Day 96 - Assorted Shells (Throw) and Day 97 - Four Gallon Mason Jar (Hopefully Sell!)

Keeping it short so that I can get caught up soon.  The Drama Queen is beginning work on a school project where she gets to choose a president to study.  It reminded me of an odd little artifact that had fallen out of some of my Grandpa Henke's books that were passed on to me when he died.  I went out looking for it and came across some interesting stuff in the process.  (I will write about the "artifact" in a separate entry.  It is truly unusual and I DID manage to locate it eventually.)

First of all, I came across a whole bunch of sea shells.  I just love collecting sea shells.  I could spend hours on a beach just strolling in the surf and keeping an eye open for little (free!) treasures that have recently washed ashore.  They all look so beautiful and utterly unique in the moment, but then I get them home and, over time, I don't remember which shell came from which beach.  Because they all pretty much look alike.

I didn't even bother to take a picture of them.  Only one was marked with the name of the beach of origination - it came from the Shetland Islands - up north from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where I spent my junior year of college.  I've never been anywhere so remote and so ruggedly beautiful - but the shell I brought home as a souvenir was dull and ordinary! 

I tossed all (ok... most) of the shells.

But the container I found them in may actually be worth something.  It's a mason jar.  I have no idea how old it actually is (it was another item from Grandpa's estate - so it has potential to be fairly old), but on the one side it says "Mason's Patent Nov. 30th 1858".  On the other is an eagle emblem.

[A few minutes later ...]

I just finished a bit of internet research.  If the folks at answers.com know what they are talking about, the jar is worth $40 to $80.  Apparently it is a reproduction - produced in 1975 in celebration of the coming bicentennial.  So not so old.

Still ... it could put us $50 closer to Haiti.  Anyone want it?