Sorry for another longish absence. I was a bit busy doing one yard sale per weekend from mid August up until the weekend before last, but I’ve also been working with some writers block / brain fog (I can’t tell if it’s the same thing sometimes).
I did my big end-of-season purge of the Coloniale spot last week, putting a bunch of stale yard sale stock back from whence it came (the curb). I checked back later and the vast majority was taken by local scavengers. People will take things for free that they wouldn’t pay 50 cents for. Regardless, it’s always nice to clean up, knowing I’ll start fresh with new stuff in 2026. It’s kind of nice that the change of seasons forces me to do this. I’m not sure what I would do if I lived in LA, for instance, where there isn’t much in the way of distinct seasons.
Otherwise, eBay sales have been nearly non-existent since the whole US tariff situation, and then the Canada Post strike. eBay has been an integral part of my business for the last decade, but I’m wondering now if there’s much of a future in it. I might just cancel my store subscription to save some money, and list only niche objects that would be hard to sell locally. eBay has introduced a new global shipping program, but checking some of the prices being charged to potential customers … I doubt many people will use it. It’s not really their fault, just that shipping+taxes+duties are just too much. It is what it is.
Anyways, this year has been notable for precious metal finds, all while the price of precious metals keeps rising. I found this old stash a couple months back. It was stored in an old Steinberg bag, maybe collecting dust since that chain closed down in 1992. I was hoping the tossers would absentmindedly dump more treasure, but it looks like they’ve now moved.
As you probably guessed by now, the bag held someone’s old coin collection. I saved a 1967 (mostly silver) Canadian coin set, and a sleeve filled with old American dimes. The former are some of my favorite coins, having been designed by Alex Coville.
Most of the other coins were stored in old medicine or bullion cube canisters. I separated the silver from the non-silver – here’s the latter. Some coins went to the yard sale pile, but I kept a bunch of others. I doubt many are worth much, but I have a few that date to the early 1800s. I also found a “so-called dollar” (one of these) which would probably be worth a bit if it were in better condition.
And here’s the fancy metal. The gold medal is a university merit award from 1966. It’s pretty niche, so I won’t go into too much detail. There’s no hallmarks and no pictures of others online, but it’s described as a gold medal and tests like 10k gold. At current prices, it’s worth about 1k. Otherwise, we have a silver & enamel Boy Scouts ring, and a bunch of other silver coins.
So, a pretty good haul! But I’ve plenty of others. Hopefully I’ll share some sooner rather than later.
Happy to see a new post. 🙂 That’s quite the haul!
Hi Martin, Where do you sell old/older coins?
I don’t really have a consistent supply, so I make it up as I go. These days I keep my favourites, especially silver. A few go to yard sales. eBay in better times might be an option.
Does Montreal have Stallion or Chitchats? Both companies have introduced services for shipping to the US. It’s gotten complicated, but it’s possible, and we haven’t stopped selling on ebay (granted revenue is down a lot, but it still pays the bills).
I use Chit Chats sometimes, but it’s slightly annoying to get to especially given that I usually only ship one or two packages at a time. I should check out their services though, I’m not sure how they would get around this tariff thing but who knows
Good to read you again sir.
“People will take things for free that they wouldn’t pay 50 cents for.” So true. All summer long I’ve put books and stuff in plain view near the sidewalk, not in bags, thanks to your blog.
It works pretty well, as long as you’re in a neighbourhood with good foot traffic!
Love your posts. I am so impressed and surprised by the amount of precious metals you find. You do not have to pay for an ebay subscription (at least in the US). You get 250 listings for free and pay a .40 listing fee on sold items on top of regular eBay fees. Call ebay and see if you can switch types of accounts and keep your ebay name and stats.
Thanks for the post! I just finished typing a longer reply and lost my connection so I will keep this brief, just to say that any kind of posts from you are always a treat, even if only some photos. Kudos on the coins and gold medal – how nice!!
Love your posts. I agree the tariffs have pretty much killed my Ebay and Etsy business. I do use ChitChat but since I moved it’s no convenient when I live 1 hour from drop off location. Happy hunting.