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Finders Weekly · Vol. I · Nº 5
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Finders Weekly
The list. Every Wednesday.
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Wednesday, May 27, 2026 · Michigan Bureau
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Editor’s Note
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PixelIQ read the weekend. Here’s what surfaced.
Two thousand of you commented on the Facebook post about the things your grandparents had — the Pyrex bowls, the Mohawk Limburger jars, the wooden butter bowls, the rotary phones, the console record players. We read every one. Then PixelIQ — the tool we built to read every photo in every Michigan estate sale listing, every Sunday night — ran the weekend galleries against the categories you named.
124 sales surfaced. 74 are open Thursday through Sunday. The Diamond this week, in Grand Ledge, holds a Roseville Pottery vase sitting in the listing gallery — Roseville is one of the makers you asked us to watch for. The full Diamond Slate, the Operator Spotlight, the Worth-the-Drive picks, the want-ad watchlist, and every weekend sale — all below.
— The Editor, Michigan Bureau
P.S. Hunting for something specific? Drop it at findersweekly.com/the-hunt — we’ll watch for it. The Grail List PDF — patterns, makers, and pieces worth driving for — is yours after one successful referral. Your unique share link is in the footer.
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Diamond in the Rough
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Grand Ledge · Ancestors Estate Sales · 3-Day Antiques & Collectibles
Grand Ledge, MI · 48837 · Ancestors Estate Sales by Gordon Bloomer · 489 photos · Lansing bureau
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Thu May 28 · 10a → Sat May 30 · 3p
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Three full days, 489 photos, and an operator description that reads simply: “Antiques, Collectibles, Vintage, Furnishings & More.” Generic. Honest, but generic. PixelIQ walked the gallery and pulled five pieces the listing never names — each one confirmed by a visible mark, label, or maker stamp. When the operator prices a room to general inventory, this is where the picker gets early.
The Diamond Slate · what PixelIQ caught that the listing didn’t name
1. Roseville Pottery vase · pattern #144, 15″, blue with raised lily/floral relief. The listing said: “antiques.” PixelIQ caught: a large twin-handled vase with cream lily/floral relief on a ribbed blue ground — with the backstamp visible in the gallery. The base is impressed “Roseville U.S.A.” with pattern number 144 and height marker 15″. Roseville Pottery (Zanesville, Ohio) is one of the named American art-pottery makers. At the door: verify the backstamp matches the gallery photo, check the relief edges for chips, look for crazing under the lily petals. Roseville is also on this week’s Want-Ad list — readers asked us to watch for it.
2. Oneida Community “South Seas” silverplate flatware service. The listing said: “furnishings.” PixelIQ caught: a multi-place silverware chest with red felt lining, full tray of forks/spoons/knives plus a lower tray of graduated spoons — and a close-up of one handle engraved “South Seas” over “Community.” Oneida Community silverplate line, named pattern confirmed by the handle script. At the door: count settings against tray slots — full sets walk out together at substantial value. Confirm serving pieces present.
3. WMF German silverplate · serving tray and Konfektschale, in original boxes. The listing said: “collectibles.” PixelIQ caught: two presentation boxes shelved among kitchenware — one labeled “Tray,” one labeled “Konfektschale” (German for candy/confectionery dish), both showing the WMF hallmark. WMF (Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik, Germany, est. 1853) is the named European silverplate house — pieces still in original boxes signal unused gift inventory. At the door: open the boxes to confirm the pieces match the labels and the boxes aren’t empty. Read the underside for the WMF ostrich-emblem hallmark.
4. Local history shelf · Grand Ledge Pharmacy bottle + T.G. Town cigar box. The listing said: “antiques.” PixelIQ caught: a small apothecary bottle labeled “[Grand Ledge] Pharmacy · Grand Ledge, Mich.” sitting next to a vintage cigar box stamped “T.G. Town · Grand Ledge, Mich.” Same-town apothecary plus same-town tobacco-shop ephemera in the same Grand Ledge sale — that’s the kind of local-history bundle that lands at any town’s historical society. Also visible nearby: a Larkin Co. (Buffalo) Camphorated Oil bottle, early 1900s patent medicine. At the door: these go fast if any local-history collector reads the listing. Be there Thursday.
5. Mid-century blendo chip-and-dip set · jadeite green with gold trim, matching pitcher. The listing said: “vintage.” PixelIQ caught: a classic mid-century blendo glassware set — large chip bowl plus mounted dip cup in jadeite green color-fade with gold-band rim, and a matching yellow blendo pitcher next to it. Blendo (color-faded glass with gold or platinum trim) is the named MCM kitchenware style, 1950s–60s, currently on-trend with MCM collectors. At the door: check the gold rim for wear — the gold is the value, and dishwasher use ruins it. Complete sets with matching pitcher are uncommon.
Also flagged in the gallery (not on the Slate but worth the picker’s eye): antique wood trunk with brass fittings, vintage McCormick Crushed Thyme and Shurfine spice tins, mid-century teak/walnut dresser, antique copper/iron chocolate molds (horse/cow forms), Fenton hobnail vase (cream), Asian ginger jar with crane/willow motif, glass insulator (teal), multiple antique wood slat crates.
we don’t run the gavel. we just told you where to be when it drops.
See the Listing →
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Operator Spotlight
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West Lansing · A Wrinkle In Time · Antique Swords
Lansing 48917 · Thu May 28, 10a → Sat May 30, 2p · A Wrinkle In Time
The title gets you in the door for the swords. The gallery is what makes the drive worth it. PixelIQ surfaced four named pieces beyond the swords.
The lead piece: an American naval officer’s-pattern sword — brass guard with oak/laurel-leaf scrollwork and stylized “USN” integrated into the engraving. The leather scabbard is owner-marked “L.T. Meisel, Bay City, Mich.,” and the blade itself is stamped “R.U. MEISEL.” That’s named-provenance American military gear — a specific Bay City Michigan name on a naval officer’s piece. Second sword visible alongside it (metal hilt, dark scabbard with brass bands).
What else PixelIQ flagged in the 265-photo gallery:
- Wambold fine furniture maker stamp — impressed into a drawer interior on a solid wood piece. Wambold is a named Pennsylvania-tradition furniture maker. The stamp is the wedge: factory-marked piece in a sale that says “antique swords.”
- Schirmer “Parrot” signed linocut print, edition 13/150, dated ‘99 — framed, matted, with the artist’s signature and edition number in pencil below the image. Signed/numbered prints with intact edition documentation clear at gallery prices.
- Kenwood vintage component stereo system — full three-piece stack (receiver/tuner/dual cassette) in glass-front cabinet plus matching Kenwood floor speakers. Vintage hi-fi stack systems are in a current revival.
- Michigan sports book pair — Decade of Champions (Detroit Free Press, 1980s Michigan sports) and Spartan Seasons by Lynn Henning (MSU sports history). Regional sports-history collectibles, MI-specific.
See the listing →
See the listing →
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Worth the Drive
Three picks if Grand Ledge isn’t yours.
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Milford · Pole barn, Hekman desk, project minibike
Milford 48380 · Fri May 29, 10a → Mon Jun 1, 3p · Estate Sales and Beyond LLC · 271 photos
A large pole barn changes the math — outbuildings hold what the house doesn’t show. Operator names a Hekman kidney-shaped desk in excellent condition, a 1969 Benelli 50cc project minibike (ready to be reassembled), and BMW X6 tires. “Something for everyone, including Gearheads.” Four-day window with a Monday close.
See the listing →
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Brighton · Retro Vibes — the era’s in the title
Brighton 48116 · Sat May 30, 9a → Sun May 31, 5p · Clear Away Stress Estate Sales & Cleaning · 114 photos
The listing reads like a generation’s shopping list: records, CDs, electronics, music equipment, Sega Genesis, Star Wars, comic books, Magic the Gathering cards, hockey cards, vintage magazines, Barbies, bohemian decor, antique furniture. The operator notes there’s “more we have yet to uncover.” Saturday-Sunday window — the early Saturday read is the one.
See the listing →
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Clinton Township · Coughlin’s June 3rd Online Auction
Clinton Township 48035 · Online-only · open now → Wed Jun 3, 6:00p ET · Coughlin’s Auctions · 549 lots · shipping available
When an online auction has 549 lots, the inventory is far past anything a single description can name. Preview by appointment (586-210-8318). The deep-dive sale of the week — and the only one this week with hammer prices that will be on the record for next Wednesday’s Tally.
See the listing →
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The Weekend
Seventy-four public Michigan estate sales open May 28–31. By region.
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Want Ads
What our readers are hunting in Michigan this weekend.
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Radio Shack cassette tape recorder · console record player · soft-squeeze TV remote
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— new this week
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Mohawk Limburger cheese jar (8 oz, yellow paper label, red type)
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— new this week
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Wooden butter bowls + rolling pins (hand-turned, mid-century)
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— new this week
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Baby alligator ashtray
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— new this week
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Round grass edger with wheel and spike blades
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— new this week
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Rotary phone (wall or desk, the long-cord variant)
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— carryover, 3 readers
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Singer sewing machine (treadle base)
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— carryover, 2 readers
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HAM radio gear (Hallicrafters / Heathkit, 1950s–60s)
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— carryover, 2 readers
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Wooden butter churn (plunge-style, pre-1900)
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— carryover
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Cuckoo clock (Black Forest German)
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— carryover
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Manual flip-top toaster (Toastmaster 1A1 / GE D-12)
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— carryover
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Grandpa’s pocketwatch
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— carryover
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Spot one of these at a Michigan sale this weekend? Reply to this email and we’ll connect the want-ad with the find. We won’t share your address — we just connect the dots. Post your own want-ad here.
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The Tally
What closed last week, and what we’re watching this week.
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W Lansing Four-Day · Jason’s Estate Sale Services · closed Sun May 24, 3p
Our Issue 4 Diamond. The four-day eclectic sale on the west side ran clean through the long weekend. The Nippon porcelain pieces, the Fenton hobnail, the Spode — we’re still pulling clearing prices from the operator’s post-sale notes. Full ledger goes in next week’s data archive.
On the radar
- Coughlin’s June 3rd Online Auction · 549 lots · closes Wed June 3, 6p · trackable hammer prices — the first piece in next week’s Tally.
- Grand Ledge · Ancestors (Diamond this week) · the Roseville vase and the South Seas Community silver chest are the watch items — complete name-brand sets walk out at substantial value when they walk out together.
- West Lansing · A Wrinkle In Time · the named-provenance USN sword (L.T./R.U. Meisel, Bay City) is the kind of single-piece clear that puts a sale on the record.
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Next Week
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Coughlin’s 549-lot auction closes Wed June 3, 6p. First sale of the season with hammer-price-trackable comps — the Tally section returns to full form next Wednesday.
Memorial Day weekend is the float test for the operator calendar. Some operators piled the weekend, others ran it long — we’ll have the read in Issue 6.
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Finders Weekly · A Paper for the Hunt
The list. Every Wednesday. · Michigan Bureau
findersweekly.com ·
the hunt ·
this weekend ·
for operators
Published Wednesdays · © 2026 Botsford Media Holdings LLC
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