I have a dictionary autographed by Dan Quayle. I bought it at a charity auction. You?
I have a beautiful pair of 18K gold hoop earings from my grandmother.
More sentimental than anything else, really. I have a polished stone with the word “Hope” on it. It was given to me by a loved, dear friend right before a very, very emotionally trying time in my life. And even though what the “hope” referred to when I received it is sadly gone, the stone helped me through many, many troubling nights that followed. I don’t go anywhere without it now.
This question made me realize that I really don’t have possessions that I truly “prize.” I have some interesting things that I don’t want to lose. My watch is an expensive watch, but it’s value to me is that it is one of the few physical artifacts I inherited from my father.
I’ve got an 1850 dueling pistol (my brother has the other of the set), a Samoan carved head, a pretty neat Japanese screen and a collection of Japanese artwork. And I’ve a bit of old stuff from my grandfather’s and great great grandfather’s military careers as well as some very old books.
But my life could go on in the sudden absence of all of those more easily than it could if the comfy chair I’m sitting in suddenly disappeared. I’ve got some seismic data I shot that probably means more to me than the stuff in the second paragraph, and I could walk away from it. And I’ve got two drum kits and various musical apparatus that once meant a lot to me, but that’s all related to another part of life that’s done now.
And I’ve been notoriously bad about compiling a photographic record of my life. I’m probably the alien on this thread.
My rock collection. It started as a way to organize all the pretty rocks I had as a child, and grew to three egg cartons (which had 18 spaces each), a couple of handmade collection boxes, and a bagful of unsorted rocks. I never got around to sorting the rest. It’s got a lot of sentimental value for me, although the rocks are usually worth less than a dollar each, and I can still remember exactly where and when I got each rock.
Fox-Sterlingworth model 1911 double-barrel 12-guage shotgun.
It belonged to my grandfather and great-grandfather.
Some irreplaceable metro-related paraphernalia, such as a complete collection of CAMs rom August 1998, and a transfer taken during a nocturnal tour of the St-Charles garage and therefore displaying a time that the metro isn’t actually open. It’s one of a kind 
This may sound shallow, but my car. It’s no ordinary car though. there’s thousands of dollars in engine and suspension modifications (way more than any 19 year old has business spending on car parts)in there and it’s all drenched in gallons of my blood and sweat. I’ve been to hell and back with that thing. I remember long nights installing a turbo until 6am in the morning when i had to be at class the next day at 8:30 and still hadn’t printed up a paper that was due. I remember feeling completely raped when it was stolen from my driveway meere feet from my open window. God i love my car.
This may sound silly but my Grandma’s sewing and knitting books.
Before my Grandma died she put stuff away for everyone but me. Well, that’s not quite right. She put a box together for me. It had some sewing stuff and knitting stuff. There were also some pictures and the books. While my Grandma and I got along great we didn’t have a lot in common. When I opened the box and saw the books I remembered all the sweaters and blankets she made for me while I was growing up.
Everytime I see the books I remember all the stuff she made for me and get emotional. I do miss her even though she could be a cranky old Lady at times. I still have the afgan she made for me when I was 2. It’s on my bed right now.
Slee
Well, for my most unusual possesion, it would probably be my genuine chunk of the wall from "Mystery Science Theater 3000"s “Deep 13” set.
My most prized possession? My copy of of John Christopher’s “The White Mountains.” After that, my computer. ::drooling::
Ranchoth
Hmm…I don’t really have anything that is all that important to me.
The most unusual thing I own is probably a piece of the colloseum. I was in Rome, took a tour of the colloseum, and broke a tiny piece off and put it in my wallet. (When I say tiny, I mean smaller than your average pebble.)
My Dad’s bible.
Handwritten thank you note from John Wooden.
A few most valued (not necessarily valuable):
Vinly copy of Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Bread and Circus LP with the sleeve autographed by Glen Phillips, their lead singer. My hope is someday to get all the former members’ sigs.
A picture vinyl copy of Gary Numan’s “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” 45 from 1979. I picked it up at a shop on Portobello Rd. for 6 quid and then got it signed by Gary a few weeks later at his show.
A ticket stub signed by all four members of Fugazi from the first time I saw them live.
All mine are music. heh. Shows where I’m obsessed.
Oh! And my Lewis Black autograph. 
If, running from my burning house, I could take one thing besides my cats it would be an orange candy dish that came from my grandmother. It was on her back porch for as long as I can remember, with lemon drops, pillow mints, and candy corn. We cousins would sneak back there and gently lift the lid to “snitch” the candy, thinking we were really getting away with something. Of course we later learned the grown-ups knew what we were doing all the time. The dish came to Grandma as a gift from the school board she was teaching for, as a thank-you for arranging a student program.
My stuffed animals are dearly important to me, mainly because the vast majority of them are connected to important moments in my life. Other than them… I don’t know that I have anything of THAT much value to me, that I’d be heartbroken to do without. Although I do somewhat prize the 82nd edition (2001-2002) CRC Handbook my brother gave me for Christmas, mostly because I have an idea of how much trouble and money he went through to get it for me. Its been very useful, but I just think it was avery thoughtful gift from a brother who normally seems pretty aloof. He’s great at getting meaningful things like that. There is also a bottle of icewine that has some sentimental value, and a couple of other objects here and there.
I guess, now that I think of it, there are a lot of important things (though not very expensive)…hehe I think I’ll need to spend more time thinking about this
I have two. My mom’s engagement ring which I wear and our family bible which traces both of my parents’ families way back.
I would be devastated if I lost either of these things.
I have a tape player that, because of a fortunate malfunction, plays tapes backwards.
I have a list I wrote, in a composition book.
It’s a list of everyone I know, that I can remember at least.
It has 1,104 names in it now, but I plan to keep it and continue to update it for the rest of my life. I’ve been working on it for four years.
Oh, and people I only know online don’t count as people I “know”. I have to have met them in real life.
My greatgrandmother’s wedding pearls. It’s a triple strand with a diamond clasp.
My greatgrandfather’s baseball card collection.
My grandfather’s Navy uniform.
A stuffed dolphin given to my nephew when he was in the hospital. It’s three feet long. We used to pretend fight over it since he knew I love dolphins. Also a lock of his hair and his Wolverine costume. My sister gave them to me the Mother’s Day after he died.
I wouldn’t part with any of these, for all the money in the world.
Around 800 baseball and football cards from the early to mid fifties. Willie, Mickey and The Duke. Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and Stan The Man. If the house caught on fire, I’d grab the dog and the cards. (assuming the other humans were able to get themselves out)
hardygrrl, your GREATgrandfather’s cards? Take good care of 'em! If you haven’t done so, look into proper methods of storage, etc. With old cards, condition is very important.