Your finds, keep or sell?

Just wanted to throw out this question. I know most everyone claims to never sell any of their finds, but if anyone has, what were the reasons you parted with the item(s)?
Personally, I usually only sell scrap metal finds such as lead copper and brass junk. But one nice item i did part with was a stainless and black diamond ring. A coworker took such a liking to it especially since it was the perfect size he offered me far more that it sold for new. To be fair i talked him down in price. But the only reason i did part with it was because I was sure he would enjoy it much more than I would.
Anyone else?

I haven't. I cash in all my clad at the end of the year each season and recycle everything ...... non-desireable :lol:
There are a couple of items I would consider selling to the right person or people. And I have a few items I plan on donating to the local historical society.

I gave loads to our historical society and would be capable of selling a coin or two given the right circumstances....and as always, ox shoes are for sale! :lol:

Back in the mid 1980s I sold two gold rings I had found. At the time I needed money to buy Christmas presents for my family. That's the only thing I've ever sold.

Outside of the clad and scrap, I almost always sell my jewelry. Not much of a interest in it and it helps to fund some new gear and weekend trips. This of course is all contingent on what the wife doesn’t want for herself. Anything victorian style I display, anything I can return to owner I am happy to. Not much in the way of jewlery this year as I havnt hit many beaches or parks and reserved myself to mostly colonial sites. Curious what other say about this.

I have sold a few plain gold wedding bands to help fund our Connecticut trips. I still have every coin and silver jewelry I've ever dug. ( a few of the rings may have ended up in my wifes jewelry box ) lol

I hear a lot of "I keep what my wife lets me" type comments all too often. It cracks me up! Sometimes I wonder if those ladies only let the guys out detecting to find them more jewelry? :hystericallaugh:

I have sold 3 items. The first was a military button from the 1700's..someone offered me a lot for it and to me it was just a button so yeah give me the cash. The other 2 items were coins I found last year...1896 O Barber Quarter and 1919 S SLQ. I told myself when I got into the hobby that if I found something valuable that I would sell it if the price was right and if I had found similar items (if I had only ever found that one barber quarter then I would have kept it).

I also throw out my junk. I toss all tootsie cars, junk bling and other items that are to me just trash. Its not like I am going to go and play with this stuff. Now if I can link an item to something in the 1800's then I might consider saving it. Just depends. How does the saying go? "One man's relic is another man's trash."?

I believe it's "one mans trash is another man's treasure"

lol

I had never sold any of of finds until almost eight years ago when I filed for divorce. I needed the money to pay for a very expensive lawyer who wasn't worth a crap. I sold most of my tokens that I had dug over the years and I still regret selling them. I even watch Ebay, occasionally, to see if one of them pops up for sale. Like I said, I needed the money to pay for the lawyer, temporary alimony and living expenses while the divorce became final. Divorces are expensive because they are worth it!

WOW, Donnie....you must have found some seriously valuable stuff to keep lawyers busy!! :shocked03:

I haven't sold anything. I am like Smaug the Dragon. I can't bear to part with any of my "treasure". Actually the one thing I was willing to sell was a very expensive sterling designer bracelet I found a few years back. But the wife said "oooo I like that" and that was that for that. :crying01:

I sell my scrap metal, I cash in my clad, I sell junk silver and gold jewelry, that’s about it.

However, I am a collector of some things. As a collector, if I find things that are of interest to other collectors I have sold them. I do this not because I need the money, but because I enjoy helping others add to their collections and I know they will enjoy it more than I would. I have only sold a handful of finds because of this, a few brewery items and a couple dog tax tags.

I've sold off scrap copper , brass , iron and lead but have yet to sell any of my coins or relics . Although I've been rolling around the idea to sell some of the coins off as I'm really not a coin collector .

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Originally Posted by OxShoeDrew

WOW, Donnie....you must have found some seriously valuable stuff to keep lawyers busy!! :shocked03:

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I dug in coal camps for ten years when I first started metal detecting and found quite a few rare coal and lumber tokens. I had several "book pieces" that had never been seen by collectors. I had also acquired a very nice collection of non-dug pieces over the years and sold those for a chunk of money to a well heeled collector. Like I said, I still regret selling them but on the the advice of my crappy (but very expensive) lawyer I sold anything of value before filing for divorce. Once you file for divorce then you can't sell anything until its settled. Not to mention that your future ex-spouse could also attempt to claim half of your finds. I needed the money because I not only had to pay the lawyer but also temporary alimony until the divorce became final. Like the old saying, divorces are expensive because they are worth it!

What, the stuff we find is worth money??? Shhh, don't tell my wife!

Over the years I have sold a couple of plain gold wedding bands. I did sell one of my RR baggage tags (cause I had found 4 or 5 of them) at the Springfield RR show. I have traded in some rosies and common mercs of which I took the proceeds and bought silver rounds. As far as the junk (copper, brass, lead) I currently have about 5 or 6 five gal buckets in my garage full of junk. I keep telling myself that I "will" get to them someday. As far as the relics go I proudly display them in the formal parlor (pretty sure I might have stepped over the line with the wife on this move).

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Originally Posted by aloldstuff

.As far as the relics go I proudly display them in the formal parlor (pretty sure I might have stepped over the line with thje wife on this move).

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It looks awesome though Al! I remember seeing your stuff displayed all over the room and thinking to myself, "It's like a museum in here!" Tell the Mrs., it looks great :thumbsup02:

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Originally Posted by Ill Digger

It looks awesome though Al! I remember seeing your stuff displayed all over the room and thinking to myself, "It's like a museum in here!" Tell the Mrs., it looks great :thumbsup02:

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Thanks for the kind words Tim. Now if a discussion arises concerning the display area I can say "hey I have it in writing that this is a great look" :lol: