Aside From Coins, Do You Have Any Other Hobbies?

CONGRATS on that awesome location.

Back in the 80's, my roommate was a adjunct professor for UH Manoa. He invited me to join them on a scientific trip mapping some stars.

We were inside the Haleakala crater on Maui. The crater floor is 3,000' feet below the rim, so there is ABSOLUTELY no light pollution from anywhere. The stars shined like they were LED's! It was the first time I actually used lasers (with them of course). We had all three Pohoa cabins to ourselves.

One of the professors brought along a nice bonus--a large bag of magic mushrooms.
Needless to say, those three days and two nights were pretty righteous

 

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I do historical metal detecting.

And I spend a tremendous amount of time finding lost items for people at no charge. To date I have recovered and returned 24 items to their owners. The last was 2 weeks ago when I found a ring for a blind woman. She is selling her parents’ house and her father had lost a ring. Turns out the ring was actually her grandfather’s ring that her father had worn. The inscription shows the ring is 107 years old.

Oldest coin I’ve found is a 1718 Spanish 2 Reale. I’ve found and returned several rings with values in excess of $10,000. However I recently found this 14K ring with a 4 carat, emerald cut natural blue sapphire ring with a value of $15,000. My wife loves it.

 

I have to try metal detecting

 

I've read and heard about your types.
THANK YOU for what you do.

Too bad you're not on Cape Cod--I lost a ring...

 

So I shared my plant with yall a few pages back. I don't even smoke the stuff but I just wanted to try growing it because I could. I guess it turned out pretty good.. or so I've been told. And now I just can't stop gardening. I've got 4 different pepper plants growing, lettuce, thyme, tomatos.. and I just picked up a bunch of different flower seeds. The old ladies on my block are gunna be jealous of my garden this year... if it ever stops snowing.
I've also starting collecting comics. For the most part it's cheaper than coins.. but I still feel bad when I buy a comic knowing that I could've bought an ancient instead. Being a collector sucks sometimes.
This is my latest comic

Yeah if you told me a year ago I'd be a comic collecting gardener I would've laughed in your face.

 

Nice, I have been collecting comics just one year shy less than coins, I started in 1988 due to my dad. Did local and San Diego comic cons together from 1989 till 2012. Can't stand the cost of going or the disneyland crowds now & his knees are shot to walk that stuff anymore.

Where my dad collects silver age and even has the usual suspects like the first appearance of Thor, Iron Man, Spider-man and so on. His heart was always Fantastic Four. His late brother was X-men.

He stopped in the early 70s and enjoyed what the 70s had to offer

I focused on bronze age comics & acquired many key issues before the movies made comic books go through the roof. I do have many moderns, mainly key first appearances and a few complete issues like X-23 & Silk.

Below are a few of them that any comic fan would know.



Now I don't bother with them as I have completed my goals & even have parted with a few like Hawk-Man #4 and some misc x-men.

 

Well, to be honest, I think I have to count moving as a hobby.




I'm doing it again.

 

I feel for you.
With that being said, I think a person should move every 5 years to stay in shape.

 

I EMPATHIZE! 21 times in my 40 year career, living in 10 US States coast to coast and North to South, as well as 2 Countries...
Tired.

 

I'd have to count to be sure, but being retired military I'd bet I have more moves than most.

 

In an earlier post I mentioned my interest in Chinese Ivory puzzle balls.
Here's a link w/ more information:
https://tinyurl.com/y6mfhmxv

 

@midas1
Nice item for a collection. Those puzzle balls are very cool.

 

Wow!! Those are incredible!!!

 

An understatement, for sure! I just read how these were made, I’m completely blown away.

 

Chinese art in all of it's forms has fascinated me since I was a kid.

Somewhere around here I've got an antique Chinese hand carved cinnabar vase over brass. Infrequently, I'd take a magnifying glass and examine the carving. Impeccable workmanship. A few years ago, I gave its larger companion to a woman I was dating. Big mistake.

 

Technically, we are permanent part-time employees of the State of Texas... now... When I joined the Texas State Guard in 2014, I was warned that it could become the most expensive hobby I ever had.

Well, I spent more on numismatics -- since 1994. We just changed uniforms, becoming a joint force. So, I went from marpats (Maritime Regiment) to current issue OCP as the regimental public affairs officer. The new uniform ran over $250 all together. Then, there are the A-bag and B-bag full of gear you might need. Again, as a writer in HQ, in addition to the usual over-hills-dusty-trails stuff, I carry a stapler, white-out, notebook computer, basically, an extra office different from my office here at home. Then, there's travel and food. I earned certifications in emergency management and bought two achievement pins to show that. Always something... Being promoted from E-4 to E-5 was nice: and five bucks for new insignia. And then another five when I had to give up the petty officer crow for sergeant's chevrons. Always something.

But, the costs are just the price of admission to the best job I ever had. I age out and retire in November. For five years, I have been a Texan serving Texas. There is no finer calling, not better opportunity to be ready for my neighbors in distress. Hurricanes, fire, floods, tornados, and worse, the Texas State Guard is on site in hours.

 

I have a small collection of fun, old periodicals.

July 1, 1876 Scientific American with some talk about the Centennial Exposition and the front page engraving is featured on the cover of one of my favorite books.



A Protestant pamphlet which blasted the Catholic Church’s history. There is a reference to the Gunpowder Plot.



December 1755 Gentleman’s Magazine. The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake is extensively covered, and an early (and incorrect) hypothesis about the causes of earthquakes is discussed.



A complete set of the most extensive contemporary account of the sinking of the SS Central America.



A set of 1920 The Numismatist. These reveal the nefarious origins of the 1913 nickels.

 

Michael, when you say the Texas State Guard, do you mean the Natl. Guard?

 

Be careful. It can be extremely addictive!

 

PM sent Chip