[conservaterian]

Not always. Several decades ago I did a review of a stamp collection that'd been gathered from castoff envelopes ~ from the 1800s. The collector had been an ambassador from a South American country. He was posted to Washington DC. MY GAWD~~~~~~!!!!!! You know that stuff in the first few pages of just about every catalog book ever published? This collection had ALL THE LISTED variations in every type.

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Yeah, those are the finds that keep the treasure hunt interesting ...the stories I could tell of finds I have made! Collections of Civil War letters, diaries, etc. saved from attics, some of which were about to go in the trash.

[Stonewall Jackson]

Several years ago, shortly after my grandparents passed away, my mom and aunts were cleaning out their house. I stopped in to see if they needed any help, and they gave me a bunch of boxes to haul to the dumpster.

As I was carrying them out, I glanced inside and spotted an old iridescent glass inkwell that my grandfather always kept on his desk. Going back inside, I asked if I could keep it (I just wanted it for sentimental reasons), and was told I could.

A few months ago, I was watching Pawn Stars and spotted a similar inkwell sitting on a shelf. I looked it up online and it turns out that it was made by an Austro-Hungarian company sometime between 1890 and 1910. It's estimated value is somewhere between $800-1000, but I doubt I'll ever sell it.