mcjane
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posted on November 21, 2002 12:30:43 AM new
I remember reading an artical in Reader Digest about an amazing find.
This family bought an old house, it had a leaky roof that damaged some of the inside walls badly enough that many had to be replaced. When they started to tear some down they noticed old movie posters inside.
The previous owner worked at the local movie house, Movie posters in those early days were printed on thick heavy backing so instead of throwing them away he brought them home & used them to insulate his house. Many of the posters were the only ones known to exist and there were hundreds of posters in layers found in the walls.
The family became instant millionairs.
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grayfurey
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posted on November 21, 2002 05:08:47 AM new
Final bid $19,300.
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tooltimes
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posted on November 21, 2002 05:15:39 AM new
I don't think it would've been a good idea to try to snipe this auction if a buyer really wanted the can. This can is must be a holy grail quality collectible and the buyers must decide the absolute maximum they are willing to give for the can and proxy bid that amount. If the buyer loses then he loses but a computer glitch won't screw him out of a very rare item for his collection.
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lowprofile
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posted on November 21, 2002 08:29:41 AM new
I saw a show on TV that showed those people with the movie posters...there whole house was covered with them in the walls...they made a ton..
I also remember seeing someone on the Antiques Roadshow bring in a old spanish helmut. These people bought a house and this old helmut was stuck up in the Rafters of the attic...turned out it was very old and very rare...worth something like 2mil!
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mcjane
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posted on November 21, 2002 01:48:33 PM new
I remember that helmut too, found in Philadelphia & once again up in the rafters!
The lady said she cleaned it up with Windex.
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lowprofile
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posted on November 21, 2002 03:11:43 PM new
I think I am going to start a company that does free rafter inspections on old homes!
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inot
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posted on November 21, 2002 07:15:27 PM new
I saw that episode of "The Antiques Roadshow". I live in Philadelphia...that Helmet appraisal turned out to be a hoax. The appraisers who gave the helmet appraisal had been scamming many people in the area. They were very high end dealers too, in an old money area. There was an under cover investigation into their business practices, after they scammed a relative of an important civil war hero from Brandywine, Pa. out of many civil war artifacts. It was big news here.
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mjh2
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posted on November 21, 2002 08:24:25 PM new
My understanding of its value is that this particular model and make is perfect for smashing on your forehead, which accounts for their rarity.
The winner will take it to the next world beer can forehead smashing competition to show off. Beer can forehead smashing groupies love that kind of stuff--"yeah, I layed that guy," is all you hear for the week following the event.
It's sort of like the wine collectors who buy a 20K bottle of wine, only to rip the cork out and drink it up on the spot. The really cool ones sniff afterwards and complain that it was a bit acidic, but the bouquet alone was worth the swallow--same with the groupies.
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mcjane
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posted on November 21, 2002 10:27:26 PM new
inot
The Philadelphia Inquirer magazine, that comes with the Sunday paper, ran quite a article about the antique dealers from Bryn Mawr, PA that scammed a family out of several articles that once belonged to a civil war general that was a relative of theirs. They were the same dealers that appraised, on the Antique Roadshow, what was later know as the Watermelon Sword, also said to be found in the attic rafters! Remember, the "owner" said he once used it to slice a watermelon. Turned out the story was a fake. The antique dealers owned the sword & had a friend appear on the show with the "made up" story
I have never heard the helmet was fake & there was no mention of it in the article. It was appraised at 500.000. What it later sold for, I have no idea. I believe that might have been genuine.
The antique dealers were found out, fined and had to make restitution to the family that owned the civil war articles. Nice to hear someone got their money back.
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tooltimes
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posted on November 21, 2002 11:17:46 PM new
Here's a web news story link about the 'watermelon sword'.
http://tinyurl.com/2x64
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inot
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posted on November 22, 2002 07:44:11 AM new
McJane, my memory is'nt what it used to be! I could'nt remember the names of those dealers featured in that article, and I probably got 2 stories mixed up, but I know I read about that helmet being a "set-up" appraisal in an article about the Roadshow. It's funny, because when I first saw that episode, I DO remember thinking that the lady who supposedly owned the helmet was very subdued for someone who had just been told she found half a million dollars in her attic. In the article it even mentioned how she had been prompted to mention the Windex cleaning...I dunno! Another Urban Legend perhaps??
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computerboy
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posted on November 22, 2002 08:17:45 AM new
There's no such thing as tax free.
The seller will have to declare the funds as personal income.
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sanmar
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posted on November 22, 2002 08:35:02 AM new
This is absolutely astounding!! That can has to be the most expensive beer can in history. According to the tale in the TOS, he found the can in the eaves of his barn. Anything is possible. I have a pint whisky bottle dated 1928 that I found several years ago in the attic of my garage. This was about the time the house & garage were built by a well to do vet. who was also a heavy drinker.
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mcjane
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posted on November 22, 2002 10:59:36 PM new
inot
I never heard that, that helmet was a put-up, but I am thinking that the owner was from Philadelphia & she had that "cute" little story about cleaning it with Windex. And you are so right about her reaction to finding something worth half a million as rather ho-hum.
The two stories, Watermelon Sword & the Parade Helmet are very similar, also both items came from the from the Philadelphia area & the appraiser was probably the sword appraiser's partner.
After thinking over both stories, I'm sure you are right, in fact I know your right.
tooltimes Thanks for that link.
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docadoodle
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posted on November 23, 2002 09:50:42 AM new
She just posted glowing feedback for the buyer, so it is definitely legit.
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Dejapooh
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posted on November 25, 2002 01:46:51 PM new
I wonder if he paid by paypal. Nice bit of fees if he did...
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robertsmithson
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posted on November 25, 2002 02:33:16 PM new
From the PP Help pages ---
Making Payments - Limits
What is PayPal's transaction limit?
To protect the integrity of our payments network, the maximum dollar amount for any single transaction is $10,000.
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Dejapooh
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posted on November 26, 2002 02:52:04 PM new
Send $10000 twice...
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Reamond
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posted on November 26, 2002 02:55:45 PM new
I wonder if this sale was for real.
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robertsmithson
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posted on November 26, 2002 03:36:48 PM new
I wonder how many very high dollar deals are ended early to escape ebay fees and possibly IRS scrutiny.
Everyone makes out but ebay.  The seller is going to not have to pay ebay a big FVF and maybe income taxes on the windfall so there is incentive to end the auction early on his part. The buyer can guarantee the purchase of the item if the auction ends early so there is his incentive.
On the downside, the seller will never really know what the item would have gone for if the auction was allowed to continue.
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roadieken
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posted on November 26, 2002 03:59:12 PM new
Well, the seller has left feedback for the buyer!
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sparkz
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posted on November 26, 2002 08:32:29 PM new
Once the bid hit $10,000.00 the I.R.S. is automatically in the loop because of bank reporting requirements. Unless of course, the buyer happens to deal strictly in cash, in which case there may be other law enforcement agencies watching his every move. As far as avoiding Ebay fees, they are just a drop in the bucket compared to what the seller could potentially lose in the form of a higher closing price by ending the auction early. I have never ended an auction early, but in every single instance that I have been asked to, the final price was substantially more than what the bottomfeeder offered.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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