Featured Two stories for the price of one

Good (late) evening everyone,

I hope you are having a good night, I certainly am and I wanted to share two stories with you. Well, technically it's three stories, but the first one is really short. Story one: today's my birthday, and only god knows how badly I was hoping to get some silver on my birthday. Well, turns out that wish came true today, here's the two events:

I took the day off from work to relax and enjoy that one day out of the year that I get older. I decided I would have a relaxing day, nothing too hectic. I did decide to visit a few local stores, but honestly I didn't put any real pressure on myself, I just tried to relax and enjoy the day. I got to the last store I was visiting, and I saw a big box of flatware on the counter top. It was wrapped up very thickly with tape over the opening, and so I could just barely turn over one piece of flatware to read the back. My heart started racing, it said sterling on the back, and to my quick and excited eye, it was a full set!!!!!! Well, I paid the $25 the store was asking, and to my terrible dismay, when I got in my car, I realized that only by sheer luck I managed to turn over the only item in the bunch that was sterling, and the rest of the box was plated, and made by Godinger (photo 2 shows the sterling S Kirk and Son ladle next to the plated Godinger serving utensil):



All kidding aside, it's still a wonderful find. I'll sell the Godinger set and keep the ladle in my eclectic collection of flatware. But that's not where my day ended. I went back home and watched some shows and relaxed some more. Whenever I find myself bored, I hop online and start to search again. Just how much do I search? ALL the time, every day, probably too much. But I know that the frequency of my searches increases the probability of my finds. Today proved that theory again. I stumbled across a fairly recent listing, this was for a set of "stainless flatware"....Doesn't this story sound familiar to one I told recently? Well, the items didn't look stainless, and that got me inquiring. I liked what the seller told me, and I hopped in my car, drove 2 1/2 hours away from my home, paid a modest sum, and here's what was in the box. Not a bad birthday gift for myself. Round trip ended up being 4 1/2 hours, but well worth the time and the energy:

 

Happy B-Day, MrNate!
I love your hunting story and your results

 

wow, heckuva score! good for you!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATE !!! .. Great Birthday gift you found, WELL DONE !!! .. Joy.

 

Happy Birthday, Nate, and Happy Birthday to your silver nose as well. You did it again!

 

Lovely birthday present! Spooky how initially you found the only piece of silver in the box.

 

Happy Birthday, Nate!!

Too bad about the look-alikes in the first picture. There are a fair number of overall floral designs that are almost impossible to tell apart - even when made by the same maker.

I can't imagine driving as far as you do to make purchases. I just hope you're using an extremely efficient car. I know gas is a little cheaper now than it has been, but that has to be taking a big bite out of your potential "profit."

Shaking my head over the seller calling it "stainless" when it is so obviously marked sterling. Nice set though!

 

Great point Bakersgma. I use to own a V8 truck. I'm happy to say that my little nissan versa "sips" gasoline at an average of 40 mpg. So my round trip cost me about $12 in gas.

 

Good mpg, but that's still a lot of time on the road. Gotta do what you gotta do, I guess.

 

Agreed. But in my mind, I'm sitting at home and someone says to me "hey, if you drive 2 1/2 hours and pay me $25, I'll pay you $1,000"...

 

yup, that would work for me, well done!
a belated Happy Birthday Mr Nate

 

Happy Birthday Silver Whisperer. Nice finds and great stories.

 

Nice scores! Even that silverplated Godinger set is a find; the ornate patterns tend to sell well even now.

 

Hi,
It is all how you were raised. Most people under 30 called flatware stainless.
The same for under 50. They usually had plated silver as silver. Over 70 had flatware as silver and Sterling as real silver. Happy Birthday Nate.
greg

 

I've always called it silverware, not to be confused with silver plate or sterling.

 

Me too Ruth.

 

Happy birthday, @MrNate ! Very late, so I hope you are still enjoying. The stories are great, and fun to read.