Thrift Shop Treasure Hunting

[mattfindsthings]

Original unused Woodstock ticket. An incredible full, intact original Woodstock ticket from some poor schmo who didn't quite make it there. I had no idea how much festival admission was until I got this. It's fascinating how much history $24 could have bought ya.

Found in a box at a North Carolina flea market.

[mattfindsthings]

Original Victor 78rpm, first ever pressing of Jimmie Rodgers' "Pistol Packin' Papa" released in July 1930. Scratched, but in playable shape. The first in line of the countless hundreds of versions of this song recorded in the country music world in the 84 years since.

Found in a North Carolina Habitat for Humanity for fifty cents.

[mattfindsthings]

One Day I Will Be These People.

The bonanza emerged last year as the man and woman were walking their dog on their property in the Gold Country and noticed the top of a decaying canister poking out of the ground. Inside was what looked like a batch of discs covered in dirt from holes rotted through the can. Staying secretThe couple are keeping their identities and location secret for many reasons, the main one being to prevent treasure hunters from ripping up their land with backhoes. [...] they've allowed coin dealer Don Kagin of Tiburon, who helped evaluate some of the biggest sunken treasure finds in history, to offer the collection up for sale. "You hear all those Wild West stories of buried treasure, and you think they're fantasies - well here, this one really did happen," Kagin said the other day as he and his senior numismatist, David McCarthy, laid out dozens of the coins and cans for inspection at their office. According to "American Coin Treasures and Hoards," the bible of buried treasure finds, the biggest hoard of gold coins dug up before Saddle Ridge was a collection found by construction workers in Jackson, Tenn., in 1985. The oddest of the bunch are an 1866 $20 coin minted in San Francisco without the words "In God We Trust" on the back - the words were added to those coins, called "Double Eagles," later that year - and an 1849 $5 coin struck in the short-lived Dahlonega, Ga., mint. Professional Coin Grading Service of Irvine, one of the world's foremost coin-assessment firms, evaluated the hoard and certified that 13 of the coins are either the finest-preserved known examples of their kind, or tied for that rating. The nearest we can guess is that whoever left the coins might have been involved in the mining industry. The couple, who are in their 40s and are self-employed, told Kagin and McCarthy they want to donate some of the proceeds to the homeless and hungry in their area. Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

[mattfindsthings]

Awesome. So, some kid in the 70's took his older sister's Beatles record and gave it a full KISS makeover. The little fella sure spent some time on this. I bet he still likes to party.

Found in a North Carolina Habitat for Humanity for $3

[mattfindsthings]

Original Baseball Oil Paintings. Both roughly 20x26.

The first is based off of the famous photo of Ty Cobb sliding into third base during the 1909 World Series while Honus Wagner tags him out. The painter, an otherwise unidentified Mr. or Ms. J. Cox, chose to add a "5" to Cobb's back, though it would be nearly two decades before players would begin wearing numbers on the backs of their uniforms.

The second is a little harder to peg. The background looks an awful lot like the short porch of the Polo Grounds curving into 258 feet in right field. The player looks to be receiving a throw from the outfield, but doesn't seem to be wearing catcher's gear (either way, he's got an infielder's mitt on.  Anyone who has any more information on these paintings would be much appreciated. I've tried with no luck to find the artist for a few years now. Found in a North Carolina Goodwill for $20 a piece.

[mattfindsthings]

So, some of our friends once lived in an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere with a few barns and outbuildings. The house dated to the early 1920's. One day, we were celebrating July 4th by drinking beer and shooting the bottles (America!) near one of the barns. I inquired as to whether they ever rummaged around. They said they had but encouraged me to do so. In the loft of the barn, we found the original front door to the house, complete with the rusted doorknob, keyhole and 15 panes of glass.

They told me and the lady we could keep it and we spent the next few days scrubbing several decades of barn grime off of it. It currently sits in our basement awaiting eventual conversion into The Greatest Liquor Cabinet Door in the World.

Picked in a North Carolina barn for some BBQ, a high five and a few cans o' PBR.

[mattfindsthings]

Incredible wooden Cowboy Prunes 30-count shipping crate, circa 1905. Castle Brothers, California. Have searched extensively for the past two years since finding this and cannot find anything but a modern reprint of the logo. This crate is almost 110 years old and looks and feels brand new. One of my favorite things, I have no idea how many are out there. Found in a North Carolina Flea Market for $25

[mattfindsthings]

1890's Quadruple Plate Silver Tea set accessories. Coffee, cream and sugar dishes, beautifully engraved. My mama's birthday present this year. Worth a lot more than I'd have been able to spend! Found in a North Carolina Goodwill.

[mattfindsthings]

Late 60's-Early 70's Atlanta Braves Zippo lighter. Very hard to find in any condition, let alone with graphics like this.

Found in a North Carolina second-hand store for $12

[mattfindsthings]

"Historical Stories of American Pioneer Life" by James Fenimore Cooper from 1898. Includes "Last of the Mohicans," "The Deerslayer" and more. Beautifully illustrated and very solid for a book well over a century old.

Found in an Atlanta-area thrift store for $4.

[mattfindsthings]

1859 Map Print of Caithness Shire, Scotland by George Philip & Son. 150 year old hand colored print, matted. Authentication and details on back of matting from Scottish Historical Society.

Found in an Atlanta-area thrift store for $3.

Currently for sale on eBay.

[mattfindsthings]

Original Pabst Brewery Window Sign from 1893. This sign was used as a window display during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair as a guide to where Pabst could be purchased on the World's Fair grounds (the locations are on the back).

The 1893 World's Fair, also known as "The Columbian Exposition" due to its' proximity to the 400 year anniversary of Christopher Columbus "discovering America," was also the place where Pabst beer won it's infamous Blue Ribbon. Can't claim to have pulled this from a Goodwill, as it was purchased during a collection break-up of 1893 World's Fair ephemera. In all my searching since then, I've never found so much as a mention of another one. This may be one of very few that remain intact. Brass frame under glass.

[mattfindsthings]

1940's "Lucky Lindy" lighter. The coin attached to the lighter was a late-1920's "Adult Novelty" issued after Lindbergh's flight. No description needed of the "Heads" caption with the lady illustration. The lighter itself, "Colibri by Kreisler" was produced in the mid-1940's in post-war Germany. In all likelihood, the coin was affixed to the lighter by an enterprising soldier stationed in the post-war occupation. As no other similar copies have yet been found upon extensive searching, there's a possibility that said soldier created the only one of these in the world.

Found in a North Carolina Goodwill for $5.

[mattfindsthings]

More photos coming when I get a better camera next week!

Volumes I & II (Couldn't find III) of Thomas Carlyle's French Revolution. No date of printing, but likely early 1840's (This set was initially published in 1837). The covers are detached, but everything inside is all perfect. Gilded pages, incredible illustrations. Haven't been able to track down comparable copies of this exact edition but I will update as I do.

Found in a North Carolina Goodwill for less than $2.

[mattfindsthings]

Soldier-issued Vietnam-era belt buckle. Flower stickers were commonly placed on these buckles as a silent protest against the war during service. Found in a North Carolina second-hand store for $10.

[mattfindsthings]

Late 70's 18-Wheeler Logging Truck Belt Buckle. No fancy antiques here, just a big chunk of badass.

Found at an NC flea market for $5.

[mattfindsthings]

An unopened package from 1957, sent from the US Military. Purchased for $10 from a North Carolina Thrift Store. Mystery solved: turned out to be a roll of paper. Should have put it on eBay!