GRAND RAPIDS – When someone approaches Terry McBurney with a tackle box, anticipation sets in.

“It’s like flipping rocks in the hope of finding a gold nugget,” said McBurney, an expert in antique tackle and gear. He writes it, he sells it and he evaluates it.

For the fourth year in a row, McBurney of Ada Township will be on the hunt for those ‘golden nuggets’ by offering free assessments at Grand Rapids Antique Market, January 2-3 at DeVos Place.

The previous years have not disappointed.

Two years ago, he identified a glass minnow tube made in Detroit around 1912 or 1913. It looked like a test tube with four hooks attached to it. Fishermen put a minnow inside the tube.

“You could fish all day, supposedly, with just one minnow,” he said. “At the end of the day, you were supposed to be able to take the minnow out and put it back in your minnow bucket. “

Their fragile material makes them rare, he said. The decoy he identified had an estimated value of $ 200 to $ 300. If the owner still had the box, it would have been double, he said.

A lure made by Dowagiac that he found at the bottom of a tackle box was worth about $ 1,200. And a “Persian Ivory” lure made in Grand Rapids from celluloid was priced between $ 500 and $ 600.

“It’s a lot of fun,” McBurney said. “You sit there and you never know what’s in one of these boxes.”

Ancient weapons expert Bob Bowyer of Rockford will also make an appearance at the show.

“We have been collecting firearms and BB guns for over 50 years,” Bowyer said of himself and his wife, Donna. “We do it just on the sidelines. This takes us away from the front porch.

Bowyer, a retired engineer, will sell guns and sign copies of his book “Shootin ‘from the Hip,” a guide to prices for vintage BB guns.

He won’t offer on-site assessments, he said, as they need more research. But he will be happy to chat with people. And he expects to see a lot of people.

“Women take their husbands to these antique shows, and guys are bored if they have nothing to do,” he said. “We would expect to see men running around looking for something to watch.”

While fishing and guns are one side of the collector’s spectrum, the other is covered by Cheryl’s Doll Hospital and Mary Lou’s Crystal & China Repair.

Mary Lou’s experts will try to repair items that customers bring. If they can’t make it to the salon, they’ll take them back to Joliet, Illinois to finish the job and send them back.

And Cheryl DuFresne, whose Doll Hospital is in Almont, between Flint and Port Huron, will be on hand to heal people’s treasures, said show host Cecily Near.

“If your doll needs to be tied up or if you have a stuffed animal that has been a little too loved, she will clean it and fix it,” Near said.

This is the market’s fourth year, the state’s largest covered market, Near said. The show continues to target young people by offering free entry to students with a college ID, and Near is promoting the clothes and jewelry that will be for sale.

“I know they love vintage fashion and go to a lot of vintage clothing stores,” she said. “We have a lot of great vintage jewelry and clothing at this event.”

While the start of the show offers the best selection, Near said that this year there will be an end-of-show sale from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the second day.

“In the last two hours of the event, the majority of resellers chose to cut items down to 5% to 60%,” she said. “If people are looking for a good deal, now is the right time.

Cami Reister email: [email protected]