Dig This Treasure!

Sarah and I stopped at a random estate sale in Midland, MI on our way home from Traverse City a couple weeks ago.  It was nothing to write home, or blog, about.  For example, here is an empty Spode box they were trying to sell for $1.  

It kind of looks like there is something inside, but that is the plastic packaging.  Trust me, I checked.

What I also found for $1, and decided to buy, was a rubber face plush Rudolph.  I’m not entirely sure why I grabbed it, but I think because it was old, and because so far I had found no other treasures.

He is kind of cute, but kind of looks like he might kill you while you sleep.  For $1 though, he was worth a shot.

So it turns out that Rudolph man sold for FIFTY DOLLARS on ebay.  I couldn’t believe it when he got 1 bid, let alone enough bids to get him to fifty bucks (ha, bucks…no pun intended).

I did some research on old rubber face toys from the 1950s and 60s, and it turns out that they are quite collectible!  Some of the most well-known of these toys were by Rushton Toy Co.  Here are some examples from a fellow treasure hunter’s blog:

What I also found out in my research is that Sarah actually owns a Rushton Toy Co. Santa Claus, and she doesn’t even know it!  She got him at a sale recently (maybe even the same one I got my Rudolph at).  

I think she will be happy to know that he is most likely a money maker too!

-Erin

Update from Sarah: WHOA. Erin is the best. That is totally my bro! Actually two that are identical to him sold for the higher end of that range up there, so I’m gonna keep my fingers crossed! Double win because it could actually also be featured on Things That Freak Your Husband Out. So Adam will be thrilled if it is no longer hanging out on our kitchen table.

Strange coincidence: I also discovered The Rushton Toy Co. today–I was browsing eBay to try to figure out why Erin’s reindeer sold for so much. Check out THIS one. 

About a month ago, we dedicated two posts to the Best Sale Ever, where I found a buttload of Joan Walsh Anglund items–specifically books. Remember? I posted this picture: 

I am still not finished selling everything I bought at this sale, because the quantity of things is just so overwhelming. However, I have, I believe, sold all of the Anglund items I plan on selling. And because of this, I would like to brag about the total amount of money I made.

Now, let me say this. I had planned on keeping one copy of each book–especially those that were duplicates. But then, the more I thought about this, the more I realized that was stupid. I don’t really need to own all of her books. And there were a lot that were really religious that I knew I didn’t want. I mainly like her illustrations, and I already have a set of her prints and copies of her older, more classic books. 

I also honestly had no idea what I had before I was able to start sorting it and listing it all. Some of the books had “Autographed Copy” stickers on them and others were signed but I didn’t realize it right away because they did not have the stickers. I also ended up with a TON of first editions. Needless to say, I quickly discovered that I am not by any means the only person who enjoys these adorable illustrations, and everything I listed quickly had watchers and/or bidders. So I ended up selling most everything that I wasn’t in love with. 

The biggest surprise ended up being these teeny tiny miniature books–The Christmas Cookie Book and The Christmas Candy Book, which are apparently extremely rare. I had two copies of each! To see how small they are–in the picture above they are the green and red books in the top row. 

One woman purchased 10 of these books. She sent me a very nice message and told me she has an entire bedroom in her home decorated with Anglund stuff for her granddaughter. So cute. It’s nice to hear from friendly people–it helps balance out the not-so-friendly ones. 

Anyway, let’s cut to the chase: 

Those are just a few screenshots that capture the vast quantities of cash I made off of these seemingly valueless books. Keep in mind that most of these are small books–about 4" x 6" or so…or smaller! 

Grand total sales just on these items: $595.00

(And in case anyone is wondering how much I’ve made on all the rest of the junk from that sale… I just totaled it up: $450.) 

CHA CHING. 

-Sarah

Update from Erin: Sarah, I need to borrow exactly $1,045 which happens to be the total price so far on all this stuff you sold.  If you say you don’t have it for me to borrow, then you are 1. a bad friend and 2. a liar.

By now you are all well acquainted with the “best sale ever”, and even though I got a million treasures there, the most lucrative by far were the antique metal molds.  

Like I mentioned, I’ve known for awhile that antique chocolate molds are collectible, but that’s about all I knew.  So here’s what I discovered after buying a bunch of them…

First off, not all old molds are for chocolate.  A few of the molds I bought were pewter, and actually meant for ice cream.  Fancy rich people in the Victorian era used to have their ice cream molded into festive shapes for parties.  Each guest would be served an adorable mini ice cream, all dolled up to look like Santa or a President or even other foods (vegetables mainly).  Here is one of the ice cream molds I bought:

The outside of the mold said “E & Co.” which I soon found out meant Eppelsheimer Company, one of the earliest mold manufacturers.  This was a good thing, because signed molds are generally more valuable.  This Santa dated to 1890!  

The chocolate molds I bought were thinner and not made of pewter.  Most of them were 2-piece molds.  One of the most interesting I found was this tiny Pope mold:

I almost didn’t buy this mold because of the rust on it, but one of the men running the sale mentioned that he had never seen a Pope mold before.  I bought it for $5, which turned out to be TOTALLY worth it.  This little guy is made by Joh. Fohn, which is apparently pretty rare because I can hardly find anything about that company online.  I do know that it is German and pretty darn old.  

I had a lot of people asking me questions about the Joh. Fohn mold and whether its sides matched up well.  Turns out that this is super important in mold collecting.  Molds should close up snugly and all edges should align, otherwise the value decreases drastically.  

Another tip in mold collecting is that the larger and heavier a mold is, the more valuable.  I found this out with my most favorite mold from this sale.  It is a super large Santa that weighs 3 pounds!

The heavy hinge, along with clamps that kept the mold shut tight, made this piece the most collectible.  It didn’t even have a maker’s mark, but its size and girth were enough.  It also helped that the mold had such impressive detail inside.  Reading about molds online made me realize that the more detail, the more desirable.  

I bought this mold for $30, which made me nervous at the time.  It ended up selling for $177!  I could not be more thrilled, obviously.  Here’s how all of the mold auctions went:

OK, so before one of you tries breaking into my house and stealing all of the cash I made on these, just know that the proceeds were used to buy George the otterhound.  

I also used some of it to get my very first tattoo, a rabbit on my right forearm, which I may or may not be disowned by my parents for.

That’s it in progress.  Also, I was totally THAT PERSON who wore a rabbit shirt while getting a rabbit tattoo.  UGH.

-Erin

I briefly mentioned that I picked up this old paper “Humanoscope” at a recent sale.  I bought it for $1 and hoped to turn it over for around $5 or so.  I apparently underestimated the desirability of whatever-the-hell a humanoscope is.

I started my ebay listing for this item at $2.99 and it ended up selling for $37.  THIRTY-SEVEN DOLLARS for a 4-page paper booklet.  I was astounded.  

But here is where things get interesting…

Riddle me this Batman.  There are a few other Humanoscopes for sale on ebay.  All the same as mine.  And they are listed as “Buy It Now” for like $11.  AND NO ONE IS BUYING THEM.  Why was mine bid up to $37 when people could just go buy one of these from the other auctions?  It makes NO SENSE.

Although, I’m not complaining.

-Erin

So a few weeks ago, I made reference to the fact that I found a copy of an Uncle Shelby (Shel Silverstein) book, Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros, that looked like it might be worth some dough. Refresher:

I grabbed the book in the basement of the sale on a shelf with some cookbooks. As you probably noticed from the pictures of that basement “motherload,” there was a lot of stuff down there, and not all of it was nice or in good shape. Refresher #2:

Behind a staircase (where I was standing while taking the above photo), I spotted a shelf of books. I have a pretty good spidey sense for valuable children’s books, so I noticed the Silverstein book among the 1970s cookbooks right away. 

I listed it on eBay that night. There were two watchers all week, but no bids. Because I’m greedy, I tried changing the price around a few times (adding a “Buy it Now” option, reducing the starting price, etc.), but nothing seemed to kick those watchers into gear. The other thing I forgot to mention was that, because I listed the book that Friday evening, it ENDED the following Friday evening at 11:54 p.m. That’s the best possible time for an eBay auction to end, right? 

Anyway, nobody bid and I went to bed that night feeling pretty sad, realizing that I had been duped about the value of this book. But about 20 minutes after falling asleep I was startled awake by the lovely noise that your iPhone makes when someone has bid on your item on eBay, and cheered gleefully when I realized that someone had come in and sniped that sucker at the last minute! It sold for $152. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. 

This morning, while I was discussing blog content with Erin, this happened: 

I then blew her mind by showing her this:  

Many laughs were had by all. 

-Sarah

Let me start by saying that this Money Maker post is kind of crushing for me. It was the SECOND time (first being that whole Goonies poster thing) in which I let a crazy valuable treasure slip out from under me.

In this case, I was out sale-ing with my mom and dad. My dad picked up this old felt strand of pennants that featured SEC college football teams. When I saw him carrying it, I knew immediately that he had scored big. I sold a similar garland in the past for almost $60, and paid $3 for it.

Because my dad is a saint, he kept saying, “You take it. You sell it. I’m too busy to sell it. Really, come on, you take it.” And because I am also a saint, I refused.

Well, turns out, I should’ve taken it (kind of like SOMEONE taking the Goonies poster I offered her)….

Anyway, my dad bought the garland for $4. Here is what it sold for:

In case it isn’t clear enough, that says TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN DOLLARS AND SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS. Unreal.

I asked my dad to message the buyer and find out what the deal was with this thing. The buyer wrote back and said:

The SEC football conference goes way back. Sewanee College was once in the SEC, they dropped out in 1940 (They are NOT on your string). Tulane left the SEC in 1966, they ARE on your string, and Ga Tech left the SEC in 1964, they ARE also on your string. What you have is 10 teams that are STILL IN THE SEC, plus Tulane and Ga Tech who are NOT presently in the SEC. A string with the ten schools who are still in the SEC, and does NOT include Tulane and Ga Tech would have some interest, but not as much as the one you have. Since Sewanee is NOT on your list, it must be after 1940, and since Ga Tech left in 1964, your string MUST HAVE BEEN MADE between 1941 and 1963. Personally I believe it is from the 1950’s. I too was surprised at how much it went for, I paid right at my maximum bid, another $5.00 and I would have lost out. But having said that, I needed it for my collection, so I am more than a little happy to have acquired it. Thanks for listing it, and find us pennant collectors some more good finds. A sincere thank you, Ron

So hey y'all, go find a bunch of these now and sell them, because it is totally worth it.

-Erin

I hinted previously that a plastic toy brontosaurus I had bought might end up being part of our “money maker” series, and indeed it did.

When I first picked this guy up, I took a chance on him for a couple reasons.  First, he was stamped on the bottom with all sorts of info.  If he was just a cheapie dino from China he wouldn’t have so many stats.

I also took a chance on him because “Brontosaurus” as a prehistoric creature no longer exists.  I don’t mean that he is extinct (like all his dino pals) but as a type of dinosaur, the “Brontosaurus” is no more.  Some scientists had thought the Apatosaurus and the Brontosaurus were different animals, when they were really the same.  Apatosaurus won out.

Anyway, I put this guy on ebay and he instantly started getting bids.  LIKE A LOT OF BIDS.  So I did a bit of research.  This dino was sold in museum gift shops and was therefore pretty rare to begin with.  He was also made by Invicta Plastics, which was heralded for its high quality dinosaur casts.

So get this, I paid ONE DOLLAR for my Brontosaurus buddy.  And he sold for SIXTY ONE DOLLARS.  Thems good margins.

I messaged the buyer and asked him about the dinosaur and his reason for buying.  Here is what he said: 

Hello! These items are very hard to find!(Almost every invicta plastic dinosaur! Specially in mint condition!)Production line stopped in the early 90’s in the UK!I’ve been wanting these beautifull classic damn plastic dinos since i was a kid maddly!Never did purchase them!Untill these last days!(used! 2-3 items missing!)For enthusiasts like me there pretty collectable! Any info on a Dimetrodon would be great or any Invicta British Museum Of Natural History Plastic Dinosaur!

For the record, this guy is from Greece, which may explain the odd phrasing and abundance of exclamation points.  Anyway, I LOVE his enthusiasm and cannot wait to ship out his dino.  His country may be responsible for the collapse of the Euro, but HELL THEY’VE NOW GOT ONE OF THE RAREST COLLECTIBLE PLASTIC DINOSAURS EVERRRR.  

-Erin

A pretty clear trend on some of our “Money Makers” is that we had no clue an item we bought would be so valuable.  In our big scores thus far it has been all dumb luck.  This edition is a sort-of exception to that rule.

My husband Zach had been perusing ebay and found a lot of old vintage stopwatches and one pocket watch.  The listing was pretty non-descript, but when Zach looked closely at the photos of the items, he noticed an Omega timepiece.  He knew that Omega watches were collectible and hoped that no other bidders noticed the pocket watch in the lot.  Zach ended up winning the lot for $40.

The pocket watch was cool and in great shape, still ticking away.  And sure enough, it was an authentic Omega.

The inside of the watch confirmed this further, and also gave a peek at the 15 jewels that keep the watch running.  And by “jewels” I mean REAL jewels.  Like mini rubies.  Which is crazy.

The back of the watch had some interesting markings, so Zach did his research. Turns out that the weird little symbol engraved is known as a British Broad Arrow. It denotes “heraldry” (whatever that is) and is used on items of government property. This pocket watch was most likely issued to a military person around the time of WWII or shortly thereafter.  

The watch floated around our old apartment and then followed us to our new home, but Zach quickly realized that an old-ass pocket watch isn’t very practical (that’s what iphones and fake Rolexes from Craigslist are for). So we put the watch on ebay. And Zach’s initial inkling was spot on–this watch was collectible.  

25 bids and $150 later it was goodbye pocket watch.

Not bad at all considering Zach didn’t even have to venture out to a sale!

-Erin

So two weeks ago, if you remember, Sarah and I didn’t have the greatest of estate sale days…or so we thought at the time.  I didn’t buy much that day, but one of the finds was a giant lot of old plastic figures (cowboys, indians, horses, army dudes, random animals, etc).  

At the time, I kept kicking myself for how much I paid for these things, which was $25.  I felt like I was taking a big risk on re-selling them for any sort of profit.  I listed them on ebay a few days after purchase at a starting price of $19.99, hoping I could at least make back some of my initial investment.  

When I bought the figures, I tried to haggle on the price, and the woman selling them said no because there were a lot “MARX” brand toys in the lot.  I told her I had no idea what the meant, and proceeded with the sale.

Well, apparently MARX figures are SUPER COLLECTIBLE.  Over the next few days, I had numerous bids on ebay and messages from people asking me to send them more detailed photos of the pieces.  I knew something was up, so I started researching what I might have that was of so much interest here.

I realized quickly that I had posted this photo in my ebay listing, and assumed that the MPC meant MARX brand.  It does not.  It is some other undesirable manufacturer.  I panicked that I actually didn’t have any MARX brand here, and thus lied to my numerous bidders.  

But I did have MARX figures, and in some crazy alternate-reality-world I was temporarily living in, I had some of the RAREST MARX figures.  

I had a little Davy Crockett man, from one of the earliest MARX Alamo playsets.  He was only around for a little while before they started making a different, more common Davy.

I also had what are called “put-to-gether cowboys” or “swoppets” in which the torso and legs of the figure are separate and you can swap them out.

The collectibility of my set was seemingly endless.  I had benefitted from someone throwing all of these figures together into one giant pile, mixing several valuable items together that were never originally in the same set.

Over a couple beers, I read and read.  My figures were collectible because they weren’t painted, because many were light-colored, because they were clearly not reproductions, and because they were a mix of all types of figures.

I had reoccurring dreams about this lot, in one of which I payed off my student loans with the profit.  In the end, these guys sold for $100.01.

I messaged the winner of the auction and asked him what made this particular lot so valuable to him.  I thought maybe there was one figure I had not seen in my research that was the holy grail of MARX collectibles.  Here is what the buyer said:

I’ll bet you were shocked! You probably spent $10 for the bag, right? Well, chances are, unless you get really lucky, you will never get a buy like this again! You will be one of ‘us’, people who are 'hip’ to the profit margin on these guys. Do NOT, however, buy just any bag full of toy soldiers. The VAST majority of what you will find at flea markets, garage and estate sales, are garbage from China…like most stuff from over there, mass produced and definitely INFERIOR! Actually, it was the age of the stuff that attracted me. Most of it is from the '60s, the golden age of plastic toy soldiers and playsets. I am 55, so was right in the middle of it. I have loved these figures all of my life, and have collected them as well. I have a full basement of them as a testament to my devotion. These figures are timeless, and although many of us who grew up with them are no longer around, there seems to be a renewed interest in them. Something about miniature figures facinates people (doll houses, train sets). If you really would like a good resource, get the book 'Toy Soldiers’ by Richard O'Brien-it is the bible on the subject. Hope that helps, and good hunting! Can’t wait to get my fix!!!
John

I was really excited by John’s reply. He sounds a lot like my dad, who got me into collecting and has his own basement of treasures. And I was glad to know that these little guys were going to be proudly displayed amongst their fellow plastic friends. All in all, one of the coolest finds I have made.

-Erin

Where’s the beef? Remember those old commercials? They were pretty awesome. But if you were born after 1984, like one of the authors of this blog, you will have no memories of this, because you were not even a fetus when these commercials were regularly interrupting your family’s nightly Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy viewings. 

Anyway, you may have noticed that Wendy’s has recently revived its “Where’s the Beef?” campaign. At first, I was irritated. When I saw a repro of the shirt at Urban Outfitters around Christmas, all sorts of obscenities ran through my head, because I’ve owned an original since high school, and had been planning to sell it on eBay for (hopefully) some mad cash. 

Anyway, then I thought… maybe this is the perfect time for me to sell it! So I listed it for $29.99, and it had 2 or 3 watchers, and nobody bought it. So I relisted it for $14.99 and it ended up selling for $38, and about six different people were warring over it. WTF?! Here are some pics of the shirt: 

Proof of its originality for all of the skeptics out there: 

I bought this t-shirt way before I ever met Erin. I found it for 25 cents at a garage sale in the mid ‘90s. I used to think it was real cool to wear it ironically when I was a vegetarian for two years in high school. Then I got mono and realized that people can’t survive on french fries and ranch dressing. 

Anyway, I digress. One of my favorite things to do when people buy my items on eBay is look at the last few things that person bought, so I can try to figure out their steeze. One of the best things about selling this shirt is that the person who ended up winning the shirt must be the weirdest person on the face of the earth.  Here  are the last six things this person bought. Trust me–it is worth clicking on the links:

1. Tupperware “Smidgets”

2. Cubic Zirconia studs

3. This disgusting Betsy Johnson vampire ring … (maybe she goes to City Club?

4. A KOOSH BALL (What. The. F*ck.) 

5. A vintage “Coney Island Hot Dog and Bun Warmer” … ?!?!?!?!?! (maybe for a post-City Club snack?)

6. A M.U.S.C.L.E. man … whatever that is. 

WHO IS THIS PERSON?!

-Sarah