*

When I’m out hunting for items, people will come up and ask me what I do and how can they do it. If I like their energy and them as a person, I’ll take them under my wing and mentor them. They can send me texts descriptions of items they’re thinking of buying and I’ll walk them through it – tell them what to look for on a particular piece or lot.

One woman I work with recently found a cardboard box full of English sterling. An almost complete tea service for $20. I weighed it and it came to 1800 grams. So, right there, it’s worth $800 just to melt it. The set had an elaborate coat of arms engraved on it. So, she has her work cut out for her to find out who the family was. Maybe a rich family member will want to buy it back. For a nice profit.

One guy I work with found a nice painting for $30 and flipped it for $300. He’s primarily a used book dealer and he keeps trying to show me that side of the business. But I have no desire dealing with his reseller, Amazon. This same guy was the first buyer at a North Shore sale and got a handful of gold jewelry for a hundred (or so) dollars. Some will be melted straight away and some will be auctioned in a few weeks. He told me he’ll buy me lunch for helping him out.

Some dealers hate that I help people out. Sure, I get beat once in a while by the people I help out but I don’t mind. There’s plenty to go around, and I was helped out when I first started.

Bob Adams has been in Somerville 27 years but was a frequent visitor prior to moving here. He worked as a jeweler in a few shops in his younger years, owned his own shop for a bit, sold real estate for 10 years and is always hunting for his next treasure. He has been an antique and collectibles dealer for 30 years. He can be reached at 27winter@gmail.com. Visit his website at www.Somerville.com.