What antique have you found/discovered while scrapping?

First, let me give credit to SmokingMan regarding this thread. I saw his Brunswick phonograph and decided to ask a new poll question to pass the time.
What is the very best antique that you have discovered while scrapping? I know many of you have found several, but I think that all of the forum members might like to read about your discoveries and even the story behind them. Did you find and keep you favorite? Did you sell it for huge bucks? Did you take photos of your find?
I’m going to be honest here and tell you that I have not recovered anything super valuable, but my favorite is a simple pot metal bank. It is a replica of a 1908 Buick automobile that was part of a 1970’s giveaway by The Merchants Capital Bank in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It’s value is only 20 to 25 dollars, but I love it. I found it in a collapse shed that a local realtor asked if I could remove in exchange for whatever was underneath and all the household appliances. I’ll try to post a photo, but I usually have no luck with those.

I'd like to see a picture of that Buick! To me, saving an antique from a landfill is worth way more than any dollar figure. Preserving an item from somewhere in time. I've found a couple other things. Mainly old tools. Sold some, kept some. The day I found that phonograph, I also picked up two very old suitcases/trunks. I haven't researched them yet but they're probably from around the 1920s or 1930s. Haven't decided what to do with them yet. They're beat up but pretty cool looking. Reminds me of the kind you'd see on an old transatlantic boat from that era. They're pretty big. Maybe I'll start a thread about antiques I have and have restored or have been restored by others.

I think your idea about a thread with your restoration projects is a great idea!

Thanks, Patriot. I do miss my time in the Black Hills of both South Dakota and NE Wyoming where I taught for 16 years. But my summers as a park ranger were also very important to me. While I worked at Devils Tower, I had the pleasure of visiting and touring both national and state parks in six surrounding states. So my real treasures are those memories with my wife and kids there. Thanks again for the reminder that true value comes in all forms.

A family member recently inherited my grandmothers house and is in the process of cleaning it out. I saved 3 very nasty cast iron skillets from getting tossed in the trash. I know my grandmother used them and my great grandmother may have also.

I wish I had taken more pics of the cleaning process but I only took a few of the small one.

One thing I found out was if you ask 10 people how to clean and season a cast iron skillet, you will get 10 different answers.

I chose to make an electrolysis tank because I had everything I needed and it worked really well.

The first few pics are after about 6 hours in the tank and the last 2 is what the small one looked like after being seasoned twice.

I taught high school English in Hulett, Wyoming. During six summers, I worked as a seasonal interpretive ranger. I did evening fireside talks three nights a week, wrote and published Devils Tower: The Story Behind the Scenery, and wrote the park’s script for the visitor’s center film. I also worked security details for special visits like George Bush, Sr. Visit to Mount Rushmore. Great experiences, all.

toOnces2 and Patriot76. To say that I enjoy each thread you guys present would be a serious understatement. The time and effort you put into your projects and the corresponding threads are some that I find myself reading again and again, even as they approach 15-20 pages. I think that you should both be featured in shows like American Pickers or Black Dog Salvage.

I picked up a load of metal Friday and found some old ANGELUS book ends that date back to the 1920's. I believe they are bronze.

Last year at work I was sorting an aluminum gaylord next to a comrade at work who was sorting a brass gaylord and he found a lovely old menorah that my boss let me keep. Used it last year for Chanukah

Originally Posted by jimicrk

A family member recently inherited my grandmothers house and is in the process of cleaning it out. I saved 3 very nasty cast iron skillets from getting tossed in the trash. I know my grandmother used them and my great grandmother may have also.

I wish I had taken more pics of the cleaning process but I only took a few of the small one.

One thing I found out was if you ask 10 people how to clean and season a cast iron skillet, you will get 10 different answers.

I chose to make an electrolysis tank because I had everything I needed and it worked really well.

The first few pics are after about 6 hours in the tank and the last 2 is what the small one looked like after being seasoned twice.

It is because of you and this very post I bought 5 cast iron rusty pans for $2 for 4 and $1 for a big 11 1/2 Lodge pan. I put them on Facebook marketetplace and sold them for $30 (2 x $5 and 2 x $10). I am going to keep my eye out for cheaply cast iron pans from here on out!

Originally Posted by auminer

I don't guess that this is precisely an "antique", but similar live edge tables sell for $500 and up according to Google.

I found this one at CurbCo yesterday... the homeowner was outside and said that her kids keep injuring themselves on the sharp edges. Rather than rehome the rugrats, she decided to get rid of the table.

She was happy to see that it was going to be loved. Once we put the new flooring down, it'll be the living room coffee table.

Very nice Au..... I am jealous. How tall is it?

Au what a lovely find!

Outstanding clean up on the cast iron skillets!!