# Anybody have collectibles they use? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 30, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356 "2015-01-30T18:13:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/21 "2015-01-30T21:56:34Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I have several working buckling-spring IBM [Model M Keyboards](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_keyboard) that I use from time to time. They are really nice to type on but they are _loud_! They are one of the few vintage 1980’s computer parts that has an active market demand today. Clean, working, not too scuffed up examples can easily fetch $100. If I’d have known this a few years ago when we got rid of our mainframe, I could probably have gotten a pile of those for you. I’m sure they’ve all been sold as surplus or trashed by now. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/22 "2015-01-30T23:03:30Z")
I use my bakelite Maxwell House coffee scoop every day. My hobby tools all live in a plastic 1970 Star Trek mug. I play my vinyl records, some 60 years old, daily. Most of our furniture is antique or vintage, as is most of the decor. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/23 "2015-01-30T23:19:38Z")
I have a set of vintage metallic measuring spoons that my mother bought in 1938, shortly after my parents were married. Also, close to a full set of Pyrex containers and an Electrolux vacuum cleaner, from the same year. I use the Electrolux only in the attic, since I don’t have a bag for it. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/24 "2015-01-30T23:29:48Z")
I collect two things - art glass and vintage perfume. I do use some of my art glass pieces for regular daily life - some of the pitchers, the vases, etc. But I definitely use my perfumes. I wear them every day. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/25 "2015-01-31T00:22:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I used to have a [Bulova Accutron Spaceview](http://www.accutron214.com/AccutronGallery/Images/Images1/SpaceviewB.jpg) that I bought in 1968. It quit working somewhere along the way, but a few years ago I found batteries for it and started wearing it again. It finally just gave up the ghost. It wasn’t much of a collectible, though. I got one of those from my dad. I sold it (with his support) on the way to a guitar and got great money for it! As for collectibles I use - hell yes. I have a few very collectible, pretty damn pricey guitars I play the snot out of. I just went a few rounds with a 1930 Martin a couple of hours ago. They’re tools first. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/26 "2015-01-31T01:20:06Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > I have several working buckling-spring IBM [Model M Keyboards](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_keyboard) that I use from time to time. They are really nice to type on but they are _loud_! They are one of the few vintage 1980’s computer parts that has an active market demand today. **Clean, working, not too scuffed up examples can easily fetch $100**. Bolding mine… Well, crud! (Or lack thereof, actually) I just sent a couple of those – what I called 101’s – to Goodwill because I hadn’t used them in a couple years. If I’d known they were actually worth money…:smack: I dunno if they qualify as collectibles the way the OP and others are interpreting the term. I’ve noted before that I collect martial arts weapons that I’ve learned to use. They don’t just gather dust on display racks (in fact, I’m way behind in building custom racks for 'em); I still train with them. The only exception is the Tai Chi sword (jian) that I bought in anticipation of enrolling in a class, and ended up moving to a new job and new town and nobody nearby seems to teach Tai Chi weapons. ☹ –G! ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/27 "2015-01-31T01:30:41Z")
My grouse gun was made by a fellow named Hugh Rippy in about 1797 and I have a lot of tools I use regularly that are over 100 years old. To me old stuff is for having fun with and not just looking at unless that’s the only choice (its outlived its useful life). ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/28 "2015-01-31T01:39:49Z")
Fountain pens. The pen I use most often at work is a Sheaffer Lifetime Balance ringtop from the 1930s. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Holdsworth_Effect)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/29 "2015-01-31T05:26:26Z")
1939 Farmall M. Used yearly for haying. Named Auntie. Sold the 1951 Farmall Cub with a belly mower after we got Yoda (Kubota). Trapdoor Springfield @ 1910, don’t shoot much. Newest Winchester is 1951. Pre WW1 coffee grinder, can use. My handmixer is a 1957 GE. The stand mixer is a 1949 Sunbeam. Most heavy machinery- big BIG planer, drill presses, vises, (some men have more than one;)) are pre WW2 and the “modern” stuff ain’t Chinese. I’m vintage 1950, which explains a lot . ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/30 "2015-01-31T08:11:47Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > [This](http://images.decodan.com/images/2010/5/SunbeamModel11.jpg) is my everyday kitchen mixer. We’ve got about twenty vintage stand mixers, and I’ve been able to keep three or four of them in good enough condition to use as “daily drivers” that we rotate in and out of service so they don’t get hopelessly gummed up. Our home phones are collectibles as well, with classics like a Western Electric Spacesaver, some touch tone phones from before they invented the \* and # buttons, and assorted other phones older than me on a Merlin Legend PBX, which is somewhat collectible in its own right. (Remember the distinctive black and silver desk phones from LA Law?) ---
**Author:** ![Deereman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Deereman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deereman)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/31 "2015-01-31T09:24:12Z")
I plow the snow on my driveway with a 1955 John Deere 70 diesel tractor. Starts up great even when it’s zero. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/32 "2015-01-31T15:18:15Z")
My grandma gave me her Golden Books collection to liquidate when she moved. I took about 50 of them and gave them to my nieces to read. I could probably make $100-200 off them on eBay. Later. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/33 "2015-01-31T19:48:07Z")
> [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](#): > > 1939 Farmall M. Used yearly for haying. Named Auntie. You don’t happen to use it for tractor square dancing as well, do you? If so I may have seen it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/34 "2015-01-31T20:16:42Z")
Jack Lambert signed a Steeler game jersey for me with a nice personal comment. Stuck for something to wear last Halloween, I put it on. I got some comments from people who said it should be framed, not worn. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/35 "2015-02-01T04:14:40Z")
I use a Sunbeam self-lowering toaster from the early '50s. I guess some people collect them- there are websites about them. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/36 "2015-02-01T04:31:45Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I use a Sunbeam self-lowering toaster from the early '50s. I guess some people collect them- there are websites about them. So do I, but I don’t know how old it is. I was going to guess the '70s. It looks like [this one](http://antiquetoasters.synthasite.com/resources/DSCF0037.JPG). ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/37 "2015-02-01T04:39:02Z")
I wear my Dad’s [1965 Omega Seamaster Deville](http://www.kalmarantiques.com.au/resources/internal/file_views/615/1_omega-seamaster-deville-1.jpg) about once a week. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/38 "2015-02-01T05:22:52Z")
I use an old [Burroughs calculator](http://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/bc3146.html) with really cool cursive numbers on my desk. When I show it to students they get confused when they can’t find the equals key. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Holdsworth_Effect)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/39 "2015-02-01T09:14:57Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > You don’t happen to use it for tractor square dancing as well, do you? If so I may have seen it. Auntie M is not really quick to turn, having no power steering. She lumbers rather than dances. Also, she’s about 3000 miles west of you;) “Lumbers” refers to the fact that she came as part of a sawmill. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356/40 "2015-02-01T12:06:33Z")
I don’t know if you differentiate between collectables and antiques, but we have an 1860 wardrobe which we use. My computer desk is a 1907 Edwardian cedar lump of a thing. Our mantle clock is a 1904 Ansonia (USA made which would have cost $10 new- we paid a little more ☹ ). I guess the other collectables are the 1950’s tacky sugar, coffee, tea blah blah period containers which we use for the appropriate goods. (They belonged to my wifes parents). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-collectibles-they-use/711356.md?page=3)