Can a trash can be worth $1000?
By The Horse
@TheHorse (238268)
Walnut Creek, California
October 1, 2018 7:36pm CST
When I was up on Montana this past Summer, an older friend of mine and I visited the cabin of my Grandfather, who was an MIT-educated engineer and miner.
He was born in the late 19th Century, as was the cabin in which he lived during his later years.
My friend and I found old samples of rock (they were mining for gold) in Grandpa's old cabin, as well as ancient mattresses, and a squished can that we decided to take from the now-crumbling cabin.
We have no idea how old the can is, nor what it my have contained back in the 1920s or 1930s, when it probably found its way there.
But I have "un-squished" it and made it my "wet garbage" can in my kitchen here in California. It might me worth hundreds or thousands of dollars at an antique sale. But for now, it's my wet garbage can. Yes, I am protecting it with plastic bags.
I'll attach a picture of the 19th Century cabin to a comment or two. I've used the image I snapped a few years ago in one or more of my music videos.
13 people like this
10 responses
@1hopefulman (45111)
• Canada
2 Oct 18
If that is the garbage can in the picture then I don't think it is worth anything but if you put a thousand dollars in it then I'll give you $200 for it. 
4 people like this
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
2 Oct 18
When I visited that cabin my youth in the 1970s, I collected some samples of gold ore and an old Folgers can. But I left many thing behind, inclusing this large can. It looked old in 1971. I'm glad I grabbed this can in 2018 and "un-squished" it, though I have no idea what it once was.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
2 Oct 18
@andriaperry It's cool having it here. It's also cool that it was in that cabin for so many decades and nobody removed it. We left a bunch of core samples in there. The ghost town it's in had a big population in the 1890s.
3 people like this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
2 Oct 18
Look on the bottom for numbers or letters. How big is it?
3 people like this
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
2 Oct 18
@andriaperry Coffee crossed my mind as well. I'm going to keep researching.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
2 Oct 18
@TheHorse Okay, grain came in sacks, meal, flour and sugar. Maybe it was coffee?
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
2 Oct 18
you'd be amazed what some things will sell for.
those "folk art" jugs with faces on them make mad money.
2 people like this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
29 Oct 18
@TheHorse shouldn't be.you just make the jug and overlay features on it with more clay.
1 person likes this
@kobesbuddy (78833)
• East Tawas, Michigan
2 Oct 18
I saw an old model of a weight scale, at an antique store in East Tawas. It wasn't priced, but was it ever old fashioned! Your wet garbage can is a constant reminder, of your late Grandpa!
2 people like this
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
2 Oct 18
Exactly!I like that! In personality, I am a lot like my Great-Great Grandpa, James Fergus. I've read some of his writings. One can actually find stuff about him on the internet! But I have some old papers that were discovered in this same cabin.
1 person likes this
@kobesbuddy (78833)
• East Tawas, Michigan
2 Oct 18
@TheHorse And all those items have extreme value, to YOU as his grandson! My grandma's birth date was October 1, 1886. This was 135 years ago, today:) I remember this special day, every year. Grandma and I were both 5' tall, had an identical personality, adored children, and lived an entire lifetime looking down at our feet! It's a shame-based personality disorder. Her photos shocked my husband, we even look alike:)
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Oct 18
@kobesbuddy That's really interesting. By the way, I may appear "confident" here, but my friends tell me I have an "aw shucks" way of presenting myself.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502189)
• Italy
2 Oct 18
I fully agree with @1hopefulman, this is surely not worth a thousand dollars, unless you put the money inside the can.
1 person likes this
