Some years ago I was a numismatist. I did not "collect coins" - I studied American coinage. I had put together collections from the fifth grade thanks to my teacher Mrs. Schwenk.

Anyway, I loved looking at American coins and studied their history and what made them special for a certain year. Every coin you own is a piece of history. That 1864 Indian cent was going through hands during the Civil War and now in your hands is a part of history.

Be that as it may, garbage can be a wonderful thing. When my wife and I lived in Flushing in an apartment building somebody was throwing out stuff. One thing popped out of the bag for the super to collect. I was out in the hallway and picked it up. It was a small 5X7 inch leatherbound book from a Newark, New Jersey hotel from 1912 - the Robert Treat. The book had ads in it for Cadillac, the local drug store - it had Newark restaurants in it. The book looked like it was three days old - it was in magnificent condition.

Years later I put the little book up on eBay for $9.99 minimum bid. It sold for $938.00 to a man who grew up in Newark and was a Newark, New Jersey crazy man. He wasn't the only one - the bids went nuts for an entire week.

That's why I now save the cat cakes out of the litter boxes. One good poop could be valuable.