MXT pays for itself (and then some)..... Lucky Day!!! (nice surprise-update

Silver Surfer

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Oct 6, 2009
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Hey all..... Just got back from another week at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.... I had one day (last thursday) with no appointments, so I figured I would try out some of the local parks... I found one about 7 miles from the motel and it was a tot-lot next to a school. Regular tot-lot, medium sized, and an adjacent Basketball court along side of it.. I have been making a point lately of hitting the areas of tot-lot's away from the heavy traffic/play areas, as so many of the lots I hit lately seem to have been picked clean right around the play areas. This has paid off on several trips as nothing is found in the usual areas, but I find stuff on the perimeter and even around the bench's where moms sit and watch..
I hadnt gone ten feet into the area when the MXT went off with a scattered but strong signal, bouncing back and forth between nickel/ring range and 1 cent/10 cent range... Usually this finds a disfigured or rusty bottle cap, but I am keeping to my promise to dig everything... It says the object is 8" down, so I start digging.. Nothing in the hole, nothing in the pile of chips/dirt next to the hole.. Sweep again and it says it is still in the hole.. I take the pinpointer out and probe the hole, and on the inside of the hole at about 7" it goes off... So I take the lesche and dig away at the side a bit and when the dirt falls, there it is.. Another silver chain!!! Man oh man, how can I be so lucky?!? So I grab it, and pick away at the dirt as I pull... Out she comes and it is a lovely 24" silver chain!! Man I am so pumped... Put it deep in my pocket so I dont lose it, and continue to work the lot... The first pic is of the rest of the stuff I found, the big earrings look like gold, but I cannot find stamps on them anywhere so they cant be... But man, when I saw them shining down in the holes at first, I was simply dumbfounded at my streak of good luck... As a side note, the area I was hunting was NOT in a good area of Jax... I found 2 .32 loaded bullets, and one .38 cal deformed bullet that had obviously been shot into the dirt.. GULP... Ended up with $4.38 in clad at this spot also, which was a bonus..... Now back to the necklace...
I get back to the motel, of course I am so excited to tell the wife about the necklace.. But first I wash it off.. Didnt look right, but oh well, it may have tinted due to the tannin in the wood chips or something. After I show the wife the other stuff I found and the clad, I then pull the chain out of my pocket and proudly show her "look, another silver chain!"... She of course was happy, but as I handed it to her, she says "this one must be thicker than the other one you found, it feels heavier".... Oh man, I suddenly feel a lump in my throat, thinking that maybe I simply found a cheap chain that is silver plated... "I never looked for the .925 mark, I guess I should before I get too excited"... I pull out the mag glass, and nervously look at the clasp.... WHAT?!?!?!? Yes, you guessed it, "ITALY 14K".... OMG, I couldnt believe it! The MXT had just more than twice paid for itself!!!
Just got back home last night, and first thing I did was weigh it... 43.89 gms!
I have to wonder how people lose things like that. The clasp is not broken, but has a slight gap in it, just enough for the other side to slip through if you move it just right.. I guess someone was running or such and as it bounced around, it fell off.... Maybe someone running from a bullet?? LOL...

Enjoy the pictures folks, I am still grinning from ear to ear... Of course, with the med bills I have and such, it will have to go to the gold buyers, either midwest or ARAgold... Leaning toward ARAgold though...

First pic is of the odd's and ends jewelry, then the whole chain, then the clasp that says it all....
 

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TORRERO

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Re: MXT pays for itself (and then some)..... Lucky Day!!!

GibH said:
I found a chain stamped 14K, but it was in brackish water, the plating was worn off in several places so it was easy to spot. Eventually I think I will have to invest in one of those Mizar electronic gold testers. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Boy those are really expensive.
and are you sure they work ?
 

GibH

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Re: MXT pays for itself (and then some)..... Lucky Day!!!

TORRERO said:
Boy those are really expensive.
and are you sure they work ?

I guess I'll have to spend the 88 bux they want for it on feebay to find out. They have a more expensive one that tests all the way up to 24K, but the 18k one will work fine for what I need.
 

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Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer

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Re: MXT pays for itself (and then some)..... Lucky Day!!!

Finally got ahold of the folks at ARA, he told me the pennyweight of my gold, then said the check was $121.00.... I asked him about the necklace and said "I guess it wasnt gold?" and he said "what necklace?, I will have to look into that" as I told him if it was silver I would want it back if possible. He said the dissolve everything in acid, but if it was silver, they would pay me for it...
I guess you guys were right, and I am pretty embarrassed. I will not make that mistake again.. Gold tester is on the way to me.
Man, I was so thrilled when I found that... Dirty basturds that sell that crap ought to be hung by one of their fake chains... LOL..
 

Bigcypresshunter

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Re: MXT pays for itself (and then some)..... Lucky Day!!!

You could have had it tested at any pawn shop.
 

Chaz

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Aug 3, 2007
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Re: MXT pays for itself (and then some)..... Lucky Day!!!

Sorry to hear that it was not as we all hoped it would be. I know it is a real let down- all that time waiting, hoping for a big check, then diddly squat. I was disappointed when I sent mine in to get nothing in return. So, it would seem that the things to look for on a large chain would be: 14k stamp on the clasp, and maybe both ends of the chain, a hallmark in addition to the 14k stamp. The heavy weight can be ignored, as that doesn't indicate gold. Anyone else have good pointers to a 'real' chain? No point in sending fake ones in to recycle and loosing the money on insurance and postage... Live and learn, hopefully the next one is real! Your hitting the right area anyway...
 

TORRERO

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Re: MXT pays for itself (and then some)..... Lucky Day!!!

Silver Surfer said:
Finally got ahold of the folks at ARA, he told me the pennyweight of my gold, then said the check was $121.00....

WOW ! ! !
When Gold is selling for $1150 an Ounce you must have only sent in a few PINKY RINGS
to have gotten $121.00 ....
I had a class ring that was big, and when 14k and when gold was $850 I was offered $350
for it for Gold weight...
What did you send besides the gold chain.. ?
And I don't buy the story of "We throw everything in Acid so we don't return anything"
I have to believe they test everything and then seperate it out and then melt it down...
I don't know...
 

jeff of pa

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Re: MXT pays for itself (and then some)..... Lucky Day!!!

I'm Confused.

Chain says 14K Italy

Is somone saying it is Fake ?

Possably trying to Rip You ?
 

Chicago Ron

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Re: MXT pays for itself (and then some)..... Lucky Day!!!

great find! :coffee2: Congrats! :hello2: I use to do the tot lots with my mxt then i got an explorer an started looking for deeper coins. I might have to go back for another shot! :headbang:LOL
 

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Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer

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Re: MXT pays for itself (and then some)..... Lucky Day!!!

artzstuff1 said:
I simply dont trust any of those kooks that buy scrap metals!!! there all a bunch of thieves in my books!!

arthur
I would think that if these guys were crooks, they wouldnt have been in business for as long as they have been... Probably have to keep pretty good paperwork too..
They had no idea I hadnt tested it, you really think they would take the chance? He told me that nothing should be sent in without having it tested first, after I asked him about it and whether it was gold plated silver or not..

Besides the necklace, I had only sent in one mans wedding band (14k), a tiny Pooh charm (10k), and a small heart pendant (10k)... That is why the low amount.. Had I known the necklace was a fake, I wouldnt have bothered with the other stuff just yet..
 

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Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer

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Although I am sad that the necklace was bogus, I had a nice surprise yesterday when my gold tester arrived. I found that one of the earrings that I also found in that tot lot (with the necklace), although it wasnt marked (that I can find), it tested 14k... That is pretty good for such a large earring.. The real one is the one on the left, the one on the right doesnt even test as gold plate, althought the part that goes thru the ear tested solid 14k also, so I broke that off and added it to my cache of gold stuff...
 

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TORRERO

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although the part that goes thru the ear tested solid 14k also, so I broke that off and added it to my cache of gold stuff...

I'm not so sure this is all that unusual because many women are allergic to metals in their ears
and all but real Gold will turn the ear green or cause a reaction of sorts.
So they can list it as gold and it not be gold but make the post Gold, and then if some unsuspecting
person buys it they will not have a reaction...

My wife will not wear silver, or plated because she says she has a reaction to anything but real GOLD !!!
 

2bits

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Torrero,
Your wife sounds like a woman who knows what she wants. :icon_thumright:That be gold!
Pagosa Pete
 

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Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer

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mickk said:
I love the man in the moon ear ring. Do you want to sell it?
Darn, I would have just given it to you... The part that goes thru the ear was gold, so I broke that off... It also was caved in on the other side (It's hollow), so dont know if you would have wanted it anyway... If you still do, with the damage done to it, let me know, it's yours...
 

Moonshadow

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Wow.....That was a heart breaker! I surely would have had it tested first and I don't trust those "mail it in" dealers at all! I want to watch my stuff being weighed and tested right on the spot! Sorry you got taken.....maybe you will get lucky again sometime!

HH,
Moon
 

U

umrgolf

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Moonshadow said:
Wow.....That was a heart breaker! I surely would have had it tested first and I don't trust those "mail it in" dealers at all! I want to watch my stuff being weighed and tested right on the spot! Sorry you got taken.....maybe you will get lucky again sometime!

HH,
Moon

I HIGHLY doubt he was taken.. As the author himself said, he would find it very hard for a reputable dealer to "steal" real gold. How would they have any way to know he didn't test it before he sent it in?
 

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