Post Something You Had (and still have) in Your collection Since You were a Kid

From my Australia Pen Pal circa 1988. I was 12.



Other gifts they sent

 

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The only thing I can think of off the top of my head.
Back when I was about 15 I found a set of wedding rings hooked together sitting on a large rock in the middle of the desert.
We're talking 5 miles from the nearest road. something glinted off in the distance about 300-500 yards away so we went to investigate.
Would like to know the story of how or why they were there.

 

The St. Eligius medal in my profile pic.

 

I would have to post every coin in my collection. I still have every coin I ever collected right from the beginning. I will do a little scouring of the hoard and post something just to adhere to the rules of the game.

Oh, and that goes back to about 1966 as the beginning.

 

Define kid

That sounds like the start of a movie right there..
Cool story, thanks for sharing!

 

I bought these when I was just entering High School . . . . .

I just recently put them into "self slabs". I was infatuated with the 3 Cent Nickels.

Z

 

This will be a good one. Interesting to see what survived all the lean years with you folks. I'll post a couple. I actually have sold and traded quite a bit over the years but some made it through.



1982-S Proof Washington Commemorative half 90% silver.

The story behind this one if anybody's interested... (Come gather 'round you whipper snappers. )
Back in the 80s we went to the malls a lot. Of course no cell phones or internet to look anything up. This was probably, oooh, late 80s so these had only been out for 5 or 6 years. Well, one day I went to the mall with my parents. I was around 7 or 8. The mall was a hopping place then. Unbeknownst to us, we show up and there's a coin show set up in the middle of the mall. Dealers were there set up like any normal show and it was pretty neat. I saw this coin and talked my dad into getting it for me. I don't remember the price. Maybe $9. Didn't know anything about it.
Most people don't know but these were the first commemoratives to come out since 1954. While not a highly valuable coin the design is one of the best and this ones sentimental value will out pace any offer I could get on it.

My first BIG deal. 1994(?)




In the 90s I was collecting cards more than coins. The Gulf war dominated the news so there was sort of an overlap for these. For anyone not "up" on these, the 1991 Topps set design looked like this. On the side, for a while it was like an insider secret that they produced these special sets that were exactly the same but got a gold foil Desert Shield stamped into the corner. These cards were handed out to troops over there. I imagine few were collectors. Don't know if they got full sets or boxes of wax packs. At the time we knew these were special and rare. And it was assumed they were getting pitched out of tanks into the desert (but it was all silly speculation)

It took a few years for them to circulate and start showing up. My small town had a local shop for a while and I don't think they ever got more than a few. Again, no internet to look up anything or locate another Desert Shield card of ANY kind let alone compare an individual one. We had Beckett magazine and that was it.

So this was one of two cards the local shop had. I had it on my radar for weeks if not months. I clearly remember the huge plastic screw down holder it was in with the little white price tag. $125. It was a big fish for a 13 year old kid. Minimum wage was only $4.25 so you're looking at nearly a week's pay! I push mowed a lawn that would take me nearly 2 hrs and the old lady paid me $7 for the effort. I just wanted to set the table for you young 'uns to get an idea of the income streams I was working with. (LOL!)

Well, one day I finally rode my bike down there to make the deal on this. Didn't know if I could make it work or not. I brought half my collection with. I don't even remember what all I traded on it plus cash, but I came away with it. The store owner probably showed pitty on me and appreciated the effort but it was decent cards plus cash to cover it. I had a pretty big high off that one for a while.
In my 20s I sent it in to be graded which is how it got into this slab. I had them add the supposed piece of game used rookie bat for $30. This was when game used stuff was just starting to take off so I was digging it.

For non-card collectors you can see the individual grades it got on the back. How it works is pretty crappy to be honest. The grade a card gets can only be half a point higher than the lowest graded line. Since they hammered the corners on this like they always do, with a 7.5, the card's grade is an 8. It wouldn't matter if the other 3 lines were 9.5s. The corners are about as sharp as they can be on this. Have no idea what makes a gem mint 10. You have to have four 9.5s to get the 10 obviously.

So anyway, I still have it. For investment purposes, it's still worth about the original price. (LOL) But now you can also find them online if you want one. Supposedly 6500 to 7k sets were produced of the Desert Shields and better players are still popular. I eventually got the Roger Clemens too and still have that one with this one. Oh man was it a simpler time.

 

I technically am still a kidfound this CRH a few years ago,truly special and one of a kind.

 

Most of my childhood coins went through a purge, over the decades. But one coin I couldn't let go of was my Capped Bust Half Dollar. I had a weekly allowance, as a kid, and I was able to do a lay-a-way with the coin shop I used to go to. As time has gone by, I don't remember what I paid. But I still cherish it, since it seemed like it took forever to get.

 

My dad worked the railroad at the local wheeling Pittsburgh steel mill. When I was about 9, he brought this wheat penny home to me. Had thoughts of drilling a small hole and putting it on my Keychain. Way too much sentimental vaule to ever let it go.