People flocking to sell old jewelry
By Katya Cengel • kcengel@courier-journal.com
Some clients came with bags, boxes and even wheeled carriers.
Cathy Foreman brought a small purse.
Inside were pieces of jewelry she hoped to sell at Merkley Kendrick Jewelers last week when experts in the acquisition of jewelry and antiques were at the store.
Selling jewelry that neither she nor her husband wears was “just a way to get extra money,” she said.
And with fees for her two children’s parochial schools, groceries, gas and just about everything else becoming harder to afford, Foreman said she could use the extra cash.
Growing up, she said, her dad always talked about saving. At the time, his words didn’t mean much, “but now I’m like, ‘I know what he’s talking about,’ ” said Foreman, a 36-year-old administrative assistant who lives in Louisville.
With Wall Street plummeting, plenty of others do as well. More than 100 people passed through the door before noon on the first day Guildmark Group was at Merkley Kendrick last week to buy coins, jewelry, flatware and other items. They filled the St. Matthews-area store, waiting in chairs and in the hall and leaning against the walls.
Brian Merkley, the store’s president and owner, said he expected a lot of people, “but I was quite surprised by the turnout.”
It had been more than a decade since the family store had offered such a service. But with the price of gold near an all-time high, its timing couldn’t have been better.
Gold is considered a “safe haven” because it has been worth something for thousands of years, said Todd Tyra, head watch buyer with Guildmark. So when the value of the dollar declines and there is fear it will fall further, people often buy gold, thus driving its price up, he said.
People sell their gold jewelry, flatware and coins, he said, because they are no longer being used and because “everybody could use extra money … whether it be something fun or daily necessities, because everything is more expensive.”
Joe and Julie Denny said they had been looking for a way to get rid of some old coins and bills, so when they heard coins were being bought in Louisville, Joe took off work and Julie left their farm in Breckinridge County. “I’ve got plenty of bills I can put it toward,” he said.
Medea Smith of Sellersburg, Ind., wasn’t really worried about the economy, but she said she wanted to get rid of an old ring she never wore, admitting, “It would be nice to get enough (money) to pay a credit card or two off.”
Tyra said most of the customers were probably there simply because they had things they wanted to rid themselves of and the price of gold is high. But the crowds were probably 20 percent to 25 percent larger than normal, which could be because of the tight economic times, he said.
That was exactly what influenced Steve Glass to bring in his great-grandfather’s coins. A retired auto-body worker from Bullitt County, Glass said he could use some extra money.
So could Isiah Moore of Louisville.
“It’s definitely tough times,” said Moore, a retired Ford truck plant worker.
Moore brought in coins he discovered more than a decade ago in his sister’s yard. The coins dated as far back as 1857, but he wasn’t sure how much they would be worth.
Still, he said, “every little bit helps right now.”
Reporter Katya Cengel can be reached at (502) 582-4224.
Source: http://www.courier-journal.com
