What do you collect?

**Ray1936** · March-21-21, 07:57 PM

Among other things, a complete run of Michigan license plates from 1910 to date. Also have a 50 state collection for the year 1976, the nation's bicentennial year, during which most states issued a special plate in commemoration.

So what do you have piled up in your garage/attic/den????

**Meddle** · March-22-21, 06:44 AM

Besides dust?

**jcole** · March-22-21, 08:31 AM

I have a small collection of Acoma pottery and Southwestern turquoise jewelry

**Maof** · March-22-21, 09:31 AM

My collection consist of depression glass, which seemed to have ramped up the last couple of months.

Also pottery of various makers, some dating back to the early 1900's. My new thing is cigar/ashtrays, mostly California pottery. A few pieces of mid-century artwork too. Amber jewelry that my mom collected in various colors. I have a couple of 1950's plates that were left in the garage from the previous owners. I'm in trouble...lol

**Maof** · March-22-21, 09:39 AM

Originally Posted by jcole

I have a small collection of Acoma pottery and Southwestern turquoise jewelry

I just picked up a small piece of Acoma. $2.99 at my local thrift.

**Richard** · March-22-21, 09:48 AM

Vintage projects that I never seem to find the time to finish,mostly appliances, stoves,refrigerators,commercial restaurant equipment from the 20s through the 50s.

I used to collect colored bathroom fixture sets,I had over 200 complete sets with every color under the sun,most I had got for free when people remolded and set them by the curb.

But then they became popular again and somebody made me an offer I could not turn down.

**jcole** · March-22-21, 12:35 PM

Damn. I have to start thrifting

Originally Posted by Maof

I just picked up a small piece of Acoma. $2.99 at my local thrift.

**Jimaz** · March-22-21, 01:05 PM

I'm not so interested in it now but I still have a large collection of exotic knives. Some are one-off custom commissioned, some military, some downright silly toys.

The most fascinating design, IMHO, is the balisong or butterfly knife. To transition it between open and closed [[with one hand), half of the split handle has to leave the other half, swing around 360°, then contact the other half again on the opposite side. I used to wonder how that could possibly be done without it going through the hand.

The trick is that the hand can form a "C" shape with the opening pointing either away from, or toward, your body. By switching the direction, the handle can go through both openings without hitting the hand. It all happens too fast to see.

For the more aggressive reverse grip [[point down, edge forward) it's actually faster than a switchblade and can be done in one smooth motion.

Most balisongs are poorly designed but the Microtech Tachyon is top quality. The point can't chop through the latch and the double tang pins protect the edge.

**Maof** · March-22-21, 04:10 PM

Originally Posted by jcole

Damn. I have to start thrifting

Come on, I'll show ya the ropes! But really, I never pay more than 4.99 for anything I purchase. You'd be surprised what families get rid of not knowing or caring what mom and dad or grandma and grandpa had. Old and new. I snagged this about a month ago and paid $3.99........https://www.neimanmarcus.com/p/kosta...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I had a gentleman side-eyeing me up and down the aisles to see if I was going to put it back

**Honky Tonk** · March-22-21, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by Maof

I had a gentleman side-eyeing me up and down the aisles to see if I was going to put it back

Maybe it wasn't the vaz he was eyeing...

**Zacha341** · March-22-21, 06:09 PM

^^^LOL! HTonk!! I did not tell you to come out and play! --

--

Don't get me started on thrift-store shopping! You can come out of there with some super deals for designer clothing/ rare artifacts, even rare signed books if you know what you are looking for.

I purchased an 18" gold, hefty gram, 4 mill. thick 18K chain for under $5!

It bore the older-style three-digit hallmarking of 785. Not 18K as usual. When I saw that, I wondered only if it was 'plated' for such a price.

Had it later appraised - turned out it was solid 785! I've heard of people professionally scouting resale shops/ garage sales for such finds.

**Zacha341** · March-22-21, 06:15 PM

I'm old enough to remember more than a few of those plate years! Nice.

Originally Posted by Ray1936

Among other things, a complete run of Michigan license plates from 1910 to date. Also have a 50 state collection for the year 1976, the nation's bicentennial year, during which most states issued a special plate in commemoration.

So what do you have piled up in your garage/attic/den????

**Maof** · March-22-21, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Maybe it wasn't the vaz he was eyeing...

LOL...Honestly, it's the funniest thing to watch and it happens all the time. I've had employees tell me they see shoppers actually swipe items out of others shopping carts. It's every man for himself.

**Gistok** · March-22-21, 08:33 PM

I collected Hummel figurines. Came from the town in Germany where they were made, and back in the 1980s I would buy them from factory employees for about 10 cents on the dollar, and brought them back, selling many to pay for my trip. But I did end up keeping about 90 of them. 10 years ago I saw what was happening... the older collectors were dying off, so I sold off all but 4 of them, still for decent money. Now that they have become almost thrift shop worthless... I plan on buying back [[for 10 cents on the dollar) the ones I really liked, but will wait a year or two after the prices have dropped even more.

Just glad I never got into Beanie Babies... they're practically worthless.

**Ray1936** · March-23-21, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

I collected Hummel figurines. Came from the town in Germany where they were made, and back in the 1980s I would buy them from factory employees for about 10 cents on the dollar, and brought them back, selling many to pay for my trip. But I did end up keeping about 90 of them. 10 years ago I saw what was happening... the older collectors were dying off, so I sold off all but 4 of them, still for decent money. Now that they have become almost thrift shop worthless...

Mom collected them When she died, my brother claimed them all. Was okay with me, but your mentioning of them brought back memories.

**oladub** · March-23-21, 04:33 PM

I do some genealogy and collect a lot of history; collecting everything from names, dates and places to information about ancestors occupations and their stories. Maybe some of my cousins' great grandchilden will discover the information that others and I collect and it will then be theirs just as others have bequeathed information that I appreciate.

**jcole** · March-23-21, 04:46 PM

I've also been doing a lot of genealogy, too. Back to 5th set of greats on both sides. I try to collect all the censuses, gravesites, addresses, etc to put with the tree. I'd love to be able to come up with more in depth stuff but it's hard when the relatives were scattered around Europe

Originally Posted by oladub

I do some genealogy and collect a lot of history; collecting everything from names, dates and places to information about ancestors occupations and their stories. Maybe some of my cousins' great grandchilden will discover the information that others and I collect and it will then be theirs just as others have bequeathed information that I appreciate.

**oladub** · March-23-21, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by jcole

I've also been doing a lot of genealogy, too. Back to 5th set of greats on both sides. I try to collect all the censuses, gravesites, addresses, etc to put with the tree. I'd love to be able to come up with more in depth stuff but it's hard when the relatives were scattered around Europe

It does complicate gathering information when one relative is from across a border where an entirely different set of records is kept or there is a national boundary change or the building where records were are kept burned down or was bombed. That's European history I suppose.

**Kathleen** · March-24-21, 02:28 PM

Many collections in my house!!

Postcards - been collecting since I was 10 years old and my grandfather gave me some vintage postcards, ostensibly for the stamps, but I liked the postcards more than the stamps

Gone With The Wind - saw the movie when I was in the 6th grade, read the book soon after; started collecting books and memorabilia in the late 1980s

Detroit History covering the people, events, architecture, industry [[automotive and other), cultural institutions, etc. - vintage and contemporary books, as well as an assortment of vintage collectibles, photos, postcards, plus articles clipped from newspapers and magazines

Pottery and Glass Art - some Pewabic and Rookwood pieces plus glass art by local artists

Art and Architecture books

And I too have filing cabinet drawers filled with genealogical data, done way back in pre-Internet days. I wrote to cousins and great aunts and churches and cemeteries and county clerks and such to request records and information. Lots of vintage family photos too!

**Jimaz** · March-31-21, 07:09 AM

Speaking of collections....

Not Heading To Paris This Summer? The Louvre Has Digitized 482,000 Artworks

"The Louvre is dusting off its treasures, even the least-known," said Jean-Luc Martinez, President-Director of the Musée du Louvre, in a statement on Friday. "For the first time, anyone can access the entire collection of works from a computer or smartphone for free, whether they are on display in the museum, on loan, even long-term, or in storage."

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/

**Dutch** · April-23-21, 09:28 AM

Many collections, large and small, have come and gone over the years here. Antique crockery, cast iron, cookbooks and cookery-related; Civil War items; World War I; Marine Corps; vintage clothing; antique transferware; antique furniture, I can't even remember everything. Currently focusing on pieces to complete our vintage travel trailer restoration.