My son found a small red gem stone on the footpath a couple of months ago. I thought it was fake but I handed it into the police thinking someone might be looking for it. I got a call from the police today saying that nobody had claimed it so I was free to have it back. They said they had it appraised by a jeweler and that it was real and it was worth $800!!
According to the info on the little plastic bag it was in it's a 6.66 carat oval ruby, polished and cut, from the Burma mines. I can try to put photos of it up later. Apparently the police said the jeweler told them it wasn't the highest quality but was still worth $800
Quote: "neilithic"My son found a small red gem stone on the footpath a couple of months ago. I thought it was fake but I handed it into the police thinking someone might be looking for it. I got a call from the police today saying that nobody had claimed it so I was free to have it back. They said they had it appraised by a jeweler and that it was real and it was worth $800!!
Lucky boy
In Poland they wouldn't give you anything for it and would definitely confiscate it...
Lego is always good buy. Lucky find. As always, I must say that I would not entrust such thing to our administration. And police here surely would not bother pricing it!
With negative interest rates even Lego looks like a viable store of value, provided that you don't unbox it. But then again, how can you convince an 8-year old not to unbox the legos he just bought.
Good thing is that interest rates are still positive in Neil's part of the world. And in Finland police would be pretty similar to New Zealand's.
This may be a dumb question, but if an item can't be sold for half its value then is that value really the value?
Either way it's not an insignificant find. And Lego is awesome and definitely not a waste. In fact some individual pieces can net you a good amount too. Lego is big business.
I think the value they give is more the insurance value rather than the purchase price. The police gave the name of the jeweler and said to take it to him to see if he would buy it. If not I could at least get a certificate of appraisal.
I think lego is only worth it as an investment if you keep the sets in the box. But judging from the ankle-deep pile of lego on his bedroom, I doubt that would happen.
Quote: "neilithic"I think the value they give is more the insurance value rather than the purchase price. The police gave the name of the jeweler and said to take it to him to see if he would buy it. If not I could at least get a certificate of appraisal.
I think lego is only worth it as an investment if you keep the sets in the box. But judging from the ankle-deep pile of lego on his bedroom, I doubt that would happen.
We all have/had a fortune in toys that we pulled out of the box and made worthless, except for the happiness those toys brought us.
Lucky find. As always, I must say that I would not entrust such thing to our administration. And police here surely would not bother pricing it! 
