Has someone ever given you something that you would consider really valuable? Either monetarily or historically? What is the most expensive thing that you ever recieved? Have you ever been given a new car, house, boat, plane etc…etc…?
Me? I was given an old collectors edition of Lord of the Rings by a dear friend. It’s worth? Damn near pricelss to me, but it’s actual value: several hundreds.
I’m a chick. I get jewelry. And honestly, I didn’t even want it at first - I’ve never been a jewelry kind of girl. Then I went and married a guy who loooooves to buy jewelry (really!) and he pretty much made me look at the damn stuff until I found some I liked, and now I get it.
Probably the priciest piece is my wedding/engagement ring, which really was not all that much in the grand scheme of engagement rings because I opted for a sapphire instead of a big honkin’ diamond.
But the most exciting/surprising pieces is a necklace made of black pearls, with 22 carat gold thingies dangling from it with garnets and opals on them, and matching earrings. He bought me the set while we were dating, and it was a complete surprise, and I couldn’t believe he’d just buy something like that out of the blue for no reason. I think the whole thing cost about $3K and I was quite simply blown away.
My father-in-law has given me (us) new cars three times.
My sisters gave me my truck. It was used, but the current model year ('06) when they gave it to me with only 5800 or so miles on it. They were concerned about the car I was driving (an '85 Ford), especially after I joked that I should get it one of those bumper stickers that say “Honk If Parts Fall Off”. (I was a few minutes late for a family gathering after the tailpipe broke loose and I had to pull onto the shoulder to remove dangling parts. Plus, I have some health problems that lead them to expect the worst when my car breaks down and I have to hoof it.)
Anyway, the truck’s a stripped-down base model: 4-cylinder, 2wd, refrigerator white with black bumpers/grill. You know, the one the dealers have just one of, so they can list a really low price in the newspaper ad, but nobody’s ever going to buy the thing - just my style. Heck, I’d like it even better if it didn’t have the automatic transmission. I’d guess it was worth at least $11K when they gave it to me. I love having it - I can carry all kinds of goodies with it and I even once got a load of firewood free for hauling it away.
A new car.
That’s really cool! What great sisters!
My parents gave me a princely down payment on my house. I mean princely.
A friend of my father’s gave me two industrial-sized skeins of merino wool when she heard I like to crochet. I don’t know what the wholesale price would be, but they would retail for several hundred dollars, easily.
My education. (Although if we’re talking about actual objects, it would probably be this fancy hairpin my dad got me from Paris. My mom almost fainted when she heard the price.)
Down payment money for my house, equal amounts from each parent. Previous to that, it would’ve been my car which my mom helped me buy in '91 (it was three years old at the time) and I’m still driving today.
Other than parent gifts, the most expensive thing I’ve ever recieved was the Roboraptor my brother bought me a couple of Christmases ago.
My son. That kid cost me a fortune!!
Seriously…I think my anniversay ring or a computer.
My current car, which was about $3500 new in 2003.
Plane tickets on really short notice.
Money for college. As HNC said, if we’re only talking objects then I have a house coming my way if things go as planned.
My education was paid for with scholarships, and my grandpa gave me a loan for my downpayment…but when I was finally moved into my house, unpacked and contemplating a year or two of Top Ramen, my parents surprised me with a $6000 check.
It was the first time I ever cried with joy.
My mom gave us $10K to setup a rainy-day fund when we bought the house and chipped in another $10K in deposits to my RRSP which I funnelled into my chunk of the down payment. The rainy-day fund sure came in handy when two months later we were presented with a bill for $4K to clear out and re-line the drainpipe that had been completely infiltrated by giant tree roots.
…but that’s not really a “thing”, so I guess the real answer to the OP is my education. Bought and paid for primarily by my parents, and probably just as expensive when you add up tuition, two years in res and textbooks.
What counts? Does stuff from your partner count? I don’t think it should because where does the paying the regular bills stop and gift start?
I’m not sure just any gift from a parent counts. It would have to be something beyond parental obligations and beyond family being family. For example, my mom has signed her property into joint-ownership between her and her children. So when I sold my house I built one on the common property. Does that count? I mean I had the means to build elsewhere, but she wanted family near. So I think that falls under the idea of family being family.
Other than that, I’d say my first car in '84 (mom gave me a '76 Toyota Corolla --worth $800). My last birthday my sister gave me an Ipod Classic. That’s it for me.
My oldest sister taught me to play guitar. Value to me: Priceless.
A big down payment for a house.
A Lincoln Mark VIII with low mileage.
A Lladro ceramic thing that I got from a supervisor for a wedding present (we traded it in and got a big-ass TV for the same $).
My Range Rover.
I’ve got a couple of pieces of crystal that my mom gave me - no idea what they’re worth, but more than a couple of bucks.
After my grandmother died, my mom gave me a ring with 4 diamonds that my grandmother had made from other rings. Unfortunately, I don’t like diamonds, or jewelry for that matter, and I told my mom the ring really didn’t mean anything to me, since I’d never seen my grandmother wear it or anything. So she had it appraised and gave me the money (which I gave to my daughter for her college expenses) - it was $300. So unless the crystal is really valuable, it would be the ring that I gave back.
My best friend gave me a really nice copy of Fantastic Four #48 last year for my birthday. That was probably the most expensive single item.
My wife and I eloped and the next time we saw her parents they handed us a check and said, “this is what we would’ve spent on a wedding.” It was a lot more than what the comic is worth.