C’est bizarre

I came across this pile of stuff in my wanderings today. There were more things from the same place behind me as well. A sign next to the pile said “come in – living room sale” but the sale was long over.

A woman walked by and noticed all the stuff on the curb. “C’est bizarre” she commented to me – “probablement un demenagement.” Rough translation: it’s strange, probably someone moved.

I thought that some students had moved out at first, mostly due to the style of the handwriting on the sign, but I found some stuff that didn’t really fit with that generation. I’d guess that an older person passed away or moved to a retirement home and their kids were helping to clean out their apartment.

Most of the things I took home came out of a plastic bag in this old piece of luggage. It’s pretty vintage and in good shape. I brought it with me and left it on the balcony so I can inspect it fully tomorrow.

There was a shopping bag full of 8-track tapes as well. Most of them look to be recorded off the radio and self-labelled. Some big artists in here: The Beatles, Garfunkel, Cheech and Chong, and Joe Cocker. I’m going to put them on Craigslist and see if there’s any takers. Also in the picture is a big resealable beer bottle which will come in handy for home-brewing.

Now for the knick-knacks and little pieces of jewelry. At the top of the screen is a keychain with three hearts that says “I have the hearts for Ed.” Pretty funny eh? Below it are two pins (left) and something to hang from a necklace. I think I’ll try to sell all this (other than the silver chains) on my Etsy store.

The pin in the center looks like the Nazi “Eagle”. The only difference is that this one is holding a bundle of sticks instead of a Swastika. I know the word “fascism” is based on the Latin word fascis which basically means “bundle” so I wonder if there’s a connection there. If anyone has any ideas let me know!

UPDATE: I just noticed that a little chunk is broken off the Eagle pin on the bottom right side. It’s possible that there could have been an axe on that side of the bundle, which would make it a fasces, an ancient symbol of the Roman Empire and Italian Fascism, among other things.

Here’s some silver and gold jewelry. On the left is a cool (and really big) sterling ring with a bird design on it. On the right is a cool 10k gold piece with a stone of some kind in the middle. Below both are silver and gold necklace chains.

On the left is a heavy Mexican sterling chain (marked 925 Mex and M028V). On the right is a silver plate spoon marked “Queen Anne Silver Plate.” In the middle is a heavy steel bracelet.

A couple of watches, a 1983 token for McDonald’s (50 cents off!), a nice old RCMP-themed pocket knife and a couple of other doodads.

UPDATE: I just cleaned some rust off the blade of the pocket knife and uncovered a mark that says “Richard’s Sheffield England.” Apparently it has a bit of collectible value.

A knife “High Carbon Steel USA” and a bunch of pins. I don’t recognize any of those guys – do you? The guy on the bottom looks a lot like Julian Assange but I really doubt it’s him.

Hopefully I’ll have some more for you tomorrow!