An Afternoon at the Flea Market

I visited a flea market this afternoon (listed here) with a friend of mine whom was hoping to score some Hot Wheels (Mattel's version of Matchbox cars). I wasn't planning on coin hunting at first; only to meet and greet some sellers I know. Buuuuuuut, of course I ended up buying several coins of British reign in Australia, New Zealand and Malaya (now Malaysia).

Here are some photos from the market. There are not much because I'm not a big fan of taking photos.


This fella is inspecting some Japanese Occupation notes.


Coins displayed in an old-style wood & glass cabinet. Is that a Fat Man Dollar?


I remember someone posted about collecting old skeleton keys. Here are what I found at this market. Some of them are HUUUUUUUUUGE.


Those two glass bottles are baby milk-feeding bottle.


Until next time
Yusof, Malaysia

Thanks for sharing, Yusof!

My heart always skips a beat every time I see a stall in a market with coins laid out in boxes or booklets like in your photos, there's always the opportunity of finding a hidden gem in there. The selections I can see there don't look half bad either!

My pleasure.

Indeed the selection is good. UNC coins from Straits Settlements, Sarawak Rajah's, and North Borneo are abundant. Coin sellers usually have banknotes, stamps, postcards, and First Day Cover too.

I wish I'm as good at spotting gems as you but I still have a lot to learn. Oftentimes, I couldn't help but to eavesdrop on convo between the seller and other buyers as I'm hoping to learn something from them.

Quote: "yusofharun"​
​My pleasure.
​
​Indeed the selection is good. UNC coins from Straits Settlements, Sarawak Rajah's, and North Borneo are abundant. Coin sellers usually have banknotes, stamps, postcards, and First Day Cover too.
​
​I wish I'm as good at spotting gems as you but I still have a lot to learn. Oftentimes, I couldn't help but to eavesdrop on convo between the seller and other buyers as I'm hoping to learn something from them.

​I visited a fair just last month, and the number of coin or even antique stalls compared to last year was low due to very high stall rates. One person who had a corner stall paid £800 and barely made even. I could only find one which was tucked out of the way in a set up indoor bric-a-brac area containing old ladybird books, stamps, medals, silver spoons and the like. I met another collector whilst rummaging through a bargain bin for random countries to add to my collection; he was very nice and told me of his youth and workings in Latin America and on how his collection grew from there. There weren't many large or big ticket items there, and if there were they were rather overpriced. However I did find a young seller who gave me a good deal on some British silver 3d's and a 1988 American eagle. All in all it was a great trip and I'm glad you also enjoyed yourself.

P.S. You know you're good at spotting gems when you realise there are no gems to spot.