JUNKIN' AND TREASURE HUNT'IN

Each Saturday morning, Gary and I have our coffee while searching for estate sales, tag sales, and yard sales,  via the internet, in our area. We love "junkin"....and "treasure huntin' ".....its our "thang" you might say.  Then off we head, winding here and there in the North Florida area, with our treasure map (list of addresses LOL) in hand.

My son Ben, he loves Geocaching....I have never gotten into that yet.  His satisfaction is the success in navigating geographically for the secret cache, ours is the treasure that someone else looked over and we can find, and resell for a profit.

Two weeks ago, we hauled our 15 year old grandson with us, and believe me when I tell you he was very very reluctant to go.  I don't blame him, what 15 year old boy wants to hang out with his grandparents while they are digging through old boxes and junk????

That weekend, I managed to find this....(see picture then keep reading LOL)

It is a vintage 4 piece set of Revere Ware Refrigerator storage dishes, stainless steel.  I paid $2.00 for the set.  It was the last day of an estate sale, and all the junkie but funkie kitchen items had been untouched.  I saw the set, figured "hey it says Revere Ware, it is stainless steel, obviously refrigerator storage pans w/lids", so I bought it for the $2.00 as mentioned.  If I couldn't sell it, I knew I could use it!

I had no way of knowing it was from the 1950s.  I just knew the name was maybe "good".  After doing some homework so to speak, on Ebay, seems this set could sell anywhere from $25.00 to $125.00 on Ebay.  So, the set got listed with a BUY IT NOW option, and EEEGADSS!.....it sold for $75.00.  I figured, "why not list it somewhere in between, move it fast, and get back to my treasure hunting!".....Not all "finds" make it into my "haul of all hauls"...hee hee......but this is one that did.

With my $75 in hand, I then headed to a Goodwill store south of where I live.  There was a big jar of junk costume jewelry.....$49.99.........YIKES.!!!!!!!!!....did I dare risk buying a dog gone gallon size jar of junkie plastic and who knows what lay within?....I shrugged my shoulders, took a deep breath and bought it!

Sitting at my dining table, the jar was turned upside down, and out spilled some of the most obsurd whackie costume jewelry, some broken, some good, some bad, and then the items that you think "might" be something.  With jewelry loupe in hand, bright light and lots of patience, I spent about and hour and 1/2 sorting my "find"........then I headed to our local Pawn/Gold Buying shop.  About 20 minutes later, I'm walking out the door with $120.00 cash!

Yep, that bag contained numerous orphaned pieces of 10K, 12K, and 14K gold.  They didn't look like much, but with that "loupe" I have grown to love, I was able to find some pieces that were sellable.

So, my $2.00 investment for the Revere Ware, then the jewelry....well here is the breakdown.

-$2.00 - Revere Ware
+75.00 - Sale of Revere Ware
-$50.00 - Purchase of jar of jewelry
+120.00 - Sale of gold that lay within
$143.00 profit (minus my gas of course - all within 3 days)

Now do you see why it is addictive?????
My son Travis thinks I should get on that Bartering show LOL.....I just think I need to keep treasuring hunting myself.  We don't always have a profitable weekend, but it is cheap entertainment for Gary and I, that is for sure!

Oh, you want to know what happens to all the other "junkie jewelry" from that haul???  Well, good wearable pieces are carded and priced for my Mom, who LOVES to have yard sales herself.  Any vintage beads are saved into my BEAD collection for future jewelry projects, and then the remaining "junk", is destashed and sold by the pound.  So, I guess that is a write off for the gas spent to find my "treasures"......there are few pieces that actually are wasted or thrown into the trash, but very few.

I'll try and keep you updated on my next "finds"....
Weekend is about over....Monday is on the horizon!