# What's the Oldest Human-Made Object You Own? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 16, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472 "2015-09-16T14:32:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/1 "2015-09-16T14:32:25Z")
I specify “human made” so some joker doesn’t mention his or her pet rock. 😛 For myself, it would be a box of discarded pot sherds I brought back from working on an achaeological dig in Israel - some of them date to the late Bronze Age. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/2 "2015-09-16T14:40:17Z")
Wife’s diamond ring? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/3 "2015-09-16T14:41:29Z")
Me. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/4 "2015-09-16T14:42:22Z")
Some coins that date back to 70BC or so. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/5 "2015-09-16T14:43:29Z")
Arrowheads. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/6 "2015-09-16T14:45:33Z")
Roman coins. One is Hadrian; the others, I don’t know exactly how old they are. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/7 "2015-09-16T15:06:44Z")
A couple of leafs from the Geneva Bible, published in the early 1600’s. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/8 "2015-09-16T15:10:49Z")
Eastern Woodland culture arrowhead, possibly 2000 BC. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/9 "2015-09-16T15:12:22Z")
AFAIK, a Winchester Model 92 rifle (not carbine) with the 24" octagonal barrel, in .32-20 Winchester caliber, that was made in 1897. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/10 "2015-09-16T15:12:53Z")
Now that I think of it I don’t have much that is old. I’ll probably inherit a few things from my mother but hopefully not for a long time. Maybe the oldest thing I have is my chunk of the Berlin Wall. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/11 "2015-09-16T15:25:59Z")
I own some arrowheads I found in the Ozarks but wouldn’t know how to date them. My kid has some Roman stuff (small buckle, coin) but the Romans were around for a long time so, again, I don’t know how old they are or if they predate my arrowheads. Either way, that’s the oldest stuff. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/12 "2015-09-16T15:32:57Z")
> [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > Roman coins. One is Hadrian; the others, I don’t know exactly how old they are. Me too. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/13 "2015-09-16T15:33:27Z")
A pastry blender my grandmother gave me that was originally purchased by her great-grandmother. I’m not sure how old that makes it specifically, but while it’s neat that it’s old, I mostly like it for the fact that it’s not metal wires in a plastic handle like my cheap one and does a far better job of blending pastry. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/14 "2015-09-16T15:36:19Z")
Arrowheads, stone tools, stone figurines, Greek coins and pottery shards. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/15 "2015-09-16T15:37:20Z")
And now for the opposite extreme: I still own a few things from my college era, the mid/late 1970s. I doubt I’ve got anything made by man much before then. Damn near everything else I own is late 80s or newer, with the majority being post 2000. I’ve certainly randomly had, and might even have now, some loose change from the 1940s-1960s. But I haven’t specifically kept any due to its age. ---
**Author:** ![Nefario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/59ef9b/32.png) [@Nefario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefario)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/16 "2015-09-16T15:45:47Z")
Arrowheads, a tomahawk my Dad found plowing the family farm. Per LSLGuy, I still have a pair of Converse running shoes I remember purchasing about 1980 and are still wearable. They were originally metallic gold nylon and burnt orange leather! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/17 "2015-09-16T15:53:22Z")
I have two wooden chairs that crossed the Atlantic with my maternal ancestors who came to America very early on. They didn’t cross on the Mayflower, but they weren’t far behind. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/18 "2015-09-16T15:54:43Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > I have two wooden chairs that crossed the Atlantic with my maternal ancestors who came to America very early on. They didn’t cross on the Mayflower, but they weren’t far behind. I have to admit, that’s pretty awesome. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/19 "2015-09-16T15:56:54Z")
The oldest that I can reliably date are a few books over a century old. But I’m pretty sure I have some Indian stone arrowheads around somewhere, and might have some bits of old ironmongery too. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472/20 "2015-09-16T15:58:28Z")
I have several thousand-year-old Chinese coins. That’s not as impressive as it sounds; Chinese coils are made of bronze and were used a legal tender for centuries. I picked mine up for $1 each, which means I overpaid. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-human-made-object-you-own/731472.md?page=2)