The other weekend, we were out exploring towns, and I came across a local coin shop. While I rarely find great treasures in coin shops, I do often check them out because you never know. Coin dealers are often attracted to buying the odd bits of historical memorabilia, so you never quite know what you will find.
In this case, the shop had a nice selection of jewelry, and my wife and daughters wanted to check out the pieces to see what might be found. At the back of the shop was a glass case filled with the owner’s museum treasures. They were an odd aggregate of items spanning from Nazi daggers to an amazing oversize trade sign. Nothing was for sale, but it was interesting to see.
As I was waiting to see the jewelry that was being discovered by my wife, I looked behind the counter to see a large pile of boxes labeled “scrap for sale” with the current day’s silver price on it.
I asked about it, and inside the boxes was an amazing amalgam of silver. Most of it was old wedding present silver from the 1960s. Low and high candlesticks that were pretty battered. The sticks were all snapped apart to separate out the cement weighted bases so that the silver could be weighed accurately. Then there were the ubiquitous mismatched salt and peppers along with creamers (but no sugars). And, of course, my favorite and yours, the revere bowls. How many were made and how many were given as wedding presents? My parents got them, and I got one when I was first married. But at the bottom of the silver was the treasure, an early Kirk bowl. I held my breath and asked the price. Out came the scale and the calculator, and the price was right!
I find it always important to remember that great treasures are where you find them. Sometimes it is the junk shop and sometimes the coin dealer. The trick is to know your items and be prepared to pay the price. It is also about not being greedy. We found our discovery and paid the price. We will go back to the store and perhaps make other purchases. I did not push the seller but was happy with what we found.
As collectors, we always hope for that great discovery, or at least a bunch of little discoveries that add up to a great one. It’s part of the hunt that we all enjoy.
As I was showing my daughter how to polish silver ( a la Aunt Polly’s fence), I did get to thinking about such discoveries. How this bowl moved from Baltimore to wedding gift to scrap purchase to scrap pile now back to a home. The lives of the objects that we love are truly amazing. Hopefully, the bowl that almost got scrapped will now go on for generations as a treasure and heirloom in our family.

Peter Seibert, a native Pennsylvanian, grew up in the antiques business and remains closely tied to auction houses, collectors, and dealers. Professionally, he has served as a museum director and public historian in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Virginia, and Wyoming. He holds a Master of Arts in American Studies from Penn State and has authored two books and numerous articles on decorative arts, interior design, and history.