2003 >> December >> Because I Cant Pass Up A Bargain  

Because I Can't Pass Up A Bargain...
by Judy Miller

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", December 2003, page 50

"Hi, I'm Judy Miller from St. Joseph's Ridge, Wisconsin. Here are some recent finds of mine. The two NATCO's CD 151's in peacock blue are finds from two different antique shop dealers. The rest were from flea markets.

"Over the last 13 years of collecting, my collection has swelled to many hundreds. The hunt for keepers is a constant quest, which I totally enjoy. My younger brother Randy Liebl is my inspiration for the interest I have in insulators. He is a long time Crown Jewels subscriber."

Recent finds shown in the picture Judy sent in include:

  • NATCO, CD 151, peacock blue, mint condition, paid $125.
  • AM Tel & Tel Co, CD 121, milk aqua, mint condition, paid $3.
  • NATCO, CD 151, peacock blue, good condition, paid $150.
  • B, CD 145, dark olive green, mint, paid $3.
  • No name Canadian CD 145, yellow color, mint, paid $3.
  • Yellow porcelain, mint, paid $3. 
  • US Tel Co, CD 121, olive green, mint, paid $6.
  • Porcelain Macomb, marked on middle section, paid $7.

Judy writes, "Because I can't pass up a bargain, I also have many, many porcelains in several colors: sky blue, cobalt, butterscotch, black and all kinds of brown." 

Imagine finding a mint NATCO in peacock blue in an antique shop for $125! Way to go, Judy.

In the November issue, Crown Jewels reported on a couple of other finds. Here's some follow up information. Mike McGuire told the story of finding ten citrine colored McLaughlin CD 164's in an antique shop, but only purchased one of them. I thought Mike would have been inundated with phone calls from CJ readers asking where that shop was located. But Mike reported that by mid-November no one had called at all. But that's ok. Mike says he tried to return to the shop himself, but it had closed down and gone out of business.

Another treasure hunting story reported in the November issue told of the discovery of a scarce California CD 134 in October. It was made available at the recent Canyonville bottle and insulator show. The owner was offered a deep amethyst California CD 260 in a straight across trade for it. (The helmet had a sizeable inner skirt chip.) But the owner needed spending money and ended up selling the California CD 134 for $250 cash plus some trade. 

What exciting discoveries have you made lately? Please send us your story and pictures.     

Thanks, 
Howard & Linda



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