Thursday, April 11, 2024

How Much Are Those Glasses In The Basement...?


 Last night I found myself digging through treasures in our basement. A friend reached out to see if I had my Danish missionary discussions from 1985. I remember having them before we moved because I had a mental decision on whether or not to pack them up and take them to the new house, or basically toss them in the trash. I hadn't even cracked them open since I got home from the mission. I thought I kept them, but if I did, they weren't anywhere I looked...

But, I found other things.

Like antique sunglasses.

These were my mom's. She got them from someone in her family--I believe, her grandmother. If that's true, they're at least 125 years old. I remember her showing me them when I was a kid and she told me their history. I should have paid more attention (I should have paid more attention to a lot of things...). 

When my mom passed away, we could not possibly keep all of her stuff. The sunglasses, however, they're easy to keep. After I found them looking for something else last night, I snapped a few pictures, then did internet search after search for similar items to see what value the world placed on a similar par of glasses.

Couldn't find anything like them. 

Try it yourself--type in "1800s green sunglasses" and if you're like me, you'll see things similar, but not exactly like these. Also, the ones I did see, it was hard to get an idea of value. Some were priced at a couple of hundred dollars...others around $60. 

It doesn't matter what others think they're worth. For me, it's a link to my mother's family, a connection to people long dead. I'll probably never sell them.

Then, of course, there's the question of where they'll end up after I'm gone. Will my kids even care about them? If not, I can't blame them. They weren't around when my mother told me the story. Unless they read this post, they'll have no idea where I got them, thrift store, maybe? They'll be just another thing in boxes in the basement that they'll wonder about. Still, they're kind of awesome.

Who knows? They might even end up wearing them.

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