Best Garage/yard/boot Sale Find?

[Penne Stilografiche]

My best 3 in order in no particular order:

-Parker 51 Demi bought at a garage sale for 25 cents

-Mont Blanc Stainless Steel Solitaire Fountain Pen and Mont Blanc Le Grand 161 Ballpoint-Bought the pair for $25

-Mont Blanc 164 classique- bought on ebay for $18 but was listed as "Eddie Bauer wood box with pen."

 

Not pen related:

When I was in college, I bought a box full of old coins for $20. There turned out to be 2 ounces of gold, 10 silver eagles, and about 10-12 proof sets in it. I sold the gold for $1850 about 5 years ago and still have the rest.

It hurts to hear that you sold the gold for $1850, if only you waited 3 more years you could have sold them for twice that . As for my greatest pen finds, a Parker 51 for $2.50 and 5 sterling cross ballpoint pens for $1.00. I have also bought many pieces of sterling silver that I sold on fleabay for a nice profit, and then I used that money to buy my first 149. Unfortunately, I started to go to estate/yard sales way before I started pen collecting, and I distinctly remember going to a tag sale at a doctors house and seeing a couple vintage Simplo (Montblanc) pens that were around $10 each, I didn't buy them because I honestly thought they were ugly . I'm still kicking my self in the ass for not buying them. You win some, you loose some...

[Penne Stilografiche]

double post :embarrassed_smile:

Edited April 1, 2013 by collectiblepens.com

[Shangas]

I found a very nice Waterman 52 BCHR last month. Very happy with it.

[penrivers]

Yes, I have since seen it written that some point up, some are straight, and even a few turn down. This seemed a little too exaggerated upward to be normal, but the weird thing it that the tines were perfectly aligned, when turned up, so it is possible that it was actually made that way. It looks a lot more "normal" now and flow is on the wet side with a dip test. I ordered some o-rings so I can replace that on this pen, as I think it's leaking just enough to not allow a good strong fill. Thanks, guys.

Looks it is the Waverley nib mentioned in some threads. Me too I have a sheafer 330 from peytonstreet with that upward nib, I trayed to correct it with hands thanks GOD I didn't damage it because I learned late month that it is normal sheafer fabric.

[Penne Stilografiche]

My best 3 in order in no particular order:

-Parker 51 Demi bought at a garage sale for 25 cents

-Mont Blanc Stainless Steel Solitaire Fountain Pen and Mont Blanc Le Grand 161 Ballpoint-Bought the pair for $25

-Mont Blanc 164 classique- bought on ebay for $18 but was listed as "Eddie Bauer wood box with pen."

 

Not pen related:

When I was in college, I bought a box full of old coins for $20. There turned out to be 2 ounces of gold, 10 silver eagles, and about 10-12 proof sets in it. I sold the gold for $1850 about 5 years ago and still have the rest.

It hurts to hear that you sold the gold for $1850, if only you waited 3 more years you could have sold them for twice that . As for my greatest pen finds, a Parker 51 for $2.50 and 5 sterling cross ballpoint pens for $1.00. I have also bought many pieces of sterling silver that I sold on fleabay for a nice profit, and then I used that money to buy my first 149. Unfortunately, I started to go to estate/yard sales way before I started pen collecting, and I distinctly remember going to a tag sale at a doctors house and seeing a couple vintage Simplo (Montblanc) pens that were around $10 each, I didn't buy them because I honestly thought they were ugly . I'm still kicking my self in the ass for not buying them. You win some, you loose some...

 

The time value of money my friend. I don't regret it one bit. Plenty of people are kicking themselves for getting out of the market back in March of 2009. Never complain about a solid gain much less a gain that is 100x your initial investment.

 

There are at least 100 pens I can say I made a 100% profit on or more. About 50 with a 200% profit and about 15-20 I can say were true 10 Baggers (Peter Lynch reference).

 

I'm not in this hobby to make money, but I am lucky enough that the hobby does pay for itself.

Amen! I buy and sell cheap pens only to pay for my "keeper" pens. Basically, I got all of my favorite pens and collectible items for free, since they are all paid for with the profit of all the other items I buy and sell. I think it's funny that in my family, I'm the only that got my parents into collecting, instead of my parents getting me into it. I've always had an appreciation for items used in past generation.

[RayOski1]

MB 149. Medium nib. Garage sale price of 10 dollars as the piston was stuck. Bought "as is". 1 week later and some TLC and it works great to this day.

[Huntsman]

The only things people sell at local garage sales are dirty clothes, empty Lucky Lager bottles and switchblades... I envy all of you.

[dspeers58]

Wahl Eversharp Doric adjustable nib, small variety, not the full sized beauty

[SmoovD]

My wife found a NIB Waterman Hemisphere, with converter, at a garage sale for the princely sum of a quarter.

[teenytina]

Found a burgundy MB meiserstuck in box, with papers and outer box, never even inked, for $2. I was 17.

 

I snatched it, paid for it, and after it was safely mine, told my roommate what it was worth. Turns out the seller had received it as a gift and didn't care for it. Their loss hahahahaaaaa. Still my treasured pen. It has a 6-digit serial, so if you're an MB junkie, that hints at its age ;-)

Edited April 13, 2013 by teenytina

[penguy06]

Many of you have already seen the photos of my Canadian Black & Pearl Senior Duofold that I found at a local antique mall, and the mall has boot sales frequently as well, so I suppose the pen fits this thread. This was sitting in a vendor's display cabinet for $10, and I don't think I'll ever find a better example "in the wild". Forgive the repeat posting of the pictures, but I couldn't resist!

 

[aschup]

Holy

[elysee]

But my best find was a few years ago at a garage sale. A mint "51" set, Nassau green, with Heritage (windowpane) caps and solid 14k trim.

 

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/3097/nassaup51006.jpg

 

 

 

How beautiful! What a magnificent find!!!

[elysee]

Many of you have already seen the photos of my Canadian Black & Pearl Senior Duofold that I found at a local antique mall, and the mall has boot sales frequently as well, so I suppose the pen fits this thread. This was sitting in a vendor's display cabinet for $10, and I don't think I'll ever find a better example "in the wild". Forgive the repeat posting of the pictures, but I couldn't resist! IMG_1461.JPGIMG_1456.JPG

 

 

I love your Pearl & Black Senior Duofold! What a great find! It is nice that you could rescue it from its lingering in the cabinet and provide it with a nice home. ; )

 

I have the 1990's version -- a relative of your modern Pearl & Black Duofold in the background of the first picture.

[Liamtyr]

Hi All

I found this set at an online estate sale not to long ago. I am really quite new to fountain pens in general (my wife got me into them only about a year ago) and outside of the purchases i have made for myself i know next to nothing about the myriad of vendors and manufacturers of writing instruments. That being said, i was looking for a case that I could keep my pens in so that my desk wasn't quite so cluttered. I found this 40 pen case and a lot of pens for $45.00 and decided to purchase it. The owner didn't really care for them nor was she interested in them in any way. I liked the look of quite a few of them and i hoped they would write nicely since i thought they were quite attractive. I brought the purchase home and showed them to my wife (who is a life long lover of fountain pens) and her jaw dropped..... needless to say i still have no idea what I have here, but kudos to anyone who can identify any of these sets. I have yet to be able to identify any of them except the Bordeaux Mont Blanc, but i am such a neophyte i cant even tell you which model they are. Regardless, i really love the one in the very middle, however it needs some TLC.

 

 

 

 

 

http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a576/s7v7nser/Openpens_zps2cfac1cc.jpg

Edited June 19, 2013 by Liamtyr

[MarcS]

waterman liaison ebonite, platinum 3776 music nib, elysee (model?), and most interestingly parker 61 flighter capillary fill; $30 each give-or-take. i sometimes wonder if i factored in the cost of fuel burned travelling to the sales these past years, would I have come out ahead simply buying retail? but there is value in the entertainment of the treasure hunt, the satisfaction of recognizing latent worth, and recently, the time spent with my teenage son who joins me seeking vinyl record albums. my best was the steinway studio in a nondescript house in a transitioning-downward neighborhood, attracting little interest because it was woefully out of tune. good hunting, everyone!

[amk]

Nothing like as good as some of the finds reported here, but I was modestly pleased to get a Parker 45 flighter for 1 euro at the weekend.

 

While we all dream of a sumgai I think it's the nice little finds like this that keep us going in the meantime.

[Garageboy]

My friend saw a cup with a pen and asked,

"How much for the cup?"

"$2"

"How much for the pen inside the cup"

"Umh.... $1?"

 

Nice, orange Esterbrook A101

 

Also the $5 Parker Vacumatic Imperial (which I now own), in not too bad condition (minus the cracked body that I had reconstructed)

[Kelly G]

I've had several notable finds at yard/estate sales/auctions over the last dozen years. The pen in my avatar - a Wahl OS in chased RHR - Greek Key Pattern along with a Red Ripple Waterman 52 and a couple lesser pens at an estate auction - won the bidding for $6.00 choice - I chose them all. The pens were in good shape. I was so excited about my good fortune that after placing my haul in my car, I promptly locked my keys in the car. That made for an even more interesting day.

 

A Wahl metal pen, gold filled, I can't remember the pattern but it was a more common version, except that it is one of the big ones - a super flexy #5 nib at an estate auction - I think I paid $7.00 for that one - seems like there were a couple of lesser pens in the deal as well.

 

A Conklin Endura Sr. in lapis in excellent condition. This was a large estate auction where my wife had spotted the pen the day prior and tipped my off. I went back for the second day and asked the auction staff to move the pen up in the sale so I didn't have to wait around all day. As the bidding began it became clear that I had competition for the pen - I was mentally calculation just how high I was willing to bid when the woman bidding against me suddenly stopped bidding and I won the pen for $35.00. I talked to her later and she said she was a pen collector; mostly Esterbrooks and she just didn't want to spend more than $30.00. I dodged a Sumgai bullet on that one.

 

It is always fun to score pens at auctions and yard sales - it is also getting more unusual these days in my neck of the woods.