A savvy thrifter has made a “very tidy profit” on a silver jug that looks very simple – and they have also revealed what people need to look for to bag a bargain
A thrifting expert who bought an ordinary silver jug for £1.50 has made a very significant profit – after spotting an innocuous symbol on the bottom of the item.
Nick Sady is a professional thrifter who has always been a huge fan of Antiques Roadshow. He has been turning handsome profits on seemingly everyday items since his first memorable find, which was a 1956 Superman board game that he discovered in a rubbish pile.
Savvy Nick, who buys and sells mostly on eBay and attributes his keen eye to his parents, has been looking for anything silver – each time checking a particular area for a key indicator of its value.
Explaining what turns everyday silver items into things of value, Nick said: “I’m looking for Hallmarks. In this case, the all-important lion with a raised paw that indicates a piece is Sterling silver.”
Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver which means it is classed as a precious metal and gives it intrinsic melt value. Sterling silver pieces can also garner extra value depending on the brand, rarity, age, design and craftsmanship.
Nick admitted that in “99%” of cases when he flips over a silver item in a thrift store it’s usually made from silver plate, which doesn’t hold as much value. But this silver jug was different and the lion symbol indicated it was Sterling 925.
He said: “A $3 [£1.50] buy like this is also a learning opportunity. I can take it home, research it, learn hallmarks and build my own knowledge.
“My knowledge of the art world is far more extensive than it’s ever been because of the research I do on the things I find.”
Eventually Nick was able to sell the jug on for £250 [$500] which he described as a “very tidy profit”. It’s far from the only bargain buy that Nick has found over the years.
He told Newsweek: “A few years ago I found a Sterling giraffe sculpture made by a renowned South African artist for $3 [£1.50] that I sold for $1,700 [£848].
“Most recently I picked up two antique, painted porcelain plaques for $6 [£3] each that sold for around $2,000 [£998].”
