*

I got gold, silver and bronze!

Today’s finds included a good-sized single 18K white gold earring (2 grams of 18K equals about $60 in today’s gold market). I bought it for a dollar out of a basket of junk jewelry. I’ll add it to my small pile of gold to refine into pure gold and then stash it away in my bank box until my wife retires (I’ll work until I drop- I really like my job).

The silver of the day was an antique Stilton Cheese Scoop with an ivory handle. Yes, it’s a thing. I paid $18 and can maybe sell it for $100. If I need to sell it for the scrap value, I can get my $18 back plus a little. The Bronze was in the form of a pair of candle sticks made in Sweden. They’re considered mid-modern and are somewhat collectible. I paid $6 for the pair and am putting them on eBay and hope to get $75. This day, I also got some other minor collectibles that I’ll sell at my booth in the Cambridge Antique Market. So, I had a $200 day. I’ll take it. I’ve had worse and much, much better.

I drive a large circle every day hitting all the second-hand stores in my path. I shop for artwork, clothing, jewelry, precious metal, musical instruments- anything I think I can resell for a profit. I try to clean out a store of anything that can be resold for a profit so I can make money and my competition can’t. Attrit the enemy. Actually, I don’t consider my competition the enemy, I’m good friends with some of them. I just try to nudge them into a different line of work so they leave all the good stuff for me.

That’s it for today. I’m off to the hunt.

Bob Adams has been in Somerville 27 years but was a frequent visitor prior to moving here. He worked as a jeweler in a few shops in his younger years, owned his own shop for a bit, sold real estate for 10 years and is always hunting for his next treasure. He has been an antique and collectibles dealer for 30 years. He can be reached at 27winter@gmail.com.