What's your most esoteric pursuit?

I'm curious how far out in left field some of you guys venture. I've taken a shine to Nabatean coinage, but sometimes I think it's a stretch to call that coin collecting - more like collecting crudely-stamped bits of decrepit metal. I have however, learned to read most of the letters in the Nabatean alphabet, which counts for esoteric in my book.

 

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I like 19th and early 20th century phostetic glass eyeballs.

 

You win.

 

Well that was a short contest! Haha!

 

I only collect coins, though I happily include various proto-monetary objects in that definition. Lately, I've taken a bit of a shine to ethno-conchology - the study of shells in human culture. I obviously focus on monetary shells.

 

I'm not an esoteric kind of guy. Heck, even the word "esoteric" is too much in left field for me.

That being said, coins might very well be it for me. I don't have anyone outside of the people that work in the coin stores and one co worker that I can really talk to about coins around here. It's sad, really.

 

You have some fascinating pieces of proto-currency in your collection!

 

Heh. Coin collecting might be the least esoteric of my interests. I've been a science geek since I could read, and they tell me I started to read before I was 3.

Problem is, with the prevalence of the Internet these days, a lot of really esoteric stuff is just as easy to get to as celebrity gossip. So it all kind of blurs together in my head, and it's hard to pick out any one thing.

Edit: ...but if we're only talking about what you collect, it might be "oddities of materials science". Things like liquid metal alloys, magnetic oddities, very black or very white materials, uncommon elements -- although it's hard to narrow down exactly what "stuff like that" means.

 

In regards to coins, I collect overdates--somewhat esoteric, since it involves a lot of intense study of minute details.
Here are a few from my collection

 

Well, let's see. I like early money as well, collecting the various forms like Chinese spades, tiger tongues, lanna money, mexican hoes, etc.

For more "traditional" coins, I chase Sogdian pretty heavily, along with all forms of red and white huns, other central asia coins, some middle eastern like Persia, elamite, etc. I have a pile of Nabatean, and buy them occasionally, but not a real pursuit right now.

I also collect books on coins, especially ancient coins. I have a "few" of these as well.

 

Thanks! Maybe I should share some of it here:

UNITED STATES, Native proto-currency. Seneca tribe.
Ganounata village (Honeoye Falls, NY). Circa AD 1625-1687
White wampum beads (apx. 5mm, 0.10g each)
Carved white shell beads with lateral hole for suspension in belt
Cf. William Martin Beauchamp, Wampum and Shell Articles Used by the New York Indians, p. 369

Found at the Dann Farm site in Honeoye Falls, NY.


In 1687 combined French and Huron forces, lead by the Marquis de Denonville, set out to undermine the strength of the Iriquois Confederacy. The main strike was made against Seneca villages in Western New York. Ganounata was burned during the campaign. This episode was only one in a long line of conflicts fought over control of the North American fur trade.

Wampum was used by Native Americans in woven belts of white and black beads. The white beads were crafted from the columella of the Channeled Whelk, the black from the quahog. Traditionally, wampum belts were used as a ceremonial object to initiate a trade contract. It was only with the coming of the Europeans that wampum began to function as coinage. In 1673, New York state officially set the value of wampum at six white beads to the Dutch stuiver, or three black until they fell out of use. ​

 

Most folks in the world would probably consider all us numismatists to have esoteric interest. :smile

The furthest I go into left field might be my collection of error coins or Leprosy colony coins.

 

I don't know if it's really esoteric, but when it comes to coins I have a special fascination with coins from obscure places that mostly don't exist anymore by those names, or which are small, overlooked areas. This includes things like coins from the Azores, St. Pierre and Miquelon, British Guiana, St. Helena, Greenland, Sarawak, stuff like that.

 

Scottish Communion Tokens

 

I guess I'm more of an infield guy. I collect whatever catches my eye. Lately I have been interested in getting ancients with mythological characters, creatures and such.

 

My 1876 holed coins....anyone have a 1876 Twenty cent piece with a hole they want to sell

 

FWIW I actually had a plethora of esoteric numismatic exumonia at one time but I since cashed it off. Oh my, what big words for such a tiny brain!

 

Hey, my latest "esoteric" purchase came in the mail today!



Got it for about 25% under melt. Hoping to use it for some electrolysis experiments -- always wanted a set of platinum electrodes, but never felt like I could afford them.

 

I am all about the myths => coins with mythical "stuff" on 'em are by far my favourites!! (nymphs, satyrs, pegasus, hippocamp, minotaur, PAN, chimaera, etc)

... oh, and

Seriously? ... I wanna party with you!!

:cheers: