garage sale finds

[lance]

Any of you guys search garage sale for coins yet? If so how is your luck? I havnt done it yet but there was one time i scored big on comic books...not huge but a 3x return

[corky569]

I have scored silver coins twice. First time was a kid, he had about 2.25 face. Second time was a lady. She had an ase and about another 1.50 face. I paid ten times face both times. I have scored a lot of sterling though. Chains, pendants, cufflinks, even a small cup. It amazes me when people will take a dime or a quarter for a sterling chain?

[lance]

Nice....sterling always has the. 925 stamp correct?

[DRP270]

I do not garage sale but I know some ladies that do. They bring me scrap gold and such I buy from them for more than anyone in town but less than what I could get from a refiner. Good deal on both ends as we continue a generally rising market .

[corky569]

Nice....sterling always has the. 925 stamp correct?

.925 or sterling.

[OneBiteAtATime]

Nice....sterling always has the. 925 stamp correct?

ALMOST always true. Should say sterling, ster, STG, 925, etc. There are times, EXTREMELY rare, but there are times when especially older sterling will not say sterling or 925. I've screwed this up more times than I'd like to admit, but in most cases, if someone is going to use silver they will mark it as such.

I was in a local consignment shop yesterday, a place I stop by about once a month. She knows what I'm looking for. I brought her a necklace and she says, "You found some 14K didn't you....?" I told her no it was just 10k but I could offer more if she thought her consignor needed to be paid more. She said "No! Its marked $5 - that's what it costs." So I scored $20 in gold for $5. (Very light necklace.) The necklace is in very good shape and will likely be worth more than scrap to me. I offered it to my 10 year old daughter who understands that gold and silver is money and she isn't that excited by it. She still cannot understand "why" gold and silver are money. It may wind up in her jewelry case, or it may get sold. Last night I bought a ring at 90% of scrap. (10+ grams 14k for $300). It had a nice diamond in it. I've never learned too much about diamonds, but I brought it to the local jewelry/pawn dealer and he gave me $125 for the diamond alone - even cut it out for free. Then he offered me $200 for the gold which I passed on.

Went to a rummage sale today, and picked up "Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego - the board game" for the kids for a buck. Not metal, not valuable, but when my kids can point out Santa Fe on a map - Priceless.

[lance]

Thats funny about your daughter....my daughter and my fiance boys are starting to catch on...i offered her son a half dollar but it wasnt silver for 50 of his copper pennies...and he said no way copper is worth more..maybe for 2 half dollars...lol...keep in mind hes 9

[Heartkill]

Couple months ago I scored several early '60s Canadian mint sets for $12-13 each, along with some old Australian Florin's for a buck each.

I don't come across too many coins at garage sales, but I always ask just in case someone has someone inside the house they want to cut loose. I do better on vintage toys and clothing.