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Hardrock69
02-22-2007, 09:12 AM
$2.48 in thrift shop buys U.S. icon worth a fortune

What's your most extravagant or unusual thrift store find? Click here to e-mail Ms. Cheap.

I've always wanted to write a column about some lucky so-and-so who went to a thrift store and bought a $2 item that turned out to be worth six figures.

And today is my big chance.


Meet Michael Sparks, a Nashville music equipment technician for Soundcheck Nashville. The rolled-up document he happened upon last March, which he paid less than $3 for, is a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence. It might well fetch a quarter-million — or more.

Sparks found the document at the Music City Thrift Shop on Gallatin Road. He thought it was interesting and took it to the store office to ask for a price. The clerk took out a grease pencil and marked $2.48 on a piece of wood attached to the top of the document, and Sparks walked out the door with it.

"I saw that it said 1823 and I knew that the dec laration was 1776, and I
was just interested. It also said 'by order of the government','' said Sparks, who immediately started researching the piece online and through local historical sources. He determined that his lucky $2.48 find was an "official copy'' of the Declaration of Independence — one of 200 copies commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1820, when Adams was secretary of state, and printed by William Stone in 1823.

$2.48 to yield vast return

"I'm told that it could go for between $200,000 and $300,000,'' said Sparks, who is preparing to sell his super find at auction next month through Raynors' Historical Collectible Auctions, a Burlington, N.C., auction house that specializes in historic documents.

Raynors' has Sparks' document listed on its Web site (www.hcaauctions.com) for the March 22 auction with a price range of $250,000-$350,000, with bidding opening at $125,000.

Authenticity not doubted

Bob Raynor, president of Raynors', said that when Sparks first sent him photographs of the 25- by 30-inch heavily shellacked Declaration, he was "about 70 percent confident. But when we quickly looked at it there was no question that it was authentic.

"The conserver (Etherington Conservation Services in Greensboro) had done three other Stone declarations, and we were able to measure" things such as the distance from letter to letter and the size of certain random letters, "and it conformed perfectly.''

Plus, Raynor (and the other folks I talked to about it — Wayne Moore at the Tennessee State Archives, Bryan Draper at Etherington) said the markings and the placement of Stone's name in the upper left corner, and of John Quincy Adams' name in the right corner, were the same as the other official copies.

So is it authentic?

"Yes,'' said Raynor. "Let me say it another way, 'This baby is good!' ''

Sparks, who says he was only mildly interested in early American history before his major thrifting moment, has become something of a Declaration buff over the past year: "John Quincy Adams had Mr. William Stone make a facsimile of the original Declaration,'' said Sparks, explaining that the 1776 document had deteriorated from so much handling and exposure to light that Adams saw a need to share exact copies of the document with all of the states and a number of public officials.

Sparks found out about Etherington and personally delivered the parchment to the company for a $4,000, four-month conservation job that entailed removing layers of shellac and working to bring the document back to its most pristine condition.

Declaration is best find

Sparks says he has been a thrift-store junkie for years, shopping two days a week most weeks at various stores around town. He looks mostly for sterling silver pieces and other collectibles and says his best finds until the Declaration were things like a Baccarat cat for $1.99 that he found was worth around $150 and a collectible Zippo table lighter that he paid $2 for and found was worth $700.

"I am a thrift-store junkie. It is an inexpensive hobby,'' he said, noting that he went back to Music City Thrift after his find to tell the management about his good fortune with the $2.48 Declaration.

Manager Kay Boner said she was glad to hear the news.

"We just didn't know what we had, and of course we would like to have gotten more, but it shows that you can find all kind of things in our store. That is what thrift shopping is. We love it when people find something really good. That's what attracts people to come in — they think they will find that fabulous deal. I am very happy for the guy,'' she said. "And he is so nice.''

Sparks is a tiny bit conflicted about selling the document. He has gotten pretty attached to it as he has learned more and more about it.

"I have friends who say, 'Why don't you just keep it'?'' he said. "I have fallen in love with it, but if I had $250,000 would I buy it? No.''

So, if it does sell for the huge amount he hopes, what will Sparks do with the money?

"I'll probably buy a brand-new used car, and maybe a brand-new guitar, you never know!''

Oh, and he plans to keep a little bit back to do some more thrift store shopping — "Nothing over $2.99, though!''


http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070222/COLUMNIST0401/702220390


Here is a .pdf copy of the auction catalog from the above web site:

http://www.hcaauctions.com/PDF/2007_03.PDF


And here is a short list of the highlighted items of the auction on March 22:

Upcoming Highlights in the March 22nd Raynors' Finest Auction.

Stone Copy of the Declaration of Independence; Commissioned in 1823 by then Secretary of State JQ Adams, and printed by William Stone. lot 043

Confederate General Leonidas Polk Archive lot 114

Letter Written by Andrew Jackson as President, February 1831, Discussing "the true reading of the Constitution." lot 047

1869 Letter Regarding the "capturing, or killing if necessary, Frank James and Jesse James, the murderers of John W. Sheets " lot 141

War-Date Robert E. Lee Letter Ordering a Naval Commander to Request a Vessel from General Ripley in Charleston lot 086

The Daily Richmond Examiner 1861-1865 - Enormous Newspaper Archive Of Over 800 Issues lot 081

Superb Slave Dealers Collection lot 051

George A. Custer Manuscript Document Signed Introducing a "Good Indian" lot 140

President Jefferson Davis Assures His Secretary of War of Lee's Plans lt 110

French and Indian War Recruiting Broadside lot 002

bueno bob
02-22-2007, 09:14 AM
Damn. Lucky son of a bitch!

Luckiest I ever got was to pick up an original 1965 hardback (not BOTM edition) copy of "Dune" in passable shape for $1.25, sold that on ebay for about $3500.00...

That trumps me!

Hardrock69
02-22-2007, 09:16 AM
Hey Bob I remember that! Lucky Bastid!
:D

bueno bob
02-22-2007, 09:19 AM
Ha ha!

:D

Seshmeister
02-22-2007, 10:26 AM
Originally posted by Hardrock69


Meet Michael Sparks, a Nashville music equipment technician for Soundcheck Nashville. The rolled-up document he happened upon last March, which he paid

Is this what they call roadies these days?:)

Wait till I tell my Fenestration Translucience Engineer that one. He's a nice guy my window cleaner.

Hardrock69
02-22-2007, 10:30 AM
Isn't that Kermit 'cleaning your window' in your avatar?

LoungeMachine
02-22-2007, 10:32 AM
"It's just a God-damn piece of paper"

- George W. Bush

Hardrock69
03-23-2007, 10:40 AM
THIS god-damn piece of paper sold for over $477,000! :eek:

Friday, 03/23/07
$477,650 bid wins thrift store bargain
Declaration of Independence copy cost $2.48

By MARY HANCE
Staff Writer

Going once, going twice — sold, for $477,650!

Yep, Nashvillian Michael Sparks' 1823 copy of the Declaration of Independence was truly as good as gold, attracting six bidders and topping out at the final price, which includes the bidder's premium.


"I'm shaking,'' an elated Sparks said moments after hearing the price his document commanded. "We are all just jumping up and down."

Sparks bought the rare Declaration at a Gallatin Road thrift store for $2.48.

"I need to get a piece of paper and figure it out with the tax and commission and all,'' said Sparks, who had been told that the 19th-century document probably would bring $250,000 to $350,000. He expects to get his check in 45 days.

"We're on the ceiling, baby,'' said Bob Raynor, of Raynors' Historical Collectible Auctions in Burlington, N.C. The auction house handled the sale of the document engraved by William Stone.

"I just called Michael, and he is rocking and rolling. There were six bidders, four over $200,000,'' he said.

Raynor said Sparks' portion would be $410,000, minus the negotiated commission to the auction house.

"This is a world record (price) for a Stone printing,'' said Raynor, explaining that the previous record was $390,000, including the bidder's premium.

The buyer pays 16.5 percent of the final price to the auction house. The seller also gives a commission to the auction house, which in Sparks' case was 12.5 percent of the sales price.

Print looked interesting

Sparks' find came almost a year ago at the Music City Thrift Store when he noticed a rolled-up document that he thought "looked interesting.''

He paid $2.48 plus tax and went home and started looking up information on the Declaration just in case it turned out to be more than a run-of-the-mill print of the 1776 document.

Sparks' preliminary research hinted that it was an authentic Stone engraving from 1823, and he pursued it with Etherington Conservation Services in Greensboro, N.C. Conservators spent four months on the document, removing layers of shellac and returning the document to a pristine state.

Sparks then engaged Raynors' to sell the document for him at auction.

Here's how it worked: Bidding on his Declaration started at $125,000 and was upped in increments of $5,000 until the $200,000 mark. Then increments were in $10,000 jumps.

The bidding was absentee, with 90 percent of the bids made by phone and 10 percent on the Internet. Prospective bidders had to register with Raynors' at least 24 hours in advance of the auction and provide bank information and references.

Sparks' Declaration was the No. 1 item in Raynors' 172-item auction Thursday. Other pieces on the block were a segment of Ben Franklin's lightning rod from 1770; a letter written by the governor of Missouri to a county sheriff authorizing him to form a posse to go after Jesse James; and a set of Confederate newspapers.

So what kind of people bid on Declarations of Independence? Bob Raynor says it's mostly individual collectors or investor/collectors. "The presumption is that it will never go down in value,'' he said. "There were two corporations interested. I could see it in a lobby of a patriotic company or a military-oriented company.''

Sparks' plans

Sparks, a music equipment technician, spends several hours most weeks browsing area thrift stores, looking mostly for sterling silver pieces and other collectibles. His best find before the Declaration was a $200 Baccarat cat that he got for $1.99 and a collectible Zippo table lighter that he snagged for $2 and found was worth about $700.

He says he had been trying not to get too excited about the auction, but he and his wife, Amy, did have a few ideas.

"I think I'll get a new used car — I want a two-year-old Crown Vic — for about $16,000, and my wife wants a sunroom. I'd like to give my parents some money. They are old and are living on Social Security. And I think I'll give some to my brothers and sister, depending on how much it is. I'd like to give some to Goodwill to help handicapped people and some to help the homeless.

"You think it is a huge fortune, but by the time you figure it up and put some off for the taxes it is not. It is not a huge fortune, but more like a small fortune.''

Either way, Sparks says it has been a great ride. "It is going to take a minute to sink in,'' he said.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070323/NEWS01/703230432

blueturk
03-23-2007, 05:18 PM
I bought a shitload of porn (about 500 mags and some old nude photos) for $100 about 6 months ago, and I've made over a grand so far with plenty of inventory left. But eBay's standards policies are hard to figure out sometimes....