Tell us all about your collection.

[Stuntman_Mike]

@Maastricht

I have three narrow vases on my window sill and in them about 30 gemstone eggs. Similar to these ones. My favourite are my pyrite one, and the ones made of ocean jasper, calcite, bismuth, and pietersite. I occasionally take them out and show them to visitors, and point out the minutia of color, pattern, sometimes organic origin (like the petrified wood ones, and the pyrite and strombolite one) and the lustre/shine/structure. They are works of art, I feel.

Love it. I also keep a budding collection of gemstone spheres, only I specifically prefer the large ones, roughly ~5 inches in diameter. Here’s what I have so far, displayed in tasteful spots around the house.

1. Clear Quartz
Metaphysical Properties:

Harmony, Energy, Healing,
Psychic Abilities,
Clarity, Calmness

~125mm
Thuya Burl Wood Stand

2. Flourite
Metaphysical Properties:

Truth, Consciousness
Aura Cleansing,
Intellect, Protection

127 mm
Thuya Burl Wood Stand

3. Rose Quartz
Metaphysical Properties:

Love, Caring,
Friendship,
Kindness

119 mm
Thuya Burl Wood Stand

4. Aragonite
Metaphysical Properties:

Truth, Perception, Understanding,
Emotional Stability,
Mental Stability

120 mm
Thuya Burl Wood Stand

5. Orange Selenite
Metaphysical Properties:

Serenity, Purification, Peace, Purity of Heart,
Meditation, Clarity of Thought, Psychic Development,
Integrity, Forgiveness, Positive Thoughts,
Universal Consciousness, Universal Love

120 mm
Thuya Burl Wood Stand

[Johnny_L.A]

@california_jobcase

I have a collection of five car 8-track players. Two are in-dash AM/FM units, one is an under dash FM unit, and two are plain under dash tape only units.

I’ve always wanted to mount a car radio in a box, with a transformer, to make a desk radio out of it. With a car antenna, of course.

[Voyager]

I have 2781 science fiction books and 3444 science fiction magazines. That I can instantly write down these numbers means it is a collection. That includes a complete run of Galaxy and Asimov’s, and almost complete run of F&SF, and a nearly complete run of Astounding/Analog starting in 1946.

As for what makes a collection, it comes from buying specific things, not anything you come across.
I also have about 40 jigsaw puzzles in the queue to do and maybe 100 ones I’ve done and kept, but that’s not a collection because I haven’t indexed them and because I donate most of the ones I’ve done to thrift stores.

[That_Don_Guy]

@Stuntman_Mike

Love it. I also keep a budding collection of gemstone spheres, only I specifically prefer the large ones, roughly ~5 inches in diameter. Here’s what I have so far, displayed in tasteful spots around the house.

Ever hear the story about the woman who wanted to show her crystal sphere off, so she put it right behind a window - that got direct sunlight in the morning? :eek:

Probably the most esoteric thing I collect is casino dice (not dice made as souvenirs, but ones actually used on craps tables), especially when they’re some color other than red. The strange thing is, there is a rather sizable range in prices at the Vegas casinos; I have gotten “sticks” of five dice for $1 from smaller casinos on the outskirts of town, but the Wynn wants almost $20 for a pair (although Wynn dice don’t have holes drilled into them, so presumably they haven’t been used anywhere). There’s even a “holy grail” of Vegas dice of sorts; reportedly, the Venetian destroys its used dice rather than sell them, although I have seen some for sale on eBay.

[Malleus_Incus_Stapes]

@Stuntman_Mike

To me, a collection should consist of items obtained and kept in a state or condition such as to retain or increase their market value. I also believe that a significant characterization of a true collection is that it’s displayed for appreciation, rather than stored away in boxes.

Like to hear others’ thoughts on this.

What about people who collect for the pleasure of it, not the market value? I collect cat figurines because I like having cat figurines. Would that not count, for you?

[running_coach]

Other than a few odd events that had neither, I have every shirt and race number from races I’ve run(post HS/college).
Around 500-550.

[dorvann]

@Johnny_L.A

I’ve always wanted to mount a car radio in a box, with a transformer, to make a desk radio out of it. With a car antenna, of course.

There are one of these mods on Instructables:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Car-radio-at-home/

[dorvann]

As far my collections go there are:

BOOKS. I own about 500+ plus books. It’s a mixture of nonfiction and fiction with Star Trek and Marvel Comics books being prominent. I also own about 30 GURPS books though I’ve never actually played the game. They are haphazardly displayed on various bookshelves in my apartment.

MOVIES. I own roughly about 150 movies on DVD, mostly superhero and science fiction. Up until two year ago I owned roughly 100 VHS tape as well but I get rid of them as well when my last working VCR broke. Like my books, they are also haphazardly displayed on various bookshelves in my apartment.

ADIPOSE TISSUE. Over the past 20 years, I developed a sizable collection of it, most prominently displayed on my abdomen.

[Stuntman_Mike]

@Malleus_Incus_Stapes

What about people who collect for the pleasure of it, not the market value? I collect cat figurines because I like having cat figurines. Would that not count, for you?

Sure, why wouldn’t it? Unless they’re all hidden in the attic, or under a tower of old newspapers.

[Stuntman_Mike]

@That_Don_Guy

Ever hear the story about the woman who wanted to show her crystal sphere off, so she put it right behind a window - that got direct sunlight in the morning? :eek:

I’m well aware, and keep my clear quartz cystal sphere out of the sunlight for that exact reason.

[Spud]

Belly Button Lint and Toenail clippings.

Not together… that would be gross.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

Old plat maps/books of the county where I live.

I have a reproduction of the 1865 county Plat map wall hanging. It shows the farm I currently own plus several ancestors’ acreage just a few miles away. It also contains plats of settlements that did not survive into the 20th century.

I also have the first platbook of the county, 1875. Fun to page through. Ads, local history, photos of early citizenry, etc. A real treasure.

I have the 1889, 1902, 1917, and 1941 editions too, all magnificent leather bound works.

After that they made them out of paper, and I have a few from the 70’s, 80’s, and onward into the 21st century, but they’re not so collectable.

Amazing how the basic road pattern hasn’t changed much since settlement.

[Johnny_L.A]

@Spud

Belly Button Lint and Toenail clippings.

Not together… that would be gross.

I don’t know if you remember the government-issued steel desks, but… They had a drawer in the middle (of course). There was a divided ‘trough’ in the front of it, for keeping pencils, pens, paper clips, and whatnot. When I was at Edwards there was a guy who would scratch the dandruff out of his beard and onto the desk. Then he would swipe it into one of the compartments in the trough.

I thought that was strange. And gross. (He was a nice guy, though.)

[Stuntman_Mike]

These are all very cool responses. It’s a wonder to see how varied people’s interests are, and seemingly how unexpected some of the owner/object pairings are… like the liberal guy above with the extensive gun collection. Hell, I’m a conservative who who collects gemstone spheres for their metaphysical properties. The duality of man, I guess.

[River_Hippie]

@Stuntman_Mike

As an addendum to this discussion, I’d like to hear folks’ opinion regarding the actual definition of a collection. There can be a fine line between a collection and a hoard or clutter.

To me, a collection should consist of items obtained and kept in a state or condition such as to retain or increase their market value. I also believe that a significant characterization of a true collection is that it’s displayed for appreciation, rather than stored away in boxes.

Like to hear others’ thoughts on this.

I consider my knives to be a collection. I do not buy them as utility items to be carried or used. Some of them are too expensive and/or hard to replace to risk losing them. On top of that, some of them would be poor choices to use as a tool or weapon and I have many other knives that are cheap and common and better choices utility wise.
I do not display them, the more valuable and hard to replace ones stay in a gun safe except for one at a time that get rotated out to have laying around for opening mail or to be fiddled with as I watch TV or something. The crappy ones are tossed in a plastic tub with a lifetime’s worth of accumulated pocket and fixed blade knives, many of which are broken or worn out. The one thing I do with an eye to preserving value is that I save the boxes and any other packaging if I got that with the knife. I try to resist sharpening them as well, so I guess that’s two things. Many collectors prefer minty, factory fresh knives but I actually prefer a little patina and carry wear so I don’t sweat it if they aren’t pristine. I collect them for my own amusement and the only people that have seen the whole collection are people I know would have an appreciation for them.

[begbert2]

@Stuntman_Mike

As an addendum to this discussion, I’d like to hear folks’ opinion regarding the actual definition of a collection. There can be a fine line between a collection and a hoard or clutter.

To me, a collection should consist of items obtained and kept in a state or condition such as to retain or increase their market value. I also believe that a significant characterization of a true collection is that it’s displayed for appreciation, rather than stored away in boxes.

Like to hear others’ thoughts on this.

Speaking as a person who really, really doesn’t collect his things in a way to retain/increase their value (I open the packaging!!:eek:), I consider you to be collecting something when you start seeking out and acquiring more of the things specifically because of what they are, not what they’re for, simply because owning that type of thing makes you happy – or scratches an itch.

For example, in addition to a buttload of legos and transformers, I also have a large number of books, movies and tv shows - including a rather large anime collection. But while I would say I’ve collected together enough books and movies and such to have a book collection and a dvd collection, I wouldn’t say I’m a book or dvd collector. I don’t buy these things because I want to buy books or movies, I buy them because I want to read/watch them. I sort of am a collector of very specific things, for example for some deranged reason I found that I owned enough different Alice in Wonderland movies that if flipped my compulsive collector switch and I started buying more and more of them just because they existed. (Some of them are really odd, by the way.) So go figure, I’m a collector of Alice in Wonderland shows - or at least I was for a while.

One could argue that because I do build my legos and fiddle with my transformers, I’m not technically collecting them, but my buying patterns for them say otherwise. I’ve bought sets and transformers I considered subpar just to be completist on the subline. That’s something only a collector does. Whereas I certainly don’t buy subpar books or movies just because they exist; that’s silly.

[River_Hippie]

@ZonexandScout

Dude! So do I! I probably have a hundred or so…some older classic ones and a lot of newer ones. The variation in their mechanisms is really fascinating. I am totally pissed off that all those 50s movies made everyone think that they are in the same category as concealable, fully automatic weapons. Oddly, some states will allow you to carry them but prohibit carrying a butterfly knife.

I’d be interested to know what you consider to be your favorite three and which knife are you would most like to find.

My top three that I have,

1. Very large Hubertus leverlock. I can’t remember the actual name but it’s about 9-10" with burgundy jigged bone handles. It’s very sharp, fires hard and operates very smoothly.
2. 10" Italian stiletto style picklock. Recent. Made to replicate the old ones from the 50s. Nice stag handles. Also works very nice.
3. Fairly recent Benchmade 9130S Stryker. Rock solid heavy duty knife that actually is a reliable tool and I do occasionally carry it.

Other than super expensive vintage or exotic ones I’ still like to add a big Leverletto or Speed Hunter to the collection.

Even back in the heyday of The Sharks and The Jets the most common knife for people to get stabbed with was (and probably still is) a steak knife.

[Chefguy]

@Stuntman_Mike

I collect two very different things, seriously. One shall remain private, but the other is action figures, with an emphasis on kaiju. Many, if not most, of my kaiju figures come directly from Japan. You won’t find these in Walmat, or even on Amazon.

I’ve lined the walls of a spare room with tiered glass shelving on which I display all of my figures in their original packaging. The only exception to the packaging rule is when a figure is not sold in clear presentation packaging. In those instances, the box is carefully opened, and the is figure removed and displayed with the original box.

I keep a spreadsheet wherein I log details of all my figures, purchase date, and the price I paid for each one.

I’ve been collecting these figures for about 8 - 9 years to date, and currently have ~120 - 140ish. I haven’t counted recently. The collector market value of each figure is varied and ranges roughly between $15 - $250.

So that’s my odd interest. I figure most folks collect something, so let’s hear all about your collections…

Son? Is that you? My son and his wife buy tons of this stuff. Not only the ones that actually look like the actors, but the little bobble head looking ones that only look vaguely like the characters. Plus they have fake swords, knives, Thor’s hammer, and much more. I’m talking an entire basement full of this stuff. These cover the DC comics, the Marvel universe, LOTR, Harry Potter and more. They’re in their late 40s, for gods sake.

The only thing I might consider a ‘collection’ is a bookcase full of books on Alaska, mostly non-fiction, with a number of first editions. If I had any energy, I’d put them up for sale on eBay.

[MikeG]

I’ve got a small collection of Benchmade knives. A Phaeton OTF, Crooked River, and old pre production Mel Pardue Axis lock 722 and an AFO.

I’ve also got a small collection of Seiko watches. From a 6139 to a modern Sarb017 it’s a varied collection of mostly automatics.

At one time I had a significant Hot Wheels collection including all but two of the many variations. That collection is down to perhaps 3 out of 120.

[DCnDC]

@MikeG

I’ve got a small collection of Benchmade knives. A Phaeton OTF, Crooked River, and old pre production Mel Pardue Axis lock 722 and an AFO.

Very nice! Out of my price range, but all very nice knives.

Kershaw is about my sweet spot; not top-shelf but good quality, stays sharp, and very reasonable prices. I’ve got an S30V Blur that’s my permanent every day carry.

Fixed blades I’ve got a KA-BAR BK-2 that is just beastly. Crocodile Dundee would definitely recognize it as a noyf.