Some stuff i found when working huricane catrina

[okie jack]

I started out 2 weeks after it hit working for fema but on my days off when i got them i cleaned out houses for people mosty for the ones that had insurance. Anyway i was cleaning out one huge home and the owner told me to throw it all out he just wanted to start over . I was about half way threw and found a coin collection it had 102 morgans including rare and very rare cc dates some rare halfs and quarters about 25 pounds of old junk silver american coins in a 5 gallon glass water jug and a bunch os old wooden carved mask. I tried to contact the guy but he never got back to me his wife just said keep them if you want for your last check . My last check was 250 for desposal charges at the dump.I think about it all the time as to why he did not want the coins if he just did not care about them no more or he inhearited them and did not know what they was worth to this day it still runs threw my head. I started collecting coins because of that and That was just one story i have from New Orleans . I will try and get around and post some pics and put a few more stories on here.

 

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[poftravel]

Super find, I buy/sell coins all the time if you need help selling them let me know!

 

[natepen]

Must be karma for ya. I'd love to see some pictures if you have some.

 

[bazinga]

Maybe he didn't want them back because the insurance company already paid him for them. It would be illegal for him to collect a huge check from them and then keep the coins as well.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

I could fill a small house with the things I found on scrap heaps or while gutting houses after Katrina, everything from tools to antiques, jewelry, coins, guns and even paper money. It was really wild seeing these things with a lot of value just tossed on the curb or in a dumpster.

 

[billjustbill]

Sometimes, things bring back heavy memories the owner would rather forget. In three summer garage sales, a year apart, the first thing I found and bought was a 14kt white gold wedding ring among some silver rings and marked $1.00 each. When the lady (an attorney from a sign inside her garage) was sacking them up, she looked up at me and said, "THAT silver ring had a life of its own..."

Another wedding band with a 10kt marking, was being sold in its velvet ring box. When I asked how much it was, the younger girl said: "OH, it was my FIRST Husbands wedding ring...so.... I'll take $10 for it."

The last one was a Heart-Stopper. In an upper income neighborhood, the garage sale was hosted by a couple that were selling some of his stuff and alot of her stuff and said they were both starting a second marriage and new life by moving to Dallas... The 35-40yr old lady had put all her old jewelry in triple-bagged thin sandwich baggies and tied a knot in the top. It was a mess to see through. As she came into the room and passed the large deep box of bagged jewelry, she happend to say that the ones marked "$12" had more Sterling in them. So..........I dug through the box and found seven baggies as she described. A larger chunk of cash than I usually spend, but I replayed the words in my head she had said, and I took the gamble.


When I got home, there were 99.9 silver rounds marked "Christmas 1997" and others, too. Silver rings, necklaces, and a broken 14kt yellow gold necklace were found in the various baggies. Maybe they all were a sign of memories attached to them, and she wanted to let go .... The smallest baggie of the bunch was the last one to be opened. Inside, among costume jewelry, was a 10kt yellow gold Tennis Bracelet with thirty-five 10pt. diamonds according to the local jeweler I took it to before the sun set that day. He said, "That's equal to a 3-1/2 carrat diamond bracelet." I actually felt light headed....

Not dumpster diving, but people let go of things for all kinds of reasons,

Bill