.  I decided I could handle $2.25 (or $3?), blessedly forgetting I'd picked it up and looked so often already.

When I went to meet the Lug for dinner, the "mark" flecked off.  I almost cried.  So while I waited in my car, I shrugged and folded it almost in half.  Then I looked for the inevitable cracked bits of plating.

Nothing.

Long story short(-er) I found the mark, hidden and faint under the pin clasp (really under it), but there.  I tested it, to make sure, but it was another of those "woot-woot!" days.

Don't pass something by just because you've seen it a million times.  Touch it.  Heft it.  Don't bend it unless you buy it - I did find out last weekend that plated stuff cracks really easily ... and visibly - but if you have an ice cube, it should test it just as well.

What?  You don't know that trick?  Gold is superconductive, so it gives up its heat faster than any other jewelry metal.  A piece of ice starts to melt almost immediately on a gold surface.  Make sure you're not holding it, though.  Or it's not summer.

Okay, so it's a great trick to use in winter.  Or in really, really strong air conditioning.  But it's still a great trick!

Next time, it's all about my favorite mismarked stuff - yep, the silvery stuff.

Nanny, nanny, boo-boo!

The Tiny Part

I bought a new car on Friday, and the Big Lug and I decided to take a long drive on Sunday, just to - you know - try it out.  Not only is the car the best of the 6 I had it narrowed to but the hunting wasn't bad either.  In fact, I've been on a tear; since last Thursday, there wasn't a yard sale or thrift shop or consignment store I hit that didn't have a good (at least) piece of gold or silver.  Until about an hour ago, anyway, which is why I'm not going to get pictures up this week - I'm exhausted.  I think I'm actually shopped out!

So the story today, is different.  On our ride last Friday, we stopped at a Goodwill we like about an hour and a half away.  As I was digging through a little bin (finding a couple of grams of 14K!) a lady came up with several CD cases.  The clerk asked if she'd checked to make sure they were there.  She hadn't, and when she did she found only two in their boxes.  When the Lug came up with his CDs (and checked them - all there since his taste isn't as current) I handed him my finds, we paid, and left.  I was steaming.

"You have to be pretty desperate, or pretty rotten, to steal from a charity shop," I growled.

About ten miles, later I heard what I said.  After all, I'd seen at least one of the earrings' marks before I paid.  Wasn't I doing the same thing?

Hey, relax, I'll spare you the wrestling match I had with my conscience.  Truth is, I rarely see the marks before I buy, unless it's over a certain price, in which case I'm guessing on the weight or the veracity of the mark or ... okay, I'll spare you most of the wrestling.  What came out of it was simple, though:  I haven't been stealing, I decided, but I have been uncharistically squirrelly.

Not that kind of squirrelly, the kind that stockpiles all kinds of crap, and not only nuts (shut up!).  I remembered it's not theft but thanks that keep things moving.  I've been forgetting to contribute to the flow instead of dam it up.

I took a box to one place yesterday - including gold studs, nice purses, and jeans still in the package (hey, you want good stuff, you plant good stuff!).  And I'm putting an empty box into my new trunk to fill gradually, and empty frequently (having someone else carry it in, of course, since I'm still in physical therapy for my back).  Like corn, I will cultivate, harvest, then return some to the earth to keep the crop growing year after year after year (even with the mixed metaphors).

I meant to post yesterday. I really did.  But I was chasing something, the last big (maybe) thing ... that turned out to be amazing ... a real OMG thing ... which you will see next week ...

Good to have you back, Twinscapes!

The Weekend

It wasn't a bad weekend - no rain, plenty of places to go (including our 1st Saturday sale).  I have some great finds, including a gold watch with four diamonds (that needs work but was $15) and a pair of screwbacks that had a hidden 14K mark (which I saw so didn't argue about the $5 price), but most of what I found was practical or mistake.  And since I have to spend the day continuing a new-car search that I began online, I just don't have time to take pictures and post for something that was primarily coats, purses, and linens.  Even this is taking brain cells I need in order to get out of here soon.

Now get out and hunt!

And since I look at car hunting with the enthusiasm I reserve for root canals and foot surgery, think of me often ... and laugh.

Needles, Part 2

I love watches.  At first, I bought anything mechanical that appealed to me, for their "archetectural" beauty (I have one from the late 20's, very deco) or for their bling value (more than one plated watch has real diamonds in it) or both (the deco).  Then one day I found a gold watch in a thrift shop for $10, and I was hooked (mostly because I was through breaking out in a rash every summer from the base metal reaction ... okay, the gold, too).

One thing I didn't know until last year is that not every watch is marked on the outside.  I mean, I knew really old ones weren't always (found one in an antique mall) but things that looked contemporary, too?  I honestly thought everyone had to mark on the outside, that it was the law, or something.

Nope.  Take a look:

All of these are gold.  Not one is marked on the outside.  And not one was more than $20.  Hey, if it's not marked outside, it can't be gold, right?  With those crappy bands?  Where else would you mark a watch?

How about inside?  They are, in fact, marked, maker on the dial and carat inside the back cover.  Left to right, I bought a 14K Hamilton, 18K Omega, and two 14K Omegas, the last of which is (according to my watch guy) quite rare, if only because it has a green crystal and moveable lugs.

Not all Omega watches are marked only on the inside, and not all unmarked Omega watches are gold.  I carry a cheap-pen top (you know the kind, blue or black, non-click) to pry open the case without scratching or even gouging the gold (as was done with the 18K before I even got it).  If the cases won't open, don't push it, just buy it if it's cheap (surprisingly you can sell the parts for a few bucks on eBay) and take your chances.  That's what I did with the last beauty (there wasn't even a crown on the winder) and I didn't regret it.  In fact, she's my favorite these days.

I saw well over a thousand watches last year.  I found three gold that weren't priced as gold.  The way I see it, needles are kind of fun no matter how big the haystack.

It all depends on the needle, yes?

Grab Bag

Slow week.  Too close to the SATs, Memorial Day weekend clear-out in town, all that sort of thing.  Still ...

I really thought this would be all this week - things found in thrift shops, all (sterling earrings, gold ring and bracelet) and not yard sale prices (the bracelet almost drained my payday allowance).  But I did something else this week, something I've never done before:  I bought a grab bag.

We have lots and lots of charity shops in the area.  The one in question isn't one I usually find much in.  It's also the only one I've seen that has big Ziplocs full of jewelry, mostly aimed at beaders.  Priced at $10 a bag, it's not something I've usually taken seriously, especially since what I can see is ... well, "crap" is being nice.  This week, however, in a fit of desperation (and since the whole shop was 50% off) I took a look.

In one bag I caught a glimpse of a 14K clutchback on an earring.  In another, a gold clasp on an onyx necklace.  There were two more bags, kind of light - though they'd been stapled in addition to zipped, all four had been partially opened and obviously looked-through (one more than others).  I bought the other three.  What the hell, right?  Why not a real hunt?

See what I mean?  (That's a serving bowl, not a cereal, and pretty heavy filled.)  As I sorted, I saw tons of single earrings, a flash here and there, and more honest-to-heaven junk than I've ever seen in one place.  Beads skittered across the table.  Tangled necklaces had to be separated.  My fingers were blackened by dirt and tarnish and who-knows-what.

And yet ...

Okay, costume first, the things I think are good enough to donate (yes, even the kid thing).  My favorite is the fan, upper right.  It's gold plated, and folds up just like a real one, even has a pretty, damask-like pattern on it.  Pairs of earrings and dangles, a couple of things that might make good pendants, even some fairly nice vintage rhinestone pieces.

These are all stones, shell, whatever.  Two favorites - the box is a music box, broken beyond my capacity for repair but I know someone who might like to tinker with it; and the square thing in the middle is a very pretty, carved piece of jade, pierced as if it had something bolted in as well.  No idea what I'll do with them, but I have a box full of various real stones ... saved for the day when I turn to jewelry design, or turn into a dragon.

But wait, there's more!

Sterling, with turquoise, crystal, and amber.  The intricate earring in the bottom center has British markings for sterling.  I really wish I had the other because it's gorgeous in person.  FYI, this pile alone would pay for two of the three bags.

This definitely will pay for the other (those are gold beads, too).  But there was more to come.

All 14K, marked pieces on the right and tested on the left (with stones out in two, more for the dragon-bag).

Oh, and one last, small thing ...

I almost put this into the costume, to-be-donated pile, if only because it looked so cheesy - and I mean that literally, for though I couldn't capture the color, it's almost Cheetos-orange.  Even the markings on the back made me think "plated," or maybe patent number.  But it wasn't magnetic, it hefted okay, and since I had some time on my hands without the usual weekend hunt, I decided to test it anyway.  See if you can figure out why my eyes bugged out when I did so.

Do you see it, buried in the middle?  Hard to, because I still didn't believe the tester, so I used a pink eraser to rough it up, a needle to scratch it, and even bent it to make the plating crack (first with my fingers, then with a pliers - which pulled it like taffy, smooth, instead).

Still don't see it?  Tap on the picture and make it bigger.  Look harder.  Harder.

"22CT."

Yeah, it's about like that.

It's not a big pendant (about a pennyweight) but it's definitely a first for me.  And though I tossed about a pound of unfixable, broken metal in my recycles, and I still have about a cupful of beads to deal with (Ziploc and donate, marked "beads"), this little piece made certain that this won't be my last grab bag.

I LOVE treasure hunting!

Needles in a ... Pile of Needles, Part 1

Finding a needle in a haystack is easy:  a big magnet or a really big butt will find the little metal pricker in record time.  Finding a specific needle in a pile of other needles, well, that's the tough part.

We don't see certain things because we see them all the time.  That sounds almost Lewis Carrol-ish but it's true - when you see a million angel lapel pins, you don't look at them any more.  Yet when I went north a couple of weeks ago, I found an angel lapel pin that looked exactly like all the millions I see all the time ... except for the "14K" mark on the back.  I didn't have a camera or my phone (and it's an hour and a half away) so I don't have a picture, and it was $54 so I didn't buy it, but I can guarantee it existed.  As did a slightly different version, a tiny, 14K Cupid, that I did buy (for $1) just before Valentine's Day (and got rid of within the week).

This is about things that hide in plain sight.

Take the lowly tie tack.

How many of these have you seen recently?  A hundred?  Like lapel pins (even service pins) most people ignore them, either because they see too many or because they're too small.  I paid $1 to $10 for each, yet I have (left to right) 18K with opal (marked on back "K18"), 18K solid (unmarked), 14K and heavy (marked on post), and 14K with diamond (unmarked, sold as silver).

Keep your eyes open this weekend as you hunt the Memorial Day fleas, for even the smallest of things can turn out to be a fantastic treasure.

Next week, some lookalikes I actually do have pictures of!