Dig This Treasure!

Last Tuesday, I had the day off because of doctor’s appointment mid-day, and I was really pleased because there was a crazy looking sale that started that day. Sales typically do not begin that early in the week, but there are a few boneheaded companies that do such a thing. The pictures of this sale reflected that it was: 1) very dirty and 2) full of old things–especially from the ‘80s. I am cool with both of those conditions, so I was excited to have the chance to go check out this sale. I was right on both fronts. Here is evidence in both regards: 

1) Mega dirty:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dirtier Sesame Street toy. 

2) Lots of '80s stuff: 

What you see here are boxes of cereal from the 1980s that are in plastic bags. They were each marked $10, I believe. Quite a steal. 

First things first–this sale was being run by our old friend, THAT GUY. That guy is a total scammer, and has no idea what he’s talking about. So half the stuff at this sale was overpriced and the other half was underpriced. In the end, it all worked out. And even though this sale was totally, disgustingly filthy, I found some cool stuff. Both to laugh about and to purchase. 

On my way upstairs, I spotted this box of naked Ken dolls. I don’t know why, but it really made me crack up. 

Once upstairs, I made my way into a room filled with possibly the most stuffed animals and dolls I have ever seen in such a small space. 

This doesn’t really do it justice. When I was in this room, a woman came in and asked me, “Do you think this is all one person’s?” How sad that this was probably her first estate sale experience. I told her yes, that this was one person’s stuff. She looked horrified. 

Most of the dolls and stuffed animals in these boxes were in sorta gross shape, but I still was excited about the quantity, because really… there are so many possibilities for treasures. It turns out that I DID find a treasure in one of these boxes. 

Tee hee, just kidding. I found an adorable Rushton mouse, who was in really great shape!

Like I mentioned–half of the stuff at this sale was overpriced, and the other half was underpriced. That mouse was priced the same as Chucky up above! 

Here’s some other stuff I laughed about: 

Look at that dummy! 

If anyone ever wanted to start a collection of California Raisins… here was a perfect opportunity. 

Huggabunch…what up?! Just in case you were wondering, his name was Hugsy. 

In the end, I found some cute things, including another Joan Walsh Anglund doll. She has heart patches on her knees!

I also found two GIANT boxes of photographs.They were marked $75 (for both), and the guy would NOT budge, so I decided to take a risk. As it turns out, there were over 1,000 pictures in the boxes and some of them were bulge photos, so I think I’ll have an update about the outcome of that find, sometime in the future! 

-Sarah

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.