What is your most unusual / obscure rare collectible?

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gra_farmer

Full Member
Mar 29, 2016
1,800
1,019
Kent
The reason for this post is around a very strange competition that I entered in November of either 2013 or 2014, it was a Leatherman competition on Facebook, this is all to do with the Movember growing a moustache awareness for testicular cancer.

On the Facebook page there was a Stache-o-matic picture augmentation feature where you could put moustaches on pictures that you had uploaded onto account, of course being a fan of Leatherman products, and at the same time having a lull period in my university studies I entered.


I was luckily to be one of the chosen over the 2 week period of the daily winners, and the prize was a Leatherman ‘Stache’ bottle opener, now this is perhaps my most unusual and rarest item.

I contacted Leatherman about this and they said that only 40 of these were produced, and of that 40 only 14 were given away, and I was the only person in the UK to win one….. So quite rare

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So what is your most unusual or obscure rare item that you have in your possession, ideally one that is internationally recognised, an potentially coveted…. I am interested to hear what you have and maybe even the story behind it.
 

Wayland

Hárbarðr
Tricky one to answer that.

I have many items that are hand made, many of them are unique which I guess makes them rare.

As for collectible, that is difficult to gauge.

Wayland-Carving-Complete.jpg


I suppose the item that I have had most enquiries about, asking if I would sell it, is the Wayland Kista. One of a kind and not something I ever intend to repeat.

But I have so many unique items to choose from made either by others or myself.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
I spin, (that's wool and flax, not bikes !) and I was an Archaeologist.
I have a collection of spindle whorls from one end of the country to the other.
Folks hear that I have some and it's absolutely astonishing how many folks have found spindle whorls, just out walking, totally out of context, not in any way archaeologically relevant, and they've kicked about pockets and drawers for yonks. They're sort of tactile little things, and folks don't want to throw them away, but without context museums are rarely interested.
Then they find someone like me, and I find myself with a slowly growing collection :)

I have lead ones with Roman inscriptions, tiny stone ones that could be any period from Neolithic to pre-industrial (in Gaelic hand spinning was known as spinning on rocks and one presumes that was how the Picts and Brits referred to it too ) ones made from shards of pottery, Samian ware, from marble, copper, etc.,
The only wooden ones I have are modern, but surviving illustrations show distaffs and carders and whorls of wood. Wood rarely survives in our temperate climate, only in specific and rather rare situations.
 

gra_farmer

Full Member
Mar 29, 2016
1,800
1,019
Kent
I spin, (that's wool and flax, not bikes !) and I was an Archaeologist.
I have a collection of spindle whorls from one end of the country to the other.
Folks hear that I have some and it's absolutely astonishing how many folks have found spindle whorls, just out walking, totally out of context, not in any way archaeologically relevant, and they've kicked about pockets and drawers for yonks. They're sort of tactile little things, and folks don't want to throw them away, but without context museums are rarely interested.
Then they find someone like me, and I find myself with a slowly growing collection :)

I have lead ones with Roman inscriptions, tiny stone ones that could be any period from Neolithic to pre-industrial (in Gaelic hand spinning was known as spinning on rocks and one presumes that was how the Picts and Brits referred to it too ) ones made from shards of pottery, Samian ware, from marble, copper, etc.,
The only wooden ones I have are modern, but surviving illustrations show distaffs and carders and whorls of wood. Wood rarely survives in our temperate climate, only in specific and rather rare situations.
I would like to see some photos if possible, particularly the lead and stone ones.
 

MrEd

Life Member
Feb 18, 2010
2,148
1,053
Surrey/Sussex
www.thetimechamber.co.uk
I haven a few obscure collectibles - not sure all of them are internationally recognised though. Some of them are quite rare (and niche) in the UK (militaria). Lots of rare bits of equipment used by the Royal Observer Corps.

I do Have a piece of the space shuttle thermal tile though which is quite cool, and some early apollo era memorabilia
 

Bishop

Full Member
Jan 25, 2014
1,716
691
Pencader
Not the oldest thing I own but a tad on the rare side, a copy of the Babylon5 cookbook (human edition)
 

SaraR

Full Member
Mar 25, 2017
1,631
1,177
Ceredigion
Ooo, that's really cool! I'd love to see some of them!


I spin, (that's wool and flax, not bikes !) and I was an Archaeologist.
I have a collection of spindle whorls from one end of the country to the other.
Folks hear that I have some and it's absolutely astonishing how many folks have found spindle whorls, just out walking, totally out of context, not in any way archaeologically relevant, and they've kicked about pockets and drawers for yonks. They're sort of tactile little things, and folks don't want to throw them away, but without context museums are rarely interested.
Then they find someone like me, and I find myself with a slowly growing collection :)

I have lead ones with Roman inscriptions, tiny stone ones that could be any period from Neolithic to pre-industrial (in Gaelic hand spinning was known as spinning on rocks and one presumes that was how the Picts and Brits referred to it too ) ones made from shards of pottery, Samian ware, from marble, copper, etc.,
The only wooden ones I have are modern, but surviving illustrations show distaffs and carders and whorls of wood. Wood rarely survives in our temperate climate, only in specific and rather rare situations.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
I like fossils. We don't have many locally but some world famous deposits of marine life forms (Burgess Shale, etc).
Good stuff up the ridge at The Whistlers sky tram but that's in Jasper National Park so no take.

Unknown history, just a best guess: it hung on the wall in my summer house, family trinket from some time, somewhere.
A pair of bison horns, joined on a little wooden plaque covered with a bit of denim cloth and a strip of thin leather.
I never paid much attention to it. Hanging downstairs here, someplace now.
The leather is covered with exquisite fine silk embroidery of flowers, Assinniboine-style. Maybe 1850's.
 

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