Look for the Silver Lining : Adventures in the Antique Silver Market...April - November, 2016 (ePub)

I have been interested in antique silver most of my life. Unfortunately, when I was young I had no good place to see antique silver, nor did I the means for purchasing what I already admired. This unsatisfactory state went on for some years. As when I lived in London, I used to go look in the shop windows at Garrard's... the silversmith which made the Sovereign's baubles.
I made a vow to myself. I would never go into this establishment unless and until I had the funds to buy something suitable. I kept this promise.
And so I became a window watcher. also when I lived in London I had everyday to pass the Silver Vaults.Just passing by the windows of this astonishing establishment, I caught myself in an audible intake of breath.
My serious work in silver began in New York at Sotheby's. They treated me like the czar of all the Russias.
The folks at Sotheby's were focused and attentive, answering questions not already asked but necessary, and not doing anything which would draw attention to my ignorance of this glorious matter.
Now, since those earlier days, when I made my first major purchase and which I shall always regard as a red letter day in my life. I have without having big league money, challenged the big leaguers with the big bucks. They could spend their way to glory. I had to think about every penny and where it was best expended and how I should use it for maximum effect.
I am glad that it worked out that way. Now every foray into the antique silver market meant homework, and questioning the experts.. In short order, I was something of an expert myself.
This book, "Look for the Silver Lining", is a snapshot of a few months of my silver purchase activities in the year 2016. You will see that I tell you more than what I gained; I tell you why. And I tell you something else that no one else ever tells you: what I lost, and what I did to ensure that I learned the most from every episode, and spent the absolute minimum. You see, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had to buy it at auction! And you can be sure that I got just the price I wanted to pay.