I have to share a success story with you. One of my friends and I went to a few yard sales the weekend before last. My friend scored big and she let me takes some pictures of her newest find to show you.
Remember I mentioned in my book (Cheap Gold and Silver), when I am out with friends I do not hog all the jewelry. I give them plenty of space to look at it too. It wouldn’t be very friendly if I bought it all. I believe there is plenty out there and I’m not greedy. Otherwise, my friends wouldn’t go with me any longer and I value the time I spend with my friends, so I don’t try to get it all for myself. But I do LOVE to capture the pictures of their bargains to show you guys.
Without further delay, it is a 9 karat gold brooch. Sure it is broken, but who really cares, it is GOLD! She can add it to her gold pile and sell it as scrap gold when she wants the money.
Here is the front of the brooch:
Gold Brooch - 9 carat bought at a yard sale for seventy-five cents.
Here is the back of the golden brooch:
Back of the Gold Brooch. Notice the clasp on the left is broken.
Here is a close up of the 9 CT mark on the back of the brooch:
Close Up Picture of the Gold Brooch Mark - 9 CT
When she bought the brooch, she didn’t know it was gold. She just liked it for some reason (yeah, because it was gold colored – I’m not a rocket scientist and even I can figure that out). She asked the seller for a price and was told seventy-five CENTS (that’s three quarters). What a deal! She scored huge – I’m impressed. I know with the current spot price of gold, there is more than seventy-five cents worth of gold in that brooch.
This brooch is from Europe, because of the mark and the purity of the gold. Anything less than 10 K is not sold (as new) in the USA, so it isn’t marked. Plus the CT mark is also a dead give away. The gold purity is marked as karats (K) in the USA. Other countries like the ones found in Europe mark their gold with carat (CT). I would dare say, the seller had no idea what the 9 CT meant. Keep your eyes open for these marks, since people in the USA don’t seem to know they mean gold.
Good Luck and Happy Hunting,
Vicki Priebe Author of "Cheap Gold and Silver"