Over the holidays, I visited my mom in Cleveland, and one day, I got to looking at the stuff in her China cabinet.
It's just a mish-mash of old items.... to me, it looked like junk. I started asking her about everything and why she was keeping those things.
The reasons were sentimental... they were gifts people had given her or hand-me-downs from my grandmother. She insisted some of it was valuable.
I didn't really believe her, so I suggested we try to find out online. I found a website of a woman who does appraisals. You take pics of your stuff, fill out a form and send it in, and if she thinks it's worth over $59, you pay that amount and you get a report.
So, I submitted a glass punch bowl and matching cups my mom has. I got an email back, telling me that yes, it's worth more than $59. I was still skeptical but my curiosity got the best of me, so I paid the fee.
I then got a detailed report back that the punch bowl and glasses are worth about $195 and should sell for $250! I'm ready to tell my mother to take pics of all the rest of the stuff and see if anything else is valuable.
The moral of the story.... you just never know!
Here are pics of the punch bowl and glasses.