Featured The story I never told over the summer

evelyb30 · Sep 28, 2019

Dinner party at MrNate's house! Wheeee! And I thought I did well today!

patd8643 · Sep 28, 2019

MrNate said: ↑

Good evening everyone. This is a bit of a confession post (in a way)....I had a find over the summer while I was on my business trip, and at the time I decided not to post it. To be honest, I wasn't even sure why I didn't post it, but I figured maybe I would wait awhile for the dust to settle, or maybe it would be one of those finds that never gets posted. Well, I decided today that it was just too amazing not to share with all of you. If you'll indulge me for a bit, I'll share some of the details.

So this all actually happened back in July, and I was away from home for a month on business. I decided during the trip to try to search online for silver and I posted some of my finds during that time on here. I had mentioned at the time back in July that I might have a great find to share, but then I got gun-shy after the deal happened and I didn't post it. At the time, I was searching long distances away because I had nothing but free time and I didn't mind driving to get some silver. I recall very clearly in the middle of the afternoon, I stumbled across a listing with the simplest title "Silver Items" and this was the first photo:
Mr Nate, when you decide to part with some of your jewels, what do you base your decision on? I've sold some sterling that was mainly utilitarian or run of the mill.
But there is some that I can't part with because of the pleasing shape, intricate design or lovely chasing - what is pleasing to my eye and hand.
Patd

View attachment 205046

And of course my first instinct was to send the seller a message and try to get some more details. They responded fairly quickly and the seller stated that all the items were real silver. So my heart started racing and all I wanted to do was to drive to meet them as soon as possible. And naturally, they couldn't meet until the next day...So that night I could barely sleep thinking about this deal possibly happening...

I woke up very early the next morning and started making the long trip to meet the seller. Flash forward about 3 hours and I was almost at the seller's house. Normally when I go to pick up something, I'm trying to offer my cash and leave the situation fairly quickly, but my curiosity was peaked, and I decided I was going to hang around as long as the seller wanted me to, and try to figure out the story of why they were selling a beautiful collection.

Well, I ended up staying for almost 45 minutes talking to the seller, a really nice person. And I can tell you this was a situation where they knew what they had, and they were interested in getting rid of it quickly and easily because they needed to clear out a room for another purpose. It was a nice house, a nice person not desperate for money and knowing exactly what they had. It was an easy, relaxing conversation and I definitely felt the seller was completely comfortable and happy to sell to me. Sometime in the middle of the conversation, the seller mentioned that they would be listing a set of flatware soon online.... My response was something like "well, while I'm here, I'd be happy to take a look at them, and obviously there's no pressure from me if you would prefer to just post them online."

Given the friendly discussion we had, coupled with the seller's interest in clearing out the storage room, they showed me the flatware set. As soon as I looked in the storage box my jaw almost dropped straight out of my mouth. I was thinking to myself "keep your composure, keep your composure Nate"...And patiently I waited maybe 5 seconds, and finally I said something like "well, I would definitely be interested in the set, just let me know the price that you think is fair and I'll let you know if it works for me." I should emphasize here that there was zero pressure on my part, because more than anything I wanted the seller to feel comfortable with the sale, because at the end of the day that's what matters. So after maybe 20 seconds, the seller comes up with a number that he considered fair. I'm not going to say what it was, but it didn't take me long to say yes to the high end of his estimate.

We shook hands, and the deal was made. We continued to chat for another 20ish minutes and it was a great conversation. Overall I feel very blessed for the combination of luck, timing, and skill that led me to the most insane find I'll probably ever have in my life. The seller was a wonderful person, and I know that they walked away feeling content with the transaction. 20 or 30 years from now, I'll probably look back on this one somewhat unbelieving that it actually happened, but it did. Here's a few photos, far too many items to even try to describe or list individually. Everything in the photos is either coin silver or sterling, very few weighted items. The Pièce De Résistance is the sterling set of Gorham Chantilly flatware; over 150 individual items in the set.

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patd8643 · Sep 28, 2019

MrNate said: ↑

I’m always carrying around a certain amount of extra cash hoping for an extra sale.
Click to expand...

Mr Nate, when you decide to part with some of your jewels, how do you make the decision?
I've sold some sterling but there is some I won't let go ... yet ... either because the shape is beautiful to my eye or the work is unique or the chasing is too lovely. So how do you decide?

PS - looks like I screwed up trying to post this previously
Patd

MrNate · Sep 29, 2019

patd8643 said: ↑

Mr Nate, when you decide to part with some of your jewels, how do you make the decision?
I've sold some sterling but there is some I won't let go ... yet ... either because the shape is beautiful to my eye or the work is unique or the chasing is too lovely. So how do you decide?

PS - looks like I screwed up trying to post this previously
Patd
Click to expand...

That's a great question, and I don't have a perfect answer...Here's my best shot. I tend to hang on to items, especially if I think they look lovely. So as a general rule, I try to force myself to sell stuff after I have it for awhile. Strangely, my parents were polar opposites; one was a minimalist and one tended to horde. So I probably have a combination of those traits. I keep a bunch of stuff and then I get rid of everything at once. I'm finding a bit more balance now, but I do struggle with parting with items.

Roshan Ko · Sep 30, 2019

Also. Do you use some of the stuff?

Like tea from a tea set. Or use some of the sterling forks and spoons you have found as cutlery as opposed to the stainless steel one?

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Featured The story I never told over the summer

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Featured The story I never told over the summer

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