Post by elementary on Sept 28, 2013 19:19:59 GMT -5
Somehow I've been fortunate enough to get a foot in the door of another sale. This time it was in Simi Valley. I'm learning that 'estate sales' are more of a hassle than 'rock sales'. (I've never had to take a number for a rock sale, but the last two estate sales were a mass of people....also rock sales tend to be $1 a pound but estate sales want to price everything...literally taking blood from a stone.)
When I got there this morning I saw a line out the door. At its end was a person handing out numbers for people to get through the front door and see what was in the house. One person I know was standing around so I asked him his number. "93" was his reply. "What was the last number called?" I asked. "60" he replied. I grunted and shambled into the garage, which was available. There I saw overpriced saws and sub-par chunks of stone. In the back room attached to the garage, a book shelf waited with a few dozen quasi-polished geode halves - $5 to $15 a pop.
err. As I walked out I caught sight of a series of small cardboard containers set neatly against the wall. They were labeled, and in glancing through them, I suddenly found things I wanted. Each bin had its own price, so I could tell if I wanted to splurge to not. I picked up 6 containers and had them marked for me. (Alaskan agate/misc slabs/ Burro Creek Purple/ Malibu Lake nodules/ Vaquillia slabs/ schorl-tourmaline specimens ----- I left behind a bloodstone pile and when I reconsidered later, they had already been taken)
Then I returned outside.
I spoke to a few people and they finally left because they didn't want to wait for some number to be called. I stayed for a couple minutes to purchase my finds and wound up talking to one of the estate sales people. I said I didn't want anything from inside the house. I just wanted a peak around the sideyard at the rocks. At first she said everyone had to go through the house, and I said fine, and then offhand "Well, I brought $X dollars to spend, but I'll just cash out these here purchases."
She looked at me for a long moment, and then said "I'll let you into the side yard."
She was very nice and kind of stressed, with everyone roaming around touching EVERYTHING that might be for sale, but she did a great favor letting me into the yard.
Was it worth it? Well, kind of. One guy had just bought three big crates of howlite he evidently sends out to Japan or somewhere for dying purposes. On one of the piles was a piece of what I'm pretty sure was youngite. I pointed at it and said did he need that as well, and he said "I bought these three baskets." So I pointed again and indicated that rock wasn't howlite. Did he want it? Again: "I bought these three baskets."
I left it at that.
So I dug through the piles and saw Hauser eggs, Lavic jaspers, a bunch of wishy washy agate that looked dug from the local deserts, a couple chunks of whale bone and a container of green jasperish stuff from Gem Hill near Rosamond. I grabbed some jasper nodules with very bright mossy interiors, a chunk of heavy blue copper ore material, and a large chunk of stone that seems to have thundereggs imbedded within - but it doesn't match either Thunderegg Matrix or Rainforest Jasper. There's a picture later.
When I came out from behind the house, the woman took me into the house (which had thinned out tremendously by then) and introduced me to the guy taking the money and a place where I could stash my stash if I still wanted to walk around. She said there was one more room with rocks.
Well, I was there so I dropped my load and pushed Pushed PUSHED my way into the room. Elbows and knees and hands and feet were everywhere. On the far side of the room was a table set up with mineral specimens and some agates. I was about ready to turn when one piece caught my eye. It was a piece of plume agate, fist sized, covered with chunky druzy. I picked it up, turned it over (the previous owner had glued 3 felt feet underneath so it would stand up on display) and analyzed the colors. Reddish short plumes leading up into a purplish mottled peak. Could it be what I thought it was? A piece from a dug-out site now in a wilderness area near Thumb Butte? Could it be paisley agate? COULD IT??!!!!!!! It wasn't Paul Bunyan, but there was an outside chance that it was Northern Cady, but those colors, they whispered to me 'Paisley'. I'll let you tell me if I'm wrong. Pictures follow below.
The check showed no price tag. I asked the woman in the corner and she said $15. Fine by me! If it was what I thought it was, then Whoopie!!!!!! Good Price. If it wasn't, then eh - I overpaid by $10. I'll live.
I then paid, and carried my materials down the block to where my car was parked. (I never knew estate sales could be so cut throat! I guess a lot of people go to fill their antique stores and sell stuff online.)
So, thank you for following me through the morning. That estate sale stuff is different then what I'm used to.
Here's the piles:
The labeled Vaquilla Agate
(got 6 or 7 slabs)
Tourmaline/Schorl specimens
A sample of the Alaskan agate
i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/rock%20sales/IMG_4043_zpsf0ec5dea.jpg
Burro Creek slabs and chunk
Lavic Slab
Unknown Slab (any idea?)
i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/rock%20sales/IMG_4048_zpsaa78a343.jpg
Large chunk of imbedded agates. (Idea?)
And finally Is it Paisley Agate?
Thanks for looking!
Lowell
When I got there this morning I saw a line out the door. At its end was a person handing out numbers for people to get through the front door and see what was in the house. One person I know was standing around so I asked him his number. "93" was his reply. "What was the last number called?" I asked. "60" he replied. I grunted and shambled into the garage, which was available. There I saw overpriced saws and sub-par chunks of stone. In the back room attached to the garage, a book shelf waited with a few dozen quasi-polished geode halves - $5 to $15 a pop.
err. As I walked out I caught sight of a series of small cardboard containers set neatly against the wall. They were labeled, and in glancing through them, I suddenly found things I wanted. Each bin had its own price, so I could tell if I wanted to splurge to not. I picked up 6 containers and had them marked for me. (Alaskan agate/misc slabs/ Burro Creek Purple/ Malibu Lake nodules/ Vaquillia slabs/ schorl-tourmaline specimens ----- I left behind a bloodstone pile and when I reconsidered later, they had already been taken)
Then I returned outside.
I spoke to a few people and they finally left because they didn't want to wait for some number to be called. I stayed for a couple minutes to purchase my finds and wound up talking to one of the estate sales people. I said I didn't want anything from inside the house. I just wanted a peak around the sideyard at the rocks. At first she said everyone had to go through the house, and I said fine, and then offhand "Well, I brought $X dollars to spend, but I'll just cash out these here purchases."
She looked at me for a long moment, and then said "I'll let you into the side yard."
She was very nice and kind of stressed, with everyone roaming around touching EVERYTHING that might be for sale, but she did a great favor letting me into the yard.
Was it worth it? Well, kind of. One guy had just bought three big crates of howlite he evidently sends out to Japan or somewhere for dying purposes. On one of the piles was a piece of what I'm pretty sure was youngite. I pointed at it and said did he need that as well, and he said "I bought these three baskets." So I pointed again and indicated that rock wasn't howlite. Did he want it? Again: "I bought these three baskets."
I left it at that.
So I dug through the piles and saw Hauser eggs, Lavic jaspers, a bunch of wishy washy agate that looked dug from the local deserts, a couple chunks of whale bone and a container of green jasperish stuff from Gem Hill near Rosamond. I grabbed some jasper nodules with very bright mossy interiors, a chunk of heavy blue copper ore material, and a large chunk of stone that seems to have thundereggs imbedded within - but it doesn't match either Thunderegg Matrix or Rainforest Jasper. There's a picture later.
When I came out from behind the house, the woman took me into the house (which had thinned out tremendously by then) and introduced me to the guy taking the money and a place where I could stash my stash if I still wanted to walk around. She said there was one more room with rocks.
Well, I was there so I dropped my load and pushed Pushed PUSHED my way into the room. Elbows and knees and hands and feet were everywhere. On the far side of the room was a table set up with mineral specimens and some agates. I was about ready to turn when one piece caught my eye. It was a piece of plume agate, fist sized, covered with chunky druzy. I picked it up, turned it over (the previous owner had glued 3 felt feet underneath so it would stand up on display) and analyzed the colors. Reddish short plumes leading up into a purplish mottled peak. Could it be what I thought it was? A piece from a dug-out site now in a wilderness area near Thumb Butte? Could it be paisley agate? COULD IT??!!!!!!! It wasn't Paul Bunyan, but there was an outside chance that it was Northern Cady, but those colors, they whispered to me 'Paisley'. I'll let you tell me if I'm wrong. Pictures follow below.
The check showed no price tag. I asked the woman in the corner and she said $15. Fine by me! If it was what I thought it was, then Whoopie!!!!!! Good Price. If it wasn't, then eh - I overpaid by $10. I'll live.
I then paid, and carried my materials down the block to where my car was parked. (I never knew estate sales could be so cut throat! I guess a lot of people go to fill their antique stores and sell stuff online.)
So, thank you for following me through the morning. That estate sale stuff is different then what I'm used to.
Here's the piles:
The labeled Vaquilla Agate
(got 6 or 7 slabs)
Tourmaline/Schorl specimens
A sample of the Alaskan agate
i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/rock%20sales/IMG_4043_zpsf0ec5dea.jpg
Burro Creek slabs and chunk
Lavic Slab
Unknown Slab (any idea?)
i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/rock%20sales/IMG_4048_zpsaa78a343.jpg
Large chunk of imbedded agates. (Idea?)
And finally Is it Paisley Agate?
Thanks for looking!
Lowell