Watch out for those boxes!

Posted on by garbagefinds

The past month hasn’t provided many “omg” finds, but I still pick up good stuff even when my luck isn’t great. Here’s a nice collection of bird figurines I found at the bottom of a bag a couple weeks ago. It wasn’t as big or owl-y as my haul from late last year, but there’s still some nice ones here. Remarkable only one was broken (the wooden bird at far right), but I have the piece and it should be easy to fix.

I haven’t done much research on these yet but I suspect the ones in the back are the fanciest. I think they were made in Mexico, and there’s some writing on them that I have to decipher.

I found this .999 fine silver keychain fob from 1991 at another spot. It’s only worth around 20$, but it’s always fun finding bullion in the trash. This is the second silver keychain I’ve found this year, here’s hoping a solid gold keychain is next!

Another run was salvaged when I found two watch boxes in excellent condition. Generally speaking the more expensive the watch the more expensive the box – I expect this green Rolex box to sell for about 100$, while the IWC below should sell for closer to 150$.

I’ve made a fair bit of cash from watch boxes (and occasionally other vintage cases) these past few years. The most valuable to date were the pair of Universal Genèves I sold for 450$ a couple years back. Needless to say they’re something to keep a lookout for, and knowing of niche markets like these helps make garbage picking a reasonably profitable venture.

Still, I hope my luck improves in the near future. Some gold would be nice – it’s now valued at over 2000 CAD per ounce, which is about as high as it’s ever been.

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11 thoughts on “Watch out for those boxes!”

  3. I recognized the two birds mentioned above as being from Mexico, too, but didn’t know that they are Tonala Pottery. I’ve always liked the design whenever I see examples. Nice find.

  4. It always blows my mind that you can get a good chunk of cash from empty watch and jewelry boxes! Go figure.
    Love the chickadee on the far left in the second bird pic. Give me a price and I’s be happy to take it off your hands. 🙂
    The short post is great, by the way. Keep them coming.

  5. I love your blog and these bird finds are fantastic.Remember the 100 or so owl figurines you found about a year ago.I wish more people would do what you do.If I win the jackpot or 6 million dollar lotto,I would gift you $15,000 to encourage you to continue doing what you do.I hope your family health problems will become more bearable and that things get better.Please continue your wonderful blog.You deserve support from many people.

  6. Are you going to list the owls on ebay perchance? I didn’t notice them in your shop.

    1. Depends what they’re worth. Some of them are definitely yard sale material, a few might make it to eBay. But I have a lot of stuff to list so it might be a while before I get to them.

      1. If you find the time and have the inclination, I’d be willing to buy one of the black wooden, the two snowy on the limb the china and the brass owl in the photos if you’d be willing to set a reasonable price and ship them all to me. No real rush, just shoot me an email.

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