What is a rare item you still keep?

I still have the following:
8 track tape player and tapes
Reel to reel tape player and tapes
Cassete tape player and cassettes
Record player and vinyl records

I have a chess set from Korea with hand-carved soapstone pieces. It, of course, has an Asian theme. Most pieces are human figures in robes, rather than the common western designs most often seen. The rooks are the exception, and they’re shaped like pagodas rather than a European castle. The set was passed down to me from my parents, who got it as a wedding gift from a friend of theirs. The friend had purchased it in Korea when he was stationed there in the early 1970s.

While I’m not sure of the exact rarity of the type, my understanding is that such sets sometimes made their way over here (usually carried over by U.S. servicemen) in the 60s and 70s, but I don’t think sets of that style have really been made since the 70s. Also since they were always hand-made the sets tended to be one-of-a-kind even if they were similar to others.

It’s been years since I’ve skied, but I have a pair of custom made ski boots from 30 years ago. They are obviously one of a kind and are very colorful. The foam insert has broken down, but the shells are intact and are decorating a place of honor in my home.

A matching pair (Kei and Yuri) of the original “Dirty Pair” figurines.

My wooden Little People (yes, those are mine)
Some $2 bills.
My Mom’s 1960’s Corelle Livingware

Hmm. I have a lighter, the old kind with a wick, that says made in West Germany. And some fancy enameled and glass ashtrays from the 1930s. They came from my wife’s grandmother.

I keep The 9’s, since 1985 and still shoot with the current a900 and a99.

Oh yeah, don’t forget The Glass. All from 1985, and still in professional use.

I have a Westinghouse desk fan from God knows when (the 50s or something). It’s made of steel and weighs like 40 lbs.

From the same era, I have this awesome book called “My Catholic Faith” that answers all kinds of questions about doctrine and devotes a good deal of time talking’ about the Communists’ place in the Catholic universe.

I also have a paperback of Soviet Science Fiction edited or at least with a foreword by Isaac Asimov. It includes really archaic ideas of science fiction such as an elephant with a human brain. Click the link for the other stories.

Another book, Principles and Precepts of the Return to the Obvious, a Christian ascetics rather poetic (and stodgy) take on the life of a pilgrim and the banality of civilized society. It’s perhaps a whiter iteration of The Prophet. A few gems:

Toilsome, badly paid work is not shameful; a big income obtained without toil is./ It is not shameful to beg: it is shameful to profit./ Saving is shameful. It is contrary to the economy of nature…/ Give as long as you have. When you have nothing left, ask. Give others the chance to do you some good. It will be a secret and most subtle charity.

At least never be one of those misers for whom honesty is an economy of gratitude/ If you don’t know how to ask when you are in need, your dignity has shaky foundations/ If you don’t know how to receive and give thanks, you will forever remain in debt/ What can you give back to your mother in exchange for her blood, her milk, her tears?/ In exchange for the light and your soul, what are you going to give back to God?”

I have a box of rocks, a Brownie 2A camera and a 2007 “Good Pub Guide”.

* A heavy brass mortar and pestle from my great-grandmother’s kitchen in Russia
* A printed program from nursery school for a play in which I and the little girl who would become a lifelong friend appeared.
* A short review typed on newspaper foolscap of a short piece I wrote after attending the 1963 March on Washington—by Tom Wolfe, then a newspaper reporter, later an author. He liked it a lot.

I always keep free city maps that I get from somewhere in the city I have never been before and use it to navigate. Then I come back home and throw the maps on a pile. Once I looked at them and thought that might be a beginning of the nice collection of used city maps from all around the world. So I still keep them all, I don´t know whether they are rare.

Evel Knievel wind up stunt bike, its shit, but still works…kinda.

Got my hands on Marvel comics the Secret Wars recently.

Something I’ve had for a long time though is an old Peter rabbit dining set. Had that since I was a little boy no older than two. The artwork has faded a bit so it’s just decorative but it brings back some pleasant memories. I enjoyed watching Peter Rabbit and all the trouble he’d get into.

I have the booklet from 1935 that came along with the “Little Orphan Annie” secret decoder ring. Sadly I had to sell the decoder when I was really broke :(
http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/236x/7e/6e/67/7e6e675a35f0a5eb68729cafa9ab79ae.jpg

2 gold Hamilton “railway special” pocket watches

@anniereborn

Did you make sure to drink your Ovaltine?

I have my dad’s thingy he tapped on to send Morse Code down in the cellar when I was little. I also have his trench art from WW2.

Campagnolo metal Silca frame pump head.

Campagnolo Record rear hub, 32 hole. (circa 1980)

Campagnolo Record quill pedal set (circa 1980)

Campagnolo Record crankset, integrated extractors. World’s first CAD bicycle component. Functional art. (170mm)

3T quill handlebar stem (20cm).

Silca Super Pista floor pump. Columbus steel tube. Wood handle. Leather plunger. Presta and convertible heads.

Bang & Olufsen Beosystem 10 Portable audio system (black) Matching Beovox CX 100 bookshelf speakers.

Warstiener spinner bottle opener.

JDM front end conversion for Honda Integra (On 1996 USDM Acura Integra SE)

Michelin walking Bibendum wind up toy.

Vintage Movado wristwatch. Stainless steel. Automatic. Smooth calfskin Hadley strap. Black.

Lafayette Swiss made early ‘70’s Cat In The Hat child’s teaching wristwatch. Clear back with multicolored movement. Goldtone case. Original child’s 14mm red leatherette strap. (Currently using Hadley red patent leather adult strap).

Keuffel & Esser Co. Stevens Wyteface hand wound tape measure. Patented design (25 ft).

4AD artist compilation album Lonely Is An Eyesore. Special edition. 12’ vinyl, book and videotape (VHS).

Audio cassette (Elcassette) and book: Fetish Garden by Boston Kink/Trance masters SleepChamber. Likely recorded by the artists themselves. Book is two tone blue photocopies of 17th century pornographic engravings.

Colibri electronic flameless cigarette lighter. Brushed steel and chrome. (Engraved with “Trust No One”)

Rare and old things. They give us mortals a sense of continuity. GQ.

For sentimental reasons I still have my Mother’s pure silver brush with a mirror on the back, its highly detailed with designs. May her soul continue to rest.

I have a small collection of precision slide rules. They are surprisingly valuable and collectable.

I have none. Just stuff about my kids. No antiques or anything.

A Jefferson Electric Mystery Clock.

Our grandparents and parents each had the Golden Hour version (Fig. 1 in the link above). The clocks thrilled us with the mystery of how they could keep time while being surrounded in a sheet of glass.

An aunt got the grandparents’ clock and she gave it to me. Earlier this year, Mom died. My sister and and a nephew both asked for her clock. The sister got Mom’s and I gave my nephew mine.

The reasons for passing it on, despite the sentimental value, made it easy. It didn’t work, despite having it repaired once; this style of clock is a dime a dozen, so replacement parts are cheap; and even if repaired, it wouldn’t work in the UK without an adapter, which is where I plan to live.

The most important reason though has to do with my partner. For my 50th birthday, he gave me the Jefferson Electric ‘Suspense’ clock (Fig, 2 in the above link). That darling man bought it because he knew how much this type of clock meant to me from a sentimental aspect. The one he purchased is much rarer, was in working condition, and it required a special adapter in order to work properly in the UK. That is true love.

Some of my Generation 1 Pokémon cards. I know they’ll be of value someday.

If I honestly tried to answer this question, I would still be typing a month from now.

One time I thought I would stand in the dining room, and play the “Find 100 items worth more than $100.” It was so ridiculously easy that quit at 40 or so. I barely had to move my eyes, much less my head. 100 items worth at least $1,000 would be a bit more of a challenge, but not enough to offset the tedium of the whole thing.

We have so many unusual things that are not listed in any antique guide that I’ve lost track.

The most I ever got for a single item is $6.000. I had bought it at a yard sale a week earlier and it was appraised for $10,000.

Edit, “bought it at a yard sale a week earlier for $10…”
I actually didn’t buy it the first time. But they were the first sale in a ‘community wide’ sale, and I bought it on the way back through. lol

The best is probably my Oomingmak handknitted 100% qiviut harpoon cap. Qiviut is the fiber of the musk ox, and it is the lightest, softest, warmest fiber out there. Also very expensive – an unprocessed ounce of the stuff costs about $100. My mom got the hat in college but doesn’t remember how, and had no idea how special and valuable it was when she gave it to me. I wear it most days during the cold weather months, and it’s like wrapping my head in a warm, fuzzy cloud.

Correction: it was not WW2; he was just on a battleship in 1928 . The USS New Mexico.lol