hahahahah hey Z
did you find this one...? ;)
http://news.msn.com/pop-culture/scrap-dealers-bargain-turns-out-to-be-faberge-egg
(http://i58.servimg.com/u/f58/13/55/53/83/_h0_w210.jpg)
Undated handout photo issued by London antique dealers Wartski via the Press Association on Wednesday March 19, 2014 of a rare Imperial Faberge Egg.
Scrap dealer's bargain turns out to be Faberge egg
5 hr ago |By GREGORY KATZ of Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — There is good luck, outrageous good fortune — and now there is the case of the scrap metal dealer who found one of the eight missing Faberge imperial eggs at a flea market in the American Midwest. WHAT ? ? ?
A London antique dealer said Wednesday that that the scrap metal entrepreneur bought the egg for about $14,000, thinking he could make a small profit by reselling the piece for its gold content
It turned out the jewel-encrusted piece was worth millions.
Kieran McCarthy of Wartski, which specializes in Russian artifacts, said the scrap metal dealer began to suspect he was holding a rare piece after seeing an article online about an imperial Faberge Easter egg made for Russian royalty. The dealer contacted McCarthy, who verified the egg as genuine and negotiated its sale to a collector.
"The second I saw it, my spine was shivering," said McCarthy, calling the piece a "Holy Grail" for collectors.
Both buyer and seller want to remain anonymous, and McCarthy did not disclose the sale price — but experts note that a non-imperial Faberge egg sold at Christie's for $18.5 million in 2007.
Independent Faberge expert Geza von Habsburg said the egg is "absolutely genuine" and matches the one-line description found in records kept by Russia's Imperial Cabinet.
The egg, which contains a Vacheron Constantin watch, sits on a jeweled gold stand and was given by Alexander III to his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna in Easter 1887.
Only 50 of the imperial eggs were made for the royal family, and eight remained missing before the latest find, though only three of those are known to have survived the Russian revolution.
"I think it's pretty exciting," said Tatiana Zherebkina, spokeswoman for Faberge. "The experts seem to agree it's authentic and of imperial provenance — one of the eight missing eggs."
It will be on display at Wartski's London showroom April 14-17, the first time it will have been seen in public for 112 years.
____
Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
Nice one :D
See I keep telling ya to go to yard sales :P
Picked up one of these at a Yard sale for $40.00 signed in pencil by Red Skelton
They go for around $2000.00ish but when I tried to list it I got a gallery that will put it up for me. Turns out the owner is the new husband of Red Skelton's widow and he sells consignment prints from Red's old house :D
(http://www.artcorporationofamerica.com/artists/redskelton/gallery/img/samuraifull.jpg)
Quote from: sky otter on March 20, 2014, 02:20:26 AMand now there is the case of the scrap metal dealer who found one of the eight missing Faberge imperial eggs at a flea market in the American Midwest. WHAT ? ? ?
Yup a lot of stuff has ended up in the American Midwest. Ever watch American Pickers? There are hoarders all over the miswest and stuff gets lost because young people don't know what they have. Shows like American Picker, Antique Road Show and Pawnstars is kinda ruining the market though :P Its making people ask higher prices for treasures
But you never know what you can pick up. I saw one place had Avon Beerstiens... so I asked him how much for the lot... He told me 100.00. It was about 56 steins and a few damaged ones so less then $2.00 a piece Amd just listing those now :D
An old British chap recently went to an old farmer and asked if he could use a metal detector on his farm. He told the farmer he would split 50/50 with anything he found.
Farmer said sure, but many have already looked and he didn't think he would find anything.
Well on a small section of untilled field in the corner of the farm, the guy hit some gold. Seems this was stripped down pieces off swords etc probably ready for melting
(http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/photogalleries/anglo-saxon-gold-hoard-pictures/images/primary/090924-05-gold-bits_big.jpg)
Well the museum sent a team to dig... and under British Law you are allowed to keep ALL treasure you fnd. So the museum appraised it and paid the fair full value for it. So it fetched about 4 million pounds sterling :D
Was a documentary on the find on National Geographic
The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found.
http://www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk/
GOLD HOARD PICTURES: Largest Anglo-Saxon Treasure Found
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/photogalleries/anglo-saxon-gold-hoard-pictures/photo5.html
i saw that ..and wanted to go buy a metal detector...
but i didn't....folks were still finding arrowheads in the fields here..but not many look anymore
and most of the fields have housing developments..sucks
another good place to find stuff is the salvation army stores.. they are called re-sale stores around here and the money mostly goes to habitat for humanity
i bought a 10 inch tall silver angel for a buck.... it was for me not re sale
but the silverware alone was something to see..
maybe i will looking into metal dectortors after all....hummmmmmmmmmmm
8)