Thousands of little tragedies...as people try to sell items they've probably collected for a lifetime...
Treasure Hunters Road Show: Some sell; some don't
For Lynne Keightley, selling her diamond ring Friday at the Treasure Hunters Roadshow was a no-brainer.
“I am divorced,” she said.
Keightley did not want to disclose how much she got for the ring but said she wanted to buy an SUV.
“I may use it to get out of Texas,” she laughed.
The Treasure Hunters Roadshow, sponsored by the International Collectors Association, winds up today, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express, 3112 S. Clack St.
On Friday, men and women waited in line to have the buyers evaluate their antiques, and in some cases purchase, mementos that once belonged to an aunt or grandparent. Some were laughing but others were somber, thinking of selling a favorite childhood memory or that of their mother or father.
Barbara Wright, manager of the show, said a team of four people travels three weeks out of every month then takes off a week. Wright said 55 teams travel all over the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
A dealer can look at a diamond ring, a 100-year-old coin or doll, check a computer database and find who is looking for such an item. The dealer also can see what similar items are worth.
“We have 6,000 prospective buyers on our database,” Wright said.
Wright said one of the most unusual things she had seen in the show was a 1930s barber kit complete with a jar of powder to stop bleeding after someone shaved with the straight razor.
J.T. Scott and Danny Johnson, both of Ranger, drove in with a table and chairs in their truck and numerous other items. They sat waiting their turn in line holding boxes of smaller items.
Johnson had a Coca-Cola sign and a 1920s sign that warned people where to locate an underground telephone line. He also had a cookie jar that once belonged to his family.
“I remember putting my hand in it and got a cookie in the 1950s,” he said.
Some made a family affair out of the road show.
Linda Barron and her mother, Dorothy Cason, brought some items that had been in the family for 100 years or more. Some of the items had belonged to an aunt who died at the age of 98.
The buyer offered the two ladies $75 for a piano stool, but they decided to keep it.
“If you hold on to the stool, it will get more valuable,” the buyer told them.
Gayland Mitchell of Merkel had a box containing a “Buddy L” steam shovel, trailer and truck. He was waiting in line to see if the toys had value.
“I helped a lady move, and she gave them to me,” he said. “I used to have some of them when I was young.”
Wright, the show manager, said her team buys gold, silver, diamonds and other valuables. She said sports cards were big sellers and that some of them sell well. Wright showed three or four that were valued at $600 or more.
“The slow economy has brought more people to sell their collectibles,” she said.
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