Night of the sterling garbage pt. 2

Posted on by garbagefinds

Part one

A neighbourhood security officer pulled up just as I was finished at this spot, telling me he had received a call about someone trash picking. He seemed like a nice enough guy and let me off with a verbal warning. I hadn’t seen him before, and I think he understands that the residents of this area tend to be, shall we say, “persnickety.” Regardless, I hope we don’t meet again anytime soon.

The first things I noticed were old boxes for jewelry and fineries. The hope of course is that some of them will have jewelry still inside, but the boxes I found (above is just a small sample) are also useful for packaging online sales. As well, a few of the watch boxes (like the Benrus above) are likely worth selling on their own.

Most were empty, but thankfully two of the last boxes I found had jewelry, mostly cufflinks, still inside.

Some were made of precious metals. The ones on top are Mexican silver with abalone, while the cufflinks on the right (I think I originally found both, but I seem to have misplaced one) are marked Birks 14k. The medical bracelet is marked 10k and should net me around 130$ for scrap. The Winnipeg Golden Boy cufflinks are just regular old metal, but I thought they were worth showcasing.

Near the bottom of one bag was a little Birks sleeve with a comb inside, the end of which is sterling silver. I have to glue the comb back inside the silver, but otherwise it’s in great shape.

I also saved a classic oval Birks sterling picture frame. I’ve found a few of these now, but this might be the first one with the original glass.

However, the best silver piece I found that night awaits you in part three…

I saved some other neat vintage stuff at this spot, like a collection of old pennants from Western Canada…

… some old walkie talkies, a scale, and a retro ashtray;

… two vintage razors, which look to have been barely used;

… a vintage plastic piggy bank;

… as well as two compacts and a pill box. I returned to the spot this week, but the bags didn’t seem all that interesting and I preferred to not see the security guy again just one week after getting warned. I’ll be there next week though if the trash looks good enough.

Elsewhere, I spotted this bin with two giraffes sticking out. One was broken, but the other was in good condition. The giraffe is about 6′ tall.

I opened the bin and found more large animal figures. This tiger is about two feet long, and looks to be covered in leather.

Same with this hippo.

This camel is pretty big too, standing about 2.5′ tall. I’ve never seen statuettes like these, have you?

IMG_4365

Otherwise, I happened upon this little pile in NDG.

I saved this little end table. It’s missing the top (which I’m guessing was marble, since there were some broken marble pieces nearby) and a bit of veneer, but it’s still a nice project piece.

On top of the table was an old Telefunken radio. It needs a little TLC, but seems to mostly work and is in great cosmetic condition.

Behind all that was an old ammo box.

Apparently it was made in 1941, so it would have been used during WWII. I can’t figure out what “O.W.O” (or “O.H.O”?) stands for though, so if you have any ideas let me know!

My current plan for the painting from my last post is to try to get a quote from a reputable art restoration company. I expect the repairs would cost at least a grand and probably more, but the extra expense would probably be worth it. I emailed one place already, but if anyone has experience with specific companies please let me know!

Relevant links

1. Facebook page
2. My eBay listings
3. Etsy store
4. Kijiji listings
5. Contribute to garbagefinds.com
6. Follow me on Instagram

Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com. I often fall behind on emails, so I apologize in advance if it takes me a while to get back to you.

23 thoughts on “Night of the sterling garbage pt. 2”

  1. You could put a bamboo or butcher block type cutting board on the table to make a small island for your kitchen. Measure the space and you may find something at dollarama or home sense.

  2. I just cannot believe that you can find so much stuff! I had a piggy bank like this when I was a kid. I love the pill box. Take care and stay safe.

    1. It helps that I go hunting about five times a week, ha ha. But I’m also very good at recognizing potentially interesting trash. That piggy bank is very cute, I forget what’s written on the bottom but I believe it’s an old “Made in Canada” piece.

  3. Wonderful statuettes.How many of those statuettes and animal figures did you save?I hope you took the camel home.

  4. Did you get the warning from the cop in TMR again?Did you find these animal figures in TMR too?I hope you do not get bothered by the cops again.

  5. Dimitri Omersa made leather animals for Abercrombie & Fitch mid century. Charish is selling a Dimitri Omersa “style” elephant like yours for $500

  7. The red box with the U on is most likely Universal Genève which is a high end brand. That box should be worth something.

    2. You’re right, that’s the brand. The brown box is also a Universal Genève. I was expecting them to be worth a bit of money, but I’m surprised at the prices some of them are going for. Mine are in good condition, so maybe I can get three figures for them, like I did with that Tudor box I had a while back.

  8. Wow! Great bunch of stuff and things! Your year end finds seem to be ending with a bang … and I hope you get the sales to match.
    That little end table is gorgeous, even without its top.
    I must say, I’m really looking forward to Part 3 of this series!

  9. I asked my military friend about the boxes. Interesting artifact. The markings indicate that it is British or Commonwealth in origin and that it is a machine gun belt box of some kind. A quick look around the internet shows that it looks very much like the Number 6 – 9 ammunition boxes for the Vickers .303 machine gun although there are some differences, but contracting out of manufacturing during the war years can account for these. I don’t know the full version of the stencilling on the end but the bit along the bottom of the long side appears to have read “ Box belt ammunition MG No – Mk –“ The missing bits would have been the model and mark numbers.

    1. Thanks for asking. It is an interesting piece, I’d never found one before. I did a bit more research and found some similar boxes, which like you say were made for the Vickers .303 machine gun.

      1. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/RARE-1945-DATED-WW2-VICKERS-303-CAL-HEAVY-MACHINE-GUN-RPL-S-AMMUNITION-BOX/222644409718?hash=item33d6a41576%3Ag%3AFaAAAOSwR0xZuhUJ
      2. https://www.gunstar.co.uk/vickers-303-calibre-heavy-machine-gun-m-g-no8-mk1-ammunition/Accessories/851060

      Mine has damage to the paint but the straps are in good condition (better than in that one listed on eBay). Based on what I see here it should be worth around 60-100$.

  10. Hi Martin. l’m still interesting by your amo box. 20$ good for you ? JF

    Envoyé depuis mon téléphone intelligent Samsung Galaxy.

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