I bought a large lazy susan silver plated platter, but it was in awful shape showing copper though the badly worn places and marked $5. It was heavy and with a couple of leather straps added to the back side, one could have used it for a riot shield.... Oddly, its base was magnetic and had enough ball bearings to fill an 8" diameter trough and all held together with one large threaded stud and acorn nut. I took it apart and the curved eight sided platter weighed over 6lbs... I saw it stamped "silver over copper". It went to the scrapyard and brought me a tad over $16.00.
Sometimes I've put the heavier and pretty pieces through one or two of my own garage sales with a price above what scrap would bring.... I do this with solid brass or solid copper items, too. Some sold, some didn't. Decide what it means to you and then scrape a place on the bottom to see if the base metal is brass (about $1.80/lb) or #2 copper (about $2.70/lb).
I'd bet if you bought it right, you can double or triple your investment either way you go.
