Thursday, July 14, 2011

It Is A Good Time to Clean Out Your Jewelry Box

     We had an interesting "date night" last night. We made a trip to Centralia, Illinois which is about an hour from us. Centralia is one of those towns in South Central Illinois that I've always heard of, but I'd never been there. So, why would we pick a small town an hour away to go to dinner on a Wednesday night? We went, because I cleaned out my jewelry box!

     During the process of sorting through things at my in-law's home, my husband and his sister found some old coins tucked behind paint cans in the garage. This really wasn't a good idea on my father-in-law's part...we almost missed finding them. My sister-in-law took them to a local jewelry store and they bought them. It was at that moment I started paying attention to the prices of gold and silver right now. We also had some blue books of coins in the auction on Saturday and as we watched a few books of dimes, quarters etc. (face value-not much) sell for over $200, my wheels started spinning. You see, I worked in a bank many years ago. On the rare occasion a silver dime or half dollar would pass my way, I'd buy it and throw it in a bank bag at home. I knew there wasn't much money in that bag, but I wasn't sure what I had. I hadn't looked at it since the early 80's. I also decided it was a good time to dig out some of those silver chain necklaces that I also hadn't worn since the 80's. Throw in a couple of old gold crowns, a couple random sterling spoons and off we went to visit Centralia Coin, Stamp Etc.




     When researching where to take our small little bag of treasures, I found Dan and Blake Griffin's website. I knew that I wanted to find someone who had been in business a long time. Locally, we have a few of those "We buy Gold and Silver" places, but that wasn't going to work for me. I like dealing with people I can trust, even if we aren't talking about a lot of money. The Griffins didn't disappoint us. They are both friendly, informative and they know what they are talking about. They made us feel very comfortable and they not only answered questions about our silver, they answered questions about the town and sent us to a great place for dinner. I highly recommend making the trip to see them if you live anywhere in the area.

     So, I'm sure you are wondering if we made enough money to pay for the gas and dinner. Our trip was absolutely worth our while. For example, 2 old gold crowns...$75. I'd forgotten the dentist sent me home with them years ago. Six silver chains, 2 bracelets and 2 spoons...$144. The silver coin was paying over 20 times the dollar amount. So, if you have $10 in silver coins...you will come home right now with over $200. I had done my homework and I knew the actual value of the coin I had and I knew that we would be offered less because they have to be able to make a profit. I had a figure in mind that I thought would be fair to both of us and they were exactly where I thought they should be.

     While in Centralia, a little town of 13,000 located in 4 different counties in Illinois, we took a little time to explore. The Griffins told us to make sure we took a drive by the Centralia Recreation Complex. What an impressive 60,000 square ft. facility for such a small town.


     We also drove past the Centralia Carillon (the 8th largest Carillon in the world). They have weekly concerts and their Carillonist is from the Netherlands.


     We had dinner at Jerry's Corner Grill & Bar and it was great! This is one of those places that we would have never found if the Griffins hadn't sent us there. In fact, I probably would have driven by if I did see it. It is a slightly dark place, with blue twinkle lights covering the ceiling. Our waitress said she had been working there for 29 years and that they had been open for 40 years. Evidently they are famous for their steaks, but the menu also had Asian, Mexican and Seafood. I had a Lo Mein dish that was delicious and my husband ordered the chicken strip dinner. It came with homemade soup, the best and largest dinner salad I've ever seen with homemade dressing and 5 huge pieces of chicken and fries. His chicken may have been the best I've ever tasted. Needless to say, we brought part of our dinner home.


     So, if you find yourself with a few silver chains and coins...hungry...and interested in exploring an old railroad town-make your way to Centralia, Illinois. You might just be as surprised with what you see as we were!

14 comments:

Flo @ Butterfly Quilting said...

Sounds like a great adventure! And after spending days cleaning out my mothers house..maybe I should start sorting through my stuff now too!

Glenda/MidSouth said...

You did good ! :D I have a few pieces I might take somewhere, but need to find a reputable place. I did not realize the price of silver had gone up that much.

Barbara F. said...

You did very well,Sue. I also have cleaned out my jewelry box and occasionally find a piece to sell off. I had a bag of coins but I was only given face value, claimed they were not pure silver or gold. I still think something wasn't right about that! xo,

Unknown said...

What a nice surprise for you, Sue. Yes, the market is right & I need to quit procrastinating.
Happy PS weekend ~
TTFN ~
Marydon

Blondie's Journal said...

Good for you, Sue! This trip was definitely worth your time. I have heard of Centraila but have never been there. Now I need to have a look at my jewelry box!! I'm glad you had such a nice time!

XO,
Jane

Marigene said...

What a nice day out, plus you came home a little wealthier!

Duta said...

I wouldn"t advise to sell the gold/silver pieces now, unless one really needs the money. Gold and silver are the future (not the paper money), and it will be worth much more in a few years.

However, in your particular case it seems you got yourself a fair deal, and a very enjoyable trip - so it was all worth.

Jenny said...

Wow. How cool! I'd totally visit there...but not to sell anything...just so we could meet up for dinner!

Patrice said...

Hmmm, guess I'll be digging through my old jewelry this weekend. I wish I had saved my old engagement ring till now...

xinex said...

Sounds like fun and was a successful trip, Sue. I should take my dollar and half dollar coins. I wonder how much they are valued at. Do they buy broken gold chains too? I have a lot of them....Christine

Terri Smith said...

Gosh Sue, What An Interesting Post! Sure Have An Interest Now In Cleaning Out My Jewelry Box! Sounds As If You Truly enjoyed Your Journey And On Top Of Wanting To See If I've Got Anything Worth Selling, I've Got A Sudden Urge To Merge With Some Good Old Fashioned Fried Chicken. :D Thanks So Much For Visiting Earlier. It Was Great Seeing You Again After So Long. xoTerri

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

You did good Sue! I should check out and see if we have anything like that around!
Reading your posts always make me nostalgic for central Illinois where I grew up.
Hugs and stay cool the next few days sound awfully hot!
Hugs,
Cindy

Pat@Back Porch Musings said...

We did this with gold last year. Stuff that had been in the bottom of drawers etc for years. We made enough to help with our Chateau on the Lake trip, last Fall. That was nice.

koralee said...

Good for you! xoxo