Old Book and Gold Coins

My buddy and I bought a unit the other day for $900.  When the auctioneer opened the door we immediately saw a 6 foot vintage craftsman drill press, two table saws, two big tool boxes, scroll saw, band saw, bunch of lumbar, two large old trunks, nice wooden tv cabinet and dresser along with some boxes.  The auctioneer started the unit out at $300 and nobody was bidding on it, probably because the drill press looked heavy as hell along with the saws.  We ended getting in a bidding war with a guy who ended up telling us he was a contractor and he wanted it because of the tools. If he wasn't there we probably could have got it for $300, but what can you do?

After digging through it we opened up the one trunk and found an old locked briefcase. We busted it open and found a jewelry box filled with some old silver coins and a couple very old gold coins. Went and got the gold coin appraised today and was told its worth a little over $640 in gold.  The silver coins are worth around $70.   Also in the briefcase I found an old Original German Bowie Knife.  I have seen them going on eBbay for $50-250.  Also found an old German book that was published in 1902.  Went to an appraiser today and he said the book in mint condition would go for $2,300.  The book is pretty beat up he offered me $500.  I told him that I wanted to get it checked out at some other places before committing.   Unfortunately, since the drill press is a craftsman from 1954 I am hoping to get $200 for it.  Thought it was going to be worth more.

Already got a $200 offer for the TV cabinet and have collected $75 on the misc tools. Not sure if people are still buying cassette tapes these days, because the one trunk probably has over 400 cassette tapes. I also found out the previous owner is an investment banker from New York City after finding his taxes and W2 forms in a box.  Real pumped up though about the locker.  Definitely a rush.

 

Did good with that locker, congrats

Heck - you got more for your money then the $875 I paid for mine.  Keep up the good work and you will do well.  Just hope you didn't use up all your luck the first time out.

Awesome find! Keep us updated on any cool stuff you find!

AWEsome!!

Wow - You scored pretty big. you never know where you will find old coins.
ive heard of people finding older silver coins in piggy banks they put up in a box somewhere and forgot about em
what was the title of the old German book?

yeah im curious about the german book as well. 


congrats too. 

1st auction, i broke even,

2nd auction, paid 40 dollars, made 1100. 

The book is called "das deutsche corpsleben" tried posting a pic, but it wont load for some reason.  It was funny when I went to get it appraised I approached this older woman and asked her if I could please get some more information about this book, because I have been told it's very rare and worth some money.  She looked at me and said this thing is trash and isnt worth anything.  I said oh really I have been offered $600 for it.  After we did some research on it we found that their only 10 copies of the book in the US.  She pretty much shut up after that.

das deutsche corpsleben means The German Soldier -  book was made and published in 1902. 

What a Great find!!!   Pre War - WW1 German antiquities are starting to be worth in their value.

Heres a pic of the front.  Does this look like yours? 

Yes that's it.  Mine is a little beat up, but the pages inside are in great condition.  I have taken the book to four book dealers in my area as well as a historian at the local museum.  They all have referred me back to the guy who offered me $500 originally for it.  They said he is the best person in my area and very credible.  I'm going back to meet him on Saturday and I'm hoping he can give a little more than $500 now that I know more about it.

I frequently buy antique books from Europe and I used a site that I normally use to find them to check on your book.

This site is kind of like the google of book buying. It compiles a large majority of new, used, and antique/collectible books so you can find them all in one place.

There is only one on the site right now for about $2400, located in Germany. It isn't mint condition either but yours sounds a bit roughed up.

Here is a link to the listing. If you cant read German, you can translate it with www.translate.google.com

http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/submitRare.cgi?author=&title=das+deutsche+corpsleben&keyword=&isbn=&order=PRICE&ordering=ASC&binding=Any+Binding&min=&max=&exclude=&match=Y&dispCurr=USD&timeout=20&store=ABAA&store=Alibris&store=Abebooks&store=AbebooksAU&store=AbebooksDE&store=AbebooksFR&store=AbebooksUK&store=Amazon&store=AmazonCA&store=AmazonUK&store=AmazonDE&store=AmazonFR&store=Antiqbook&store=Biblio&store=BiblioUK&store=Bibliophile&store=Bibliopoly&store=Booksandcollectibles&store=ILAB&store=Half&store=LivreRareBook&store=Powells&store=Wbm&store=ZVAB

If you're an ebayer, I would put the item up on a "Good Til Cancelled" buy it now listing at $1000 with a "Best Offer" option. Let it go for 30 days and see what offers you get. That is, if you're not in a hurry. Works well for me.

Awesome thanks for your help.  Really appreciate it.  That must be the site the appraiser was going off of because he told me found one at auction in Germany for $2300.  You interested in buying it haha.