Two armadillo handbags? That, and more, among unique and valuable garage sale donations

Laura Lane, The Herald-Times
·4 min read

The volunteers who oversee the Monroe County History Center Garage Sale aren't often surprised by what people drop off.

On a recent afternoon, two peach pit carvings joined several donated, carved walnuts displayed on a cloth-covered table.

They don't accept clothing, unless it's vintage, but most anything else donated in good condition is assessed, cleaned up or polished and affixed with a price tag.

Among this year's donations were two armadillo handbags, made from the dried carcasses of actual armadillos. A man named Charles Apelt started making purses out of the hard-shelled mammals in Texas around 1900. He sold 40,000 within six years, launching a fashion craze.

Not one but two armadillo handbags were donated to this year's Monroe County History Center Garage Sale. They were more valuable, worth about $300 each, than volunteers realized at first. Each is selling for $125 at the garage sale.
Not one but two armadillo handbags were donated to this year's Monroe County History Center Garage Sale. They were more valuable, worth about $300 each, than volunteers realized at first. Each is selling for $125 at the garage sale.

Someone likely will want them.

Unexpected treasures such as these abound inside this this week’s sale, on Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at a 33,000-square-foot warehouse at 4015 W. Profile Parkway.

Pricing items for the event can be tricky. Since a volunteer crew works most of the year taking in and preparing items for sale, they use the internet or Google Lens to get information and document value.

This Phila pitcher might have been priced at $5 or $10 had Monroe History Center volunteers not done their research to learn one just like it sold at a recent auction for $189.
This Phila pitcher might have been priced at $5 or $10 had Monroe History Center volunteers not done their research to learn one just like it sold at a recent auction for $189.

For instance, there's the dog-shaped pitcher, one item inside a box full of assorted stuff. A volunteer took it out, and figured it was worth $5, maybe more. Then she looked it up online and learned one just like it sold at a recent auction for $189.

They developed a new respect for the rare Phila pitcher and upped the price.

The manufacturer's mark on the bottom of a dog-themed Phila pitcher worth almost $200.
The manufacturer's mark on the bottom of a dog-themed Phila pitcher worth almost $200.

A shiny silver tea kettle with a bird on the end of the spigot was polished and put on display for $5. Until a volunteer recognized it as designed by architect Michael Graves, and knew its value was between $150 and $200. The price went up $30, but it's still a deal.

Turns out this whistling bird tea kettle designed by architect Michael Graves is worth much more than the $5 original price put on it.
Turns out this whistling bird tea kettle designed by architect Michael Graves is worth much more than the $5 original price put on it.

The merchandise prices are scaled back for the garage sale, which is a fundraiser for the history museum. But sometimes even a discount price can seem a lot for high-end items.

Like a ring that appears to be be costume jewelry but turns out to have genuine stones. Or a pair of intricately hand-painted vases that resemble ones at TJ Maxx but instead are hand-painted Bristol glass worth hundreds of dollars each.

When a woman brought them in and sat them down one day, volunteers examined them closely and suspected they might have value.

A pair of 12 1/2-inch-tall hand-painted Bristol vases, valued at hundreds of dollars each, were donated for the sale.
A pair of 12 1/2-inch-tall hand-painted Bristol vases, valued at hundreds of dollars each, were donated for the sale.

Those vases got $125 price tags. So will the armadillo purses. The ring, worth hundreds of dollars, likely will be displayed for sale at the boutique at the history center's downtown museum.

Volunteer Kathy McFall held up a 1920s sterling silver mesh evening bag with a built-in compact. The mirror is uncracked and there's still a circle of rouge for touching up cheeks on a night out.

There's rouge still inside the compact that's part of this century-old silver mesh evening bag
There's rouge still inside the compact that's part of this century-old silver mesh evening bag

It didn't sell last year, or the year before, with a $95 price tag. When appraisers from Ripley Auctions in Indianapolis were in Bloomington to review contents of a home for an estate sale, they came by the history center sale warehouse to see the inventory.

They said the mesh purse might sell for a few hundred dollars at a high-end auction, and told the volunteers that a 4-by-4-foot handmade rug from Finland they were selling for $60 was made by a known artist and worth $400.

This donated rug/wall hanging didn't sell at last year's History Center Garage Sale. After learning this spring the true value of the handcrafted Finnish rug, the price has increased from $60 to $400.
This donated rug/wall hanging didn't sell at last year's History Center Garage Sale. After learning this spring the true value of the handcrafted Finnish rug, the price has increased from $60 to $400.

Then there's the poster of runners by African American artist Jacob Lawrence from the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich someone donated a few weeks ago. It's in an inexpensive frame and the glass, layered with grime, is broken.

"I haven't even cleaned it up," Karen Cline said. "I was going to find another frame and maybe try and sell it for $50 because the subject matter is so cool."

An auction appraiser said this signed poster by the late African American artist Jacob Lawrence from the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, in a metal frame under broken glass, is likely worth $700 to $900 as is. Volunteers initially had intended to reframe the poster and sell it for $50.
An auction appraiser said this signed poster by the late African American artist Jacob Lawrence from the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, in a metal frame under broken glass, is likely worth $700 to $900 as is. Volunteers initially had intended to reframe the poster and sell it for $50.

The signed poster caught the eye of a Ripley's appraiser, who advised her to leave the image as-is and increase the price. "She said the artist is very well known and that an unsigned poster like this one can sell at auction for $700 to $900," Cline said.

"I was dumbfounded. She said not to worry about the broken glass." 

Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com, 812-331-4362 or 812-318-5967.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Monroe County History Center garage sale full of unique, vintage items