I’m going to switch from a monthly format to a seasonal one, because the former requires a bit too much micromanagement (of photos, exact dates I found things, etc). When people are clearing out a house, sometimes I’ll find things at the same place for months on end, so this offers me a bit more flexibility in that regard.
One house (still producing finds!) has tossed a seemingly endless supply of old kid’s junk. The vast majority isn’t salvageable but I’m able to pick some fun things from the detritus, most notably (so far) a Comical Clara wind-up tin toy that seems to be fairly collectible.
Otherwise there’s been a bit of very random stuff, such as a bunch of old Italian communist posters and a 1976 Montreal Olympics flag that just sold at auction for 67$. Hopefully the finds here continue into the summer.
I decided to experiment with a different route a few weeks back, and was rewarded nearly instantly by a recently sold house. Most of the trash is picked up the next morning in this one area, but a little section is picked up in the late afternoon, so often people won’t put out the trash until the next day. However, some put it out at night, and those piles seem to be disproportionately good. Anyways, I found an old yellow organizer with its content, which was mostly sewing stuff but also including some coins, medals, buttons and other quality junk. Probably the most valuable items are a 1965 French silver coin, and a silver medal commemorating the 1935 silver jubilee of George V.
The next week I saved a bucket filled with mostly pennies. I didn’t see anything last week though, so maybe this spot has been exhausted (and maybe I missed some even better finds in the weeks prior).
And for miscellaneous finds, I saved four little sterling silver forks at a one-off spot, and a bag of French Euro coins just down the street. The latter was given out when France was converting to the Euro back in 2002, and contains a little over 15 Euros. I sold them to my neighbour for the face value in CAD. Otherwise, here’s two fun books, one in English and one in Czech.
The Habs game is starting soon, and then I’m going out for trash again. Go Habs Go!
The siren song of potentially interesting trash calls you back again, and again, and again to reap whatever rewards may be awaiting in a promising spot. 🙂
Hi Marty – Always happy to see your finds and read your posts. I have found pieces to vintage board games and toys like old wood Lincoln Logs can sometimes be lucrative. I’d like to recommend a very good blog by a thrifter named Kelsey Olive that is very informative for jewelry and silver
Love the old kids toys you found ! How fun.