Hundreds and hundreds of people attended. Dealers, collectors, shop owners. They bid thousands of dollars for various pieces of advertising...but missed the Big One altogether. What am I talking about? Well, quite possibly the best "we all blew it" story to come down the pike in a long time. This editor and her husband were there and missed it right along with all the rest of you. But it's one of those "eat your heart out" stories just too good not to be repeated. The setting was the national convention of the Antique Advertising Association the last weekend of July, 1995 in Bedford, N.H. Only recently has the story of the "best" find of that weekend surfaced, courtesy of dealers Mary Ann and James T. Sandoro of Buffalo, New York. AAAA members for several years (they joined at the Reading, Penn. convention), this was only the second time they'd set up. "We don't do a lot of shows," said Mary Ann, explaining that having made the decision to attend and sell to the public during the "open room" segment, she began packing away advertising tins she and her husband no longer wanted. As Mary Ann told us, "We've got stuff we've had for twenty years, packed away in warehouses. I just started throwing some of it in boxes and brought it with us to sell." The couple primarily collects "automotive" items, particularly those associated with Buffalo, N.Y. "Pierce Arrow, other Buffalo automobiles," said Mary Ann, but we've got everything, motorcycles, all kinds of stuff... One of the items she decided to bring with them to the convention was a talcum powder tin dated 1915 from the San Francisco Exposition...nothing too great, the top was rusted shut and parts of the lithographed image were pitted. Mary Ann had not priced it. It was not automotive related, the couple didn't want it. "I don't even know where it came from," explained Mary Ann. "We've probably had it for twenty years. We used to buy out estates in those days. I haven't the faintest idea where we bought this tin." Several prospective buyers picked up the talcum tin the night of the open house. They shook it and then put it back down. "We're sure they all noticed that the tin "rattled", said Mary Ann. She and her husband had noticed it also. "We assumed it was full of B-B's or nails as is common with tins that were used for storage on tool benches," wrote her husband recently. "Several buyers came into the room, picked up the can, shook it and put it back down. No one even inquired as to the price." Eventually, the buyers all left and Mary Ann and her husband began to pack up their merchandise. Mary Ann happened to pick up the talcum tin and out of curiosity, began to shake it. Imagine her surprise when from a dark, rusted slot in the top, twisted pieces of gold began to emerge. That's right...Gold! The real stuff. Sells for almost $400 an ounce. And they had a lot of ounces. No, they didn't think they'd won the lottery. Nor did they announce to the world what they'd found. They brought it home and proudly displayed it in a showcase. And no, they haven't yet "cashed" it in. As Mary Ann explained, the tin and gold weighs in at about eleven ounces, and they're not sure exactly how pure the gold is, but have had it looked at and were told it looked pretty "pure". "Who knows how it came to be in that tin," said Mary Ann. "It might have belonged to a jeweler, maybe even a dentist." So, of course, the burning question on everyone's mind has to be...how much were they willing to take for that tin no one inquired about? "Well, in my mind, I was thinking $5," said Mary Ann, "but no one ever asked." Eat your heart out, folks! There's still gold in them' thar hills!