Dig This Treasure!

Last weekend, Zach and I were heading out to my parents house for a July 4 BBQ.  There happened to be a super crazy sounding estate sale about 35 minutes North of their house, so we dumped the baby and headed out there.

The house was a giant castle-like abode on acres and acres of property.  The house itself–and several barns–were packed full.  “Digger sale” would be an understatement. It was more like put-on-your-swimsuit-and-dive-in-all-this-junk kind of sale.

Most of the stuff here was junk.  I wanted to leave and immediately go get a tetanus shot.  I barely touched anything and I was covered head to toe in dust.  Did I mention you could buy this house and the remaining contents for a mere $350,000?  Well, you can.

Did I also mention that The Ring was filmed here?  It was.  (I think.)

The man below decided to climb up this rickety ladder to look at more dusty garbage.  He almost died.  I am not kidding.  He almost fell off.  And if he would have fallen off, I am sure he would have died. 

He was wearing a bluetooth earpiece though, so he could have easily called 911.  Unless he was already dead.

Zach and I did find some treasures, but it took some serious work.  And it was hot.  We all know how I am in the heat.

The first thing I found were a bunch of old model train buildings.  I was gathering these all up in a box when a woman came up behind me and loudly said, “EXCUSE ME."  I looked at her and said, "Oh I’m almost done looking and I will move out of the way."  She then explained that I was rummaging through HER STUFF.  Uh, what? 

She pointed to a large box near me (which I was not going through) and said it was all hers.  It wasn’t on a hold table, or under the checkout area.  It was just a random box sitting there.  I said "ok” and then explained that I hadn’t touched the particular box she was referring to.  She was convinced I had secretly stolen from her and insisted I show her the contents of my box.  I refused and told her to “trust me."  Jeez Louise, calm yourself.  I understand that there are hardly any treasures at this sale, but we don’t need to fight over them.

Anyway, here is one of my old train buildings.  I got about 6 of these:

In true American Pickers style, Zach bought this old oil filter.  Apparently Mopar anything sells.  So we will see.

We also bought some old Tuco puzzles (the non interlocking kind), some old license plates, and a suede jacket from the Disneyland Hotel. 

The coolest thing I found was this old scrapbook from the 1940s:

I also found this old Joe Louis How to Box magazine:

Zach and I paid $17 total for our treasures, which was a steal.  We also had lots of fun walking around this crazy place. Good luck to whoever buys it and has to clean it out!  Maybe whoever does can tackle Sarah’s ebay room after.

-Erin

We hope you all enjoyed our Part One recap of the trip we took to Antiques Roadshow.  It was a really long read, but thanks for hanging in there!

Today’s entry is all about some of the cool people we met at the Roadshow, and perhaps more importantly, the treasures!

Before Sarah, Zach, and I arrived at Cobo Center in Detroit, my dad had already been there early that morning.  He unfortunately had to wait in the crazy long triage line to get in (more proof that Timmy needs his own blog and thus press credentials).  Luckily, he brought a chair for the 3 hour excursion.

People actually started offering him money for the chair because they were so exhausted standing!  Anyway, Timmy also brought two items for appraisal.  First, a 1948 Babe Ruth watch and second, a Ty Cobb signed check. 

His appraisals went really well.  Much better than my illegal scrimshaw one.  The Babe Ruth watch is from 1948 and is a “caricature watch.”  The most famous caricature watch is from the 1930s and features Mickey Mouse. Other notable examples are The Lone Ranger and Dick Tracy.  

My dad found this watch at an estate sale about 5 years ago.  And the tale is a really great one. The sale was of a baseball collector.  If I remember correctly, the man had worked for the Detroit Tigers, so the house was packed with all sorts of Tigers things.  I wasn’t there, but my sister went with my dad, and they both brought giant bags to load up.  While waiting outside, my dad chatted with another guy waiting.  My dad explained how he collected all things baseball, and the other guy said he collected only vinyl records.  

Inside the sale, the stranger my dad had met walked up and handed my dad this Babe Ruth watch. He said, “Hey baseball guy, I found this for you,” and proceeded to hand it over.  Such an INSANELY kind gesture, considering that I’m about to tell you what this watch is worth.  

My dad paid $90 for the watch at this sale, and flash forward, he’s here at Antiques Roadshow. The appraiser was shocked to see the watch in its original box, with its original plastic baseball case, and with all of the paperwork inside (even the purchase receipt).  He appraised it at $3,000!

This is my dad’s most favorite possession, and he was thrilled by the value.  Of course, he will never sell it though!

The Ty Cobb check ended up valued at $1,200, which was also more than my dad expected.  He bought it in the 1970s at a sports card show for $125.  Apparently Ty Cobb’s family sold a bunch of these checks from his estate after he died in order to raise money for his foundation.

Everyone we met at the Roadshow had just as much fun as my dad, even if their appraisals weren’t as high.  

Karen brought a baby doll from her childhood.  She would change its diapers while her mom changed her sister’s diapers.  It appraised for $15.  I think this was because it was vinyl, and not bisque or composition.  Still a very cute doll!

We also met Debbie and Susan, sisters from Royal Oak.  They brought their great-grandmother’s Homer Laughlin pitcher and an old alabaster and marble framed bust.

Debbie thought that her entire family might end up fighting over this vase, but said she reconsidered when it appraised for $75.  She said everyone assumed it would appraise a bit higher because of its age, but that they will still all cherish it a lot!

The alabaster and marble framed bust was purchased by Debbie’s and Susan’s mother at a church rummage sale.  At the time, their mother paid $80.  The bust appraised for $500-600, which was a great surprise!  Maybe the family will fight over this item now instead of the vase! 

At some point, I saw a woman walking around carrying a Dream Baby doll.  I practically bum rushed her.

Jayne and Sue got this doll from their aunt.  They remember seeing it growing up, and knowing they couldn’t play with it.  The doll is from the 1910s or 20s and is made by Armand Marseille.  It appraised for $75-100, which I was shocked by!  I thought for sure the doll would be worth more because it was in amazing condition.  I do have a soft spot for Dream Baby dolls though, so I’m biased.

We saw lots of other amazing treasures at the Roadshow, and some of them I suspect will be shown on the program when it airs.  

Kachina dolls!  I would probably give up my first born child to own these (sorry Zach).  I don’t love all Kachina dolls, but that furry guy in the front is exquisite!

I don’t even know what this next thing is, but Sarah would probably give up her first born for it (she really likes Peanuts stuff):

We had several people ask if we saw this velvet John Lennon portrait roll by:

And yes, yes we did.

We also saw this giant buffalo roll by:

But what was the COOLEST thing that Detroit brought to Antiques Roadshow?  Well, we didn’t know!  But Marsha Bemko, the show’s executive producer, sure did!  Stay tuned for Part 3 of our recap, when Marsha reveals the highest priced item at the Roadshow!

-Erin

Update from Sarah: This is sort of a non-update because I don’t have much to add! Erin got it all right! The one thing that surprised me was how positive every single person was who we talked to. They had to wait so long to get their items appraised, but all of them said they had a great time and loved the chance to meet a whole bunch of new people while waiting. I guess that’s the midwest for ya!