Question, whats the best thing or things you ever found without a detector?
- Thread starter Dark Chameleon
- Start date
Sweeps
Full Member
Incredible find!
That's an amazing find! Congrats!
And good thing you found that instead of me, I might not have even recognized it for what it is, unfortunately.
HH,
Sweeps
That's an amazing find! Congrats!
And good thing you found that instead of me, I might not have even recognized it for what it is, unfortunately.
HH,
Sweeps
DixieLandMan
Elite Member
Found 14k ring at sister's wedding in the parking lot.
Dark Chameleon
Elite Member
DixieLandMan
Elite Member
It wasn't her's was it...she didn't do a runner?....
Nope. Not hers.
skydealer
Forum Supporter
My best find was actually a book - not sure if that counts though. My father was a book collector/antique mall dealer and one day he decided to ship his collection down to me. Tucked inside on of the boxes was a small book he had on his "$3 shelf" and could not sell and he just needed something to fill a spot.
The book was an 1895 edition of the Time Machine by H.G. Wells, only the author's name was listed as H.S. Wells. I don't know how long it sat on his shelf unsold and I can't believe everyone missed it all those years.... especially for just three dollars.
I ended up selling it on eBay for just over $4000.00. I still have the webpage up showing the book for the auction:
http://www.yesterdaysbookshop.com/hgwells/
When I asked my father he recalled the book and said he thought he had picked it up at a yard sale a few years back for a quarter.
I ended up inheriting about 12,000 books... that was the only good one in the lot.
The book was an 1895 edition of the Time Machine by H.G. Wells, only the author's name was listed as H.S. Wells. I don't know how long it sat on his shelf unsold and I can't believe everyone missed it all those years.... especially for just three dollars.
I ended up selling it on eBay for just over $4000.00. I still have the webpage up showing the book for the auction:
http://www.yesterdaysbookshop.com/hgwells/
When I asked my father he recalled the book and said he thought he had picked it up at a yard sale a few years back for a quarter.
I ended up inheriting about 12,000 books... that was the only good one in the lot.
Whoa - that was a good one -
Actually lots of good ones, love them all, really fun thread.
Dark Chameleon
Elite Member
My best find was actually a book - not sure if that counts though. My father was a book collector/antique mall dealer and one day he decided to ship his collection down to me. Tucked inside on of the boxes was a small book he had on his "$3 shelf" and could not sell and he just needed something to fill a spot.
The book was an 1895 edition of the Time Machine by H.G. Wells, only the author's name was listed as H.S. Wells. I don't know how long it sat on his shelf unsold and I can't believe everyone missed it all those years.... especially for just three dollars.
I ended up selling it on eBay for just over $4000.00. I still have the webpage up showing the book for the auction:
http://www.yesterdaysbookshop.com/hgwells/
When I asked my father he recalled the book and said he thought he had picked it up at a yard sale a few years back for a quarter.
I ended up inheriting about 12,000 books... that was the only good one in the lot.
You reminded me I have a book in my draw I got from some books dumped in the transfer station which is a Christian miscellany from 1867..which is not much value but for the fact it has the colored first page frame from the house of luther in wittenberg...I mentioned it to a Vermont book store when I was there on my honeymoon and he said hed sell it for me for like $20...I found out that although the books are more common the picture was almost always removed and framed as a picture in itself...I have no idea of the value but your book find reminded me of that..i kept it cos I though it was pretty.
tonym
Elite Member
About 10 years ago I was leaving my bank when I looked down on the ground and saw $20 bills everywhere. I quickly picked them up and was joined by another person who picked up a bunch. She then handed me the money she picked up. Problem was, it was not my money!! So here I am standing there with $480 in my hand.
What would you do???
I took the money into the bank and told the manager I found it outside scattered by the door. The manager thanked me several times and took down my name and phone number.
The manager called me back about 1 month later and told me no one claimed the money so it was mine.
Karma
What would you do???
I took the money into the bank and told the manager I found it outside scattered by the door. The manager thanked me several times and took down my name and phone number.
The manager called me back about 1 month later and told me no one claimed the money so it was mine.
Karma
JustDigIt
Full Member
I have a salvador dali bronze on green marble..about 40 lbs signed 1/9 1970.. i paid 13$ for at a thrift store. 
DIGGER27
In Memory Of
I found this purse next to a parking area in a park I was hunting.
It had this lady's whole life in there...wallet, cards keys, phone, money... everything.
I called a few numbers on her phone, finally talked to her brother in New York who posted something on his niece's Facebook page because he didn't have her cell # which sent an alert to her who was driving away from the park at the time with her mother who had lost the purse and didn't even know it was missing.
They met me at the front entrance of the park and I returned it and I turned down a reward hoping to just get some good Karma.
It worked, I found 5 pieces of gold, my nicest biggest pieces of silver jewelry and 2 silver Franklin halves on one hunt in the months after this.
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=155725
It had this lady's whole life in there...wallet, cards keys, phone, money... everything.
I called a few numbers on her phone, finally talked to her brother in New York who posted something on his niece's Facebook page because he didn't have her cell # which sent an alert to her who was driving away from the park at the time with her mother who had lost the purse and didn't even know it was missing.
They met me at the front entrance of the park and I returned it and I turned down a reward hoping to just get some good Karma.
It worked, I found 5 pieces of gold, my nicest biggest pieces of silver jewelry and 2 silver Franklin halves on one hunt in the months after this.
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=155725
Attachments
I have a salvador dali bronze on green marble..about 40 lbs signed 1/9 1970.. i paid 13$ for at a thrift store.
Very cool - would love to see a pic of that - did you know it was real right away when you saw it?
Good for you - what a nice guy
My now ex hubby grabbed my purse - thinking I had money from our joint back account in it - When he found there was no cash in it, he chucked it out the window of his moving vehicle. Some nice guy saw it and picked it up for me and returned it. Now I wish I'd offered him a reward but I was dead broke at the moment, also thanks to ex hubby
. I did send him a thank you card, I hope he got some good Karma too.One time someone found my drivers license in the post card parking lot and the PO called me and gave it back to me. I have no idea how that happened.
JustDigIt
Full Member
i knew it was something special when i saw it ..and bronze! another lady said thats so dalinian i said ..i know right! checked out and hit the road!!!
Got Home and When i read it i couldnt belive the side.....
it resembles a painting of his (apparition of fruit dish and face on a beach)
Its a double sided bust of dali himself..with a rather surreal mustache =)
1/9 1970 wjuno?. DALI here is a few pics karen
i still havent had it authenticated..but im 90% sure its a dali
JustDigIt
Full Member
Its people like you who still make this world bearable.....sending all my irish luck and good juju your way.. karma never sleeps
Big Dog
New Member
My best find...
My best find was in a parking lot of a little strip mall. My boss had asked me to meet him for lunch at a restaurant in front of the mall. I parked my van and as I got out I saw something shiny laying on the ground. I picked it up, glanced at it and dropped it in my pocket.
Later I remembered it and took it out to look at it. It was flattened because it had been run over and was difficult to identify. I finally figured out that it was a ring that had an odd design. It had over 100 diamond "millies" as the jeweler called them, 2- 1carat diamonds (I hoped) and was in a 10k setting. The jeweler tested the one larger stone (that had fallen out when I was looking at it) it was fake. At this point I decided that it wasn't going to be worth a whole lot, considering the shape it was in, and the fact that it had fake diamonds in it.
She then tested the "millies". They were real... my excitement increased a bit. She touched the tester to the other large stone... Bingo! it was real!
I ended up selling the one stone to a jeweler for $1900.00, and got 95 for the scrap silver and "millies".
A few weeks later a friend of mine showed me an article in the local paper about a person reporting a ring stolen from their car in that parking lot... Oh, I failed to mention that there was a jeweler in the strip mall and that the person had just taken all of there jewelry in to have it cleaned. It must have fallen out of whatever they had it in and laid in the lot until I came along. By the way, they were paid $3000 by their insurance co.
My best find was in a parking lot of a little strip mall. My boss had asked me to meet him for lunch at a restaurant in front of the mall. I parked my van and as I got out I saw something shiny laying on the ground. I picked it up, glanced at it and dropped it in my pocket.
Later I remembered it and took it out to look at it. It was flattened because it had been run over and was difficult to identify. I finally figured out that it was a ring that had an odd design. It had over 100 diamond "millies" as the jeweler called them, 2- 1carat diamonds (I hoped) and was in a 10k setting. The jeweler tested the one larger stone (that had fallen out when I was looking at it) it was fake. At this point I decided that it wasn't going to be worth a whole lot, considering the shape it was in, and the fact that it had fake diamonds in it.
She then tested the "millies". They were real... my excitement increased a bit. She touched the tester to the other large stone... Bingo! it was real!
I ended up selling the one stone to a jeweler for $1900.00, and got 95 for the scrap silver and "millies".
A few weeks later a friend of mine showed me an article in the local paper about a person reporting a ring stolen from their car in that parking lot... Oh, I failed to mention that there was a jeweler in the strip mall and that the person had just taken all of there jewelry in to have it cleaned. It must have fallen out of whatever they had it in and laid in the lot until I came along. By the way, they were paid $3000 by their insurance co.
Dark Chameleon
Elite Member
I suppose you both made out...hopefully it wasn't something sentimental to them but if it had been it seems to have been trashed anyway
When I used to drive a taxi, many times I would find cash in between seat cushions or found their way under the seats. Usually a few dollars but several times $20's, 50's and 100's. Always made up for a night with lousy tippers.
skydealer
Forum Supporter
If you want, I can do some research to let you know the value of the book. Just send me some basic info and a few pics of the title page and reverse (also known as the copyright page for newer books) and I'll do some digging.
Dealer asking price vs actual sales prices can be way off, but it's always fun to find a valuable book.
\When I used to drive a taxi, many times I would find cash in between seat cushions or found their way under the seats. Usually a few dollars but several times $20's, 50's and 100's. Always made up for a night with lousy tippers.
I'd have been checkin' those seats after every ride!!!
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