Uhhh, OK what's the stupidest thing you did recently? - for which you are not sorry in the slightest!
Mine was going stupid on eBay for the priciest bit of plastic I've ever bought!
When I was a kid...
I remember going into a closed restaurant with my parents (at least the bar section was closed) and I was looking at all the bottles of booze in the mirrored shelves on the wall. Then I saw a small plastic gun with 007 VODKA embossed on it in gold.
There were a lot of plastic guns with Mr. Bond's name on them in the sixties, but this one intrigued me because it was a vodka pourer and as such was something a kid could never have!
The memory stayed with me and I've occasionally thought about that little gun over the years, then recently I was in an Antique shop in Blackheath when I thought about it again. The thought struck me, "I wonder if I could find it on eBay?"
Well, I looked and instantly found two from the same seller!
One was un-used "mint" the other, slightly cheaper had seen some action. Neither of them was what I'd call a bargain, but where would I ever see a rare thing like that again? Based on my experience in the Antique shop, I thought "If I saw that in a shop would I buy it at that price?'
Given my new-found status as a cashed-up retiree, I decided it was one example where I could indulge myself and give myself something I'd always desired but never expected to own...
A bargain? Not really, with a very unreasonable shipping cost it came in at a bit under £80 which only makes any kind of sense in today's world where money has lost a lot of it's meaning and ephemera from half a century ago now invariably commands a premium.
I imagine that some Bond collectors might also see the rarity worth in it, so it may hold it's value.
Pfffft! It's nice and I'd probably never have a chance like this again, so I went stupid!
Do you have a similar tale? Cheers, Lewis, Oz
When I saw this, I assumed it would be his Walther PPK, but it is actually a Beretta. This was the gun that was replaced by the PPK at the beginning of Dr No. A very special piece for any collection - nice. Although it is a little expensive for me.
ReplyDeleteA rare find and priceless link with your childhood. Superb call, Lewis :)
ReplyDeleteIts a real rarity and even if its not something that every Bond collector might want, its the realisation of a childhood memory, which for me is worth far more than a piece of movie memorabilia. Its good to shoot to kill occasionally!
ReplyDeleteFab story Looey and a great chance find. Breweriana like this has a big connection with Sixties childhoods like ours and I uaed to look for bottle novelties like this at car boot sales in the Nineties. My best find was a boxed Manekin Piss glass drinks dispenser. I loved finding it. I can imagine what it was like getting hold of your 007 bottle pourer. Shaken not stirred no doubt!
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