Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Maybe my Coolest Craigslist Find Ever!

This could be it.  This could be my find of all finds.



In fact, maybe I should retire from my Craigslist hunting career now so I can go out in a burst of glory!  



I mentioned in my last post that I had scored a couple of very cool things on Craigslist, and this is the coolest of all.




When I answered the ad for the coffee table that I'm redoing for my living room, the seller showed me a couple of other items they had.  I've already told you about the washstand they gave me for free.



I had never seen one of these before. It has it's original finish, has all of it's parts except for the glass tray--and it still works. I checked the emblem number, and it's the real deal.



Have you figured out what it is yet?



The seller knew the value of the piece, because he told me there was one just like it on Ebay.  They just wanted to get rid of it because they were downsizing and trying to get out of house.  The realtor didn't want it in the staging.



It's a Standard Computing Scale -- used in country stores to weigh hardware, etc. back in the day. 

Like the day in 1911.

I did some research on it, and found out that the Standard Computing Company in Detroit was established in 1889 and continued manufacturing these scales until 1929. It's designed so you can read the weight from both the front and back. 

The seller told me the one he saw on Ebay was bid at $370.  I checked Ebay and found this current listing for $525.  The only difference is mine does not have the original glass tray, and the last patent on mine is from 1911, not 1917. 

I got it for $75.



I really have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but I just loved it and just couldn't pass it up.  Especially at that price!  It's a great display piece and would be perfect in a store or a barn sale environment. I'd like to keep it if I can figure out the right place for it.  If not, I'll sell it.

But for now it's probably my favorite Craigslist find ever! 






Sharing at:

Southern Hospitality: Thrifty Treasures Party
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday



3 comments:

  1. You cannot retire now - you're too lucky -
    What an awesome find!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a shining example of why Craig's List is my FAVORITE store!! What a great find, Deb!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great find. At first I thought it was marine hardware. Thank you for the research.

    ReplyDelete

I LOVE comments! Thank-you so much for taking the time to visit my blog and to write a note. Please make sure your email is on your profile if you would like a reply.

-Deborah