Hello all. It’s been a busy month. My mom moved to the city in early July, and the family has been helping her settle in. I’ve also spent some more time in that hole, maybe I’ll post a few more finds from that next time. Moving day wasn’t all that exciting, but at least I got some exercise from biking and walking around the neighbourhood. I did find a few change dumps, and a mixer thingy I have to find a cable for.
In the spring, precious metals were near all-time high prices and seemed to be popping up pretty much everywhere. Now that the prices are lower, I’m not finding as much, which I think goes to show that there’s not much logic to what ends up in the trash. I still found a bit though, including a Tiffany baby rattle and a flimsy 10k gold bracelet at one spot, a tiny Tiffany heart and a couple other bits at another, and then a little bag filled with someone’s scrap silver elsewhere.
My favourite spot might have been this dumpster. It’s always a bit of a struggle to dig around in these things, but this one wasn’t too bad. I picked up a bunch of dishes, old jars, and miscellaneous junk.
I enjoyed saving this, which I think is a variety of a “God in a bottle.” Apparently these were popular in the Irish community, and this person did indeed appear to have Irish roots. Apparently it was made in Montreal in December 1938, and the images are covered in celluloid. It might have been made to hold holy water, but there isn’t any evidence anyone ever put water inside. I’d be afraid to now, since the celluloid appears to be peeling up in places (also, the cap doesn’t seem to open). Regardless, it’s a neat artifact, one I might keep for my own collection.
I also scrounged up some smaller treasures. There is a bit of silver and a tiny amount of gold in the middle box on the right. I was hoping that mesh bag was sterling, but it was not. Inside the plastic rosary case was an old Blarney pin.
Otherwise I have a few spots I’m currently keeping an eye on – I’ll save finds from those for another post. A friend was able to quickly flip a brand new Amazon quality espresso machine for 100$, and three of those Amisco stools for 200$. I was excited about the spot that produced those near-mint Christian Dior sunglasses, but I haven’t seen anything there since. The pottery is from that dumpster, just a bit of what I saved but the only pieces I had time to photograph.
The mesh bag is Victorian to 1920’s (can’t tell without handling). They are going for $100 in my area of the states. Ebay, maybe. I love that silver moon. Is it the rattle?