Hunting for quality sterling silver at Estate Sales

Well fellow stackers of the nether, I have quite an interesting find for you all. This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending a local Estate sale (read: “Garage Sale”), where I was able to make a comeuppance on this most interesting set of sterling silver drink mixers. After perusing the gypsy’s offerings, I was able to find these two gems nestled in between an old baroque toaster oven and a tupperware container of old gameboy color games.

When I saw the patina and the understated shine I knew I had to have them. When attending these events I always bring a small digital scale and a neodymium magnet for field-testing. This is absolutely essential to get a feel for the value of the item, without having to cause damage for an acid test (which I have found very few peddlers will go along with).

After weighing in at a cool 7.2 ounces combined, and expressing zero attraction for the rare-earth magnet, I was getting that tingling feeling I sometimes get when I know I am getting a great deal. I took the sterling silver mixers over to the proprietor of the sale, who informed me that he bought the shakers a number of years ago after seeing a similar pair being used by a very suave James Bond (Sean Connery) on the big screen.

I expressed mild interest and a slight worry about whether or not the mixers were sanitary given their heavy coating of patina and dust, at which point the owner said I could have them for $100. I hesitated a moment to take in the sweetness of the deal, before handing over 5 crisp twenties and being on my way. All in all, a very productive Saturday afternoon.

As an aside, when you can buy these old pokemon gameboy games at the right price (no more than $3-$5) it’s almost always worth it. At the time of writing, an auction on ebay for a set of these old games is already approaching $80. It’s a great arbitrage play for you younger hustlers who are looking to make a quick buck, although I really cannot stand to sell on feeBay these days.