Featured The One that Got Away

This weekend, I regretfully decided not to buy an engraved WWI mess-kit I spotted at a flea market for 25 euros. I'm still kicking myself over my decision. Another time, a few years back, when I was still unfamiliar with silver marks, I convinced myself that a large sterling bowl I had spotted at Goodwill was, in fact, plated, since the rampant lion hallmark didn't look quite right. Misery loves company, so what are some things you've regretted not buying, or that you regret having sold?

 

I love these threads,I guess because Ive made so many errors I dont feel alone when folks share! 2 things that always come to mind...a huge Tiffany clock and garniture set,brass and copper,that was given to me by a dear old lady when I was doing Meals on Wheels. It had a broken arm on one of the candleholders when the mantel it was on collapsed due to water damage.I took it to a repair shop and the gentleman quoted me a $500 repair price.Now I was all of 19 so $500 was like 5 million .He then offered to buy it from me for,you guessed it,$500 and I sold it to him. I was still new to the antiques game,so I didnt know that even then it was much more valuable. Second regret was a dazzling Russian enamel double ink well.Probably silver,definitely pre-revolution. Again,I didnt really know what I had . It was a different world before the internet,thats for sure!

 

Ugh, that's painful That Tiffany set sounds beautiful. I'd love to see what it looked like.

 

Too many in our experience to count, most of them due to a shortage of funds at the time of an on-line auction, a few more due to (d'uhh!) simply forgetting to place a bid before an on-line auction expired. One that stands out in memory, though -- and this wasn't really even in our collecting wheelhouse -- was an antique ventriloquist dummy in baseball garb that wound up going ridiculously (and for us, very affordably) cheap. Mistook the end-time of the auction and flubbed the dub, so to speak. A gottle o' geer! A gottle o' geer!

 

I've lost count. I just sold some bits on Eboo tonight that started at 5PM my time and sold by 5:30. Either exactly the right person was looking or I had them out there dead cheap. Alvin company "points" made for a glorified pencil sharpener.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202464776472

 

land...in and around Vancouver.....in the late 70's , early 80's.

 

I have made quite a few flubs over the years.
The one that come to mind is a NOS MIB Good Humor Toy Truck.

I don't know the prices now, but back then I could have gotten $100 easily for it.
I didn't buy it because I thought $10 was too much. I was a blockhead.

 

As they say, a picture is worth 1000 words......



12" Tiffany Favrile charger for $300.00 back in about 1985. Similar to the one on the right (This pair sold for $2K + buyer's premium at Christies auction in 2009). I hesitated due to the fact that it was a lot of money for me at the time. Went back a few days later and it was sold. I have seldom hesitated to purchase much since if I felt I could scrape together the funds and the item was a relative bargain. Lesson learned.

 

Forty years ago, I ran across a shop full to the brim with gorgeous tiffany style lamps and an actual tiffany lamp (so the owner said.) Now that I can afford nicer lamps, she is long gone.

 

About 25 years ago I hit a yard sale, some some nice, colorful glass pieces but I wasn’t sure about them them so I passed them by.

Later that same day I went to a glass show and saw almost the exact same pieces, Fenton early opalescent sugar shakers.

I ran back to the sale but of course they were long gone

 

Ah... there's the rub, for sure!

The one and only thing I honestly regret passing up was a hand-carved chess set. It wasn't anything truly special, in and of itself, (and I am NOT a chess aficionado) but it was made for my own gg-grandfather by one of his "men" when he was a POW in Texas during the Civil War.

Here's the description from the auction, back in 2009:

This is supposed to be a civil war chess set, i can't prove it, am selling it as found, but it looks to me like it very well could be, i just don't know if prisoners would have had access to a lathe of some kind, or could have rigged one up, and this one is definitely turned, and then lightly carved. pieces are very consistent as to size and style, which may mean possibly not, i just don't know. is a full set with one extra pawn for each side, the pieces measure as follows, king, 1 7/8"; queen, 1 13/16"; bishop, 1 11/16"; knight, 1 9/16"; rook, 1 1/2"; pawn, 1 1/8". one black rook is missing 4 points at the top of the tower. rest of set is good and is lightly soiled, as the pieces have no finish on them. the note in the top of the box reads " Chess Made by 2nd Lieut. Chas. Bailey Co G 23rd Conn Vol Inft. For 1st Lieut. Oscar H Hibbard Co G 23rd Conn Vol Inft. These chess were made while they were Prisoners of War at Tyler Smith Co Texas 1863 + 64". someone wrote in pencil civil war at end of note. this note is glued to the inside of the box lid. the family who possessed the set have no knowledge of where it came from, they found it in the attic of the father's house after he died. none of the names on the note are anything they can trace in their family, so another mystery. if you have any questions, please let me know, i will do my best to help. thanx for looking and good luck. as an added note the knights do have line carved manes on the other sides.

I later exchanged a number of emails with the person who DID purchase it (the seller, with the buyer's permission, put us in touch with each other.) All indications were that it truly HAD been made for and belonged to my gg-grandfather. At the time, I simply felt that the price being asked was far too high for the possibility of a family connection. Sigh. I have always felt that I really should have bought it.

 

Easy one for me, Ruth's box, auction sale in 2010, my opening bid was almost 3 times the high estimate which i felt sure would be enough, it wasn't! box went for 4 times high estimate. I didn't have a PLAN B going into that sale, a mistake i've always regretted.

 

Selling my mother's Egyptian Siwa Oasis cuff bracelet, which she wore a lot. I got a decent price, and have bought and sold several since, but they are not my mother's.
I wear one of them occasionally, it fits me perfectly, just like hers did her. But then I look at it and think....

 

it's not hers............

 

Exactly.
I am lucky to have more of her jewellery, so I shouldn't think that way. But I am sentimental and can still see her wearing it, and rubbing her hand over the central rope twist band.

 

Yeah, bad BOO BOO there, worse than Ruth! if that's possible!

 

The way I see it is you only have so many arms, neck, fingers, etc. to wear jewelry, so sharing something from your mother to someone who will love it, rub it and maybe pass it on to her daughter is a good thing. I am always grateful when someone gives up something beautiful for me to enjoy. Just saying.

 

I tried that, the buyer was not interested in entertaining any offers, they had the box, they were keeping the box and that's THAT!

 

MCM dining room table. on-line auction and was hesitant to go very high as I hadn't seen it in person. My mistake. It's all a learning curve.