Any strange things you collect?

As a kid I had a passion for geology and being the spoiled little brat I was, I was showered in rare rocks! I don’t collect them anymore but I keep them in my room for sentimental value (I actually found a few of them myself). Besides coins and banknotes I also collect stamps (more for the historical value than the rarity though), aviation memorabilia (specifically amenity kits) and USAF and NATO patches. I come from a military family and while I don’t plan on a military career I still have a passion for military aviation and the patches I get from my father and grandfather. So far I haven’t found anyone else that collects airplane amenity kits. I was wondering if anyone else on here collects something that to their knowledge no one else really does... If so please share your stories!

The most unusual objects I collect are telegraphy keys I guess...pity that started to collect them just lately,otherwise my very first hobby is amateur radio(particularly morse code communication),started with it almost 30 years ago.
May someone have telegraphy keys,pre-1970 qsl cards,IRC coupons,and other small amateur radio related objects,I'd be always glad to swap versus some of my coins(as long as a swap would be reasonable for both sides)

Are pre-1950 tube radios strange enough? Have some 40 of them and wife is considering whom to throw out of the house - me or the sets :-)

Quote: "GoldenGarfield"​As a kid I had a passion for geology and being the spoiled little brat I was, I was showered in rare rocks! I don’t collect them anymore but I keep them in my room for sentimental value (I actually found a few of them myself). Besides coins and banknotes I also collect stamps (more for the historical value than the rarity though), aviation memorabilia (specifically amenity kits and USAF and NATO patches. I come from a military family and while I don’t plan on a military career I still have a passion for military aviation and the patches I get from my father and grandfather. So far I haven’t found anyone else that collects airplane amenity kits. I was wondering if anyone else on here collects something that to their knowledge no one else really does... If so please share your stories!

Did collect shiny colourful pebbles walking along the shore. Don't know where I have kept them.​
USAF & NATO patches - can you please post a few photos. Never seen or heard of these.
Amenity kits - have quite a few. My dad used to travel a lot with work. Never really thought of them as a collectible.

Quote: "i_getsov"​The most unusual objects I collect are telegraphy keys I guess...pity that started to collect them just lately,otherwise my very first hobby is amateur radio(particularly morse code communication),started with it almost 30 years ago.
​May someone have telegraphy keys,pre-1970 qsl cards,IRC coupons,and other small amateur radio related objects,I'd be always glad to swap versus some of my coins(as long as a swap would be reasonable for both sides)

​Really unusual.
I have a few bus tickets with interesting numbers. Some phone cards. Had a scrapbook of newspaper headlines. Cricketeers photos whilst in school.

old Nintendo games.

Women.

Wooden replicas of Prince's favourite guitars, part of my Prince collection

I collect many different things, and I will be happy to swap with similar collectors my double or for coins
- mystery books (in Italian, English and a few in Fench)
- cookbooks (in Italian, English, Fench and a few in Spanish and Portuguese)
- coffee makers
- coffee cups
- small glasses used in Italy for sweet liqueur (rosolio), they are really small
- magnetic key of hotels
- safety instructions of planes
- champagne caps or better generically sparking wines caps
- postcards

I collect original editions of "Quotations from Chairman Mao", commonly referred to as Mao's Little Red Book or the Chinese Bible.

Two first edition Chinese copies arrived from Hong Kong yesterday. A white wrapper copy and red vinyl copy both with the calligraphic script entact. These editions are simply too expensive to buy in Europe or North America.


First Edition White Wrapper Copy (1964)


First Edition Red Vinyl Copy (1964)


Lin Biao Calligraphic Endorsement

Perhaps I may be able to retry a copy translated in Italian, original since it was printed in China. In such a case I will be happy to trade for coins

If someone is interested in:
phone cards, stamps, tickets (of any kind from museums to transport) I have many of them and I will be happy to swap for coins

The strange things I collect other than coins or notes is car brochures I have around 50 ish from the 1980s to now. Also I collect toy cars not as often as I used to when I was younger most of then date from the late 1960s to 2014 from brands like Dinky toys, Matchbox , Hotwheels, Corgi and Tomica also I do own some of the cheaper Chinese made toy cars but I keep them because they have sentimental value to me.

I also collect postcards which You probably don’t class as strange but I do have some dating as far back as World War One to 2019 some of them have been used while some have not. Also recently I’ve got into vintage tech and I own several phones from the mid 90s to now and collect music formats from records from the 30s to Compact Discs of the mid 2000s.

Finally the most strangest of them all I collect vintage food not just empty containers but some with contents still in them the oldest of them was some spices that expired in 1996. Hopefully in the near future I would be able to buy vintage army ration from World War Two onwards to today to open up and taste test.

At one time I collected left handed pens and pencils.

Quote: "Kurt53"​At one time I collected left handed pens and pencils.

​do those really exist, that sounds kinda weird to make them 😂😂

Yes they do. But most frequently occur as a mistake in manufacturing. Like error coins.

Consider putting this pen in your right hand. You can read the writing on it.



Now put it in your left hand, and you will see the writing is upside down.

Quote: "Kurt53"​Yes they do. But most frequently occur as a mistake in manufacturing. Like error coins.
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​Consider putting this pen in your right hand. You can read the writing on it.
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​
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​Now put it in your left hand, and you will see the writing is upside down.
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​

I knew someone at school who used left handed pens but these were specially made for left handed people or were ambidextrous which I am a little bit when I was younger but lost it over time but trying to learn again.

I have a brother that was bidextrous (?) in his youth.
He could write different messages with both hands at the same time.

Quote: "Kurt53"​I have a brother that was bidextrous (?) in his youth.
​He could write different messages with both hands at the same time.

​Interesting.

Quote: "Kurt53"​
​

​Oh, I thought it was made specifacly.. my bad 😂

Stuff I collect:
- Hot Wheels (although I kinda stopped recently, not because I lost interest but because Hot Wheels kept reusing the same cars in different decals or colors)
- floppy disks
- old Nintendo consoles/games
- airline tickets from trips of significance, provided that I still have them
- Disneyland character autographs
- an Unaccompanied Minor (UM) badge
- Jumpin Gym tickets (up until recently when I got rid of them. They expired at the end of 2013.)
- dust

Quote: "KS5331 Productions"​Stuff I collect:
........
​- dust

​Dust??

I collect chocolate figurines.
I have around 400 different ones.

Do you begin anew every summer?

I just have a bigger Kindersurprise figurine collection somewhere but I wouldn't say I collect them because I haven't seen them in over 15 years.
Also a very small used ammunition collection from 20mm auto-canon to 8mm gas pistol.

They survive summers pretty well, as long as they are not in direct sunlight 😁.
The oldest one is over 20 years, the newest I got from my father this month.

Quote: "Milana02"​I collect chocolate figurines.
​I have around 400 different ones.

​several years ago we used chocolate to trap mice in the loft/attic and the mice liked chocolate but from the late 80s.

Quote: "KS5331 Productions"​Stuff I collect:
​- Hot Wheels (although I kinda stopped recently, not because I lost interest but because Hot Wheels kept reusing the same cars in different decals or colors)
​- floppy disks
​- old Nintendo consoles/games
​- airline tickets from trips of significance, provided that I still have them
​- Disneyland character autographs
​- an Unaccompanied Minor (UM) badge
​- Jumpin Gym tickets (up until recently when I got rid of them. They expired at the end of 2013.)
​- dust

​I used to have a masive collection of NES, Super Nintendo and GameBoy games, I sold them when space bacame a issue. Always regretted doing that. I now have a choice collection of some of the classics such as Zelda, Super Mario, Donkey Kong etc. All boxed with instructions etc.
Whats your favourite games?
I recently discovered that I can beat zelda ALTTP in 4 minutes, my previous record was about 3 hours!!

13coinmike - I am sure you have safely defused that little thing in black

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Like an early very weak Kinetic bombardment weapon like the orbital Swords of Damocles or Rods from God

Quote: "13coinmike"​

Quote: "BluHawk"​13coinmike - I am sure you have safely defused that little thing in black

​​lol, what is cool about it, is it is non powder
​
​it was only weight and gravity and those pretty tails that made it lethal

​cool thing to display

Quote: "Idolenz"​Like an early very weak Kinetic bombardment weapon like the orbital Swords of Damocles or Rods from God

​Just looked up Rods from God - interesting bombardment technique

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Golden Garfield: I don't specifically collect but I do have somethings from my father. He was a navigator on a Halifax in WWII. I have his flight log. Once I looked up all his destinations after June 6, 1944. Each one progressively follows the French Coast to the east. He won the DFC and I have it along with his other medals. There were some very interesting photos with his things. They were air photos of the ground after a couple of raids. Another looks like a bomber that didn't make it off the ground just a plume of fire and smoke. There is a museum south of Calgary called Nanton Bomber Command Museum. One day I will donate these items to them. They are involved in trying to locate a Halifax that went down in the Irish Sea after the war. If it is found and brought to Nanton I will donate these items. He flew that plane once in July 1944. He normally flew 'O' Oscar and his pilot was an American. It is a great part of my family's history.

Quote: "ThePoet"​Golden Garfield: I don't specifically collect but I do have somethings from my father. He was a navigator on a Halifax in WWII. I have his flight log. Once I looked up all his destinations after June 6, 1944. Each one progressively follows the French Coast to the east. He won the DFC and I have it along with his other medals. There were some very interesting photos with his things. They were air photos of the ground after a couple of raids. Another looks like a bomber that didn't make it off the ground just a plume of fire and smoke. There is a museum south of Calgary called Nanton Bomber Command Museum. One day I will donate these items to them. They are involved in trying to locate a Halifax that went down in the Irish Sea after the war. If it is found and brought to Nanton I will donate these items. He flew that plane once in July 1944. He normally flew 'O' Oscar and his pilot was an American. It is a great part of my family's history.

​That is a very nice memory to share, great family legacy

Quote: "ThePoet". He won the DFC and I have it along with his other medals.

​I really like this story, do you perhaps have any pix of the Medals?

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cool stuff 13coinmike