Show me something cool, something that very few people would have, and definitely something that people would be surprised that you have. Anything goes, coins, paper money, exonumia. I will start with a Capital Plastics Silver State Quarter Proof Set. Most of you know me as a Jefferson Nickel guy, some of you remember me as rainbow toner guy, but how many of you know I am a closet modern collector?
I'm running with the first sentence and ignoring the second. Here is a print set on canvas of possibly the best artist that ever created works for Magic: The Gathering. These drawings were the first time in about 15 years that he was commissioned for such artwork, and each one is hand-signed by John Avon himself. My wife gave this to me as a Christmas gift a few years ago, and she had a heck of a time with them trying to actually locate the artist for the signatures.
Well, they are collectibles, so I say it counts. Very cool fantasy art; I collect that as well my friend, but almost exclusively Dungeons and Dragons artwork from the 1970's & 80's. Here are a couple of prints by Larry Elmore, size is 13"x19" and I store them in a large art portfolio. I also collect early Dungeons & Dragons material, modules, rulebooks, magazines etc.
A coin where I went outside my usual - type set, Lincolns, and Jeffersons. I remember seeing the beaver from when I was a kid in northern Ohio, and Canadian coins were everywhere. The nostalgia of this Tombac nickel drew me in - 12 sides! Beaver! Color!. I don’t care about the King side, so this is perfect for me.
Yeah, I think we need some moose in Bucks County. I was sitting on the patio yesterday when a herd of deer snuck up, either to feast on our bumper crop of acorns or drink out of the birdbath (it’s been dry). I didn’t see them, then the oak tree smacked me with an acorn and I jumped. Then they all startled. And then that startled me. Then they all loped back into the trees. I hope they come back because somebody needs to eat these darned acorns. Here’s just the first bucket from the patio. I collected that many more today. The patio is only about 10% of the tree’s canopy.
Something cool and mostly fool of me. I originally had the chance to pick up this capital holder for a song, but passed on the offer because I wasn't into 'Bookers' at the time. The offer was 65 dollars and I passed. A few months ensued and I found myself suddenly building a set of these, so I called the shop and inquired if the set was still available. It was, though at an exaggerated price. I still bristle at my reluctance to purchase the coins at the initial offer. To this day it remains my only example of 'capital' plastic......
An antique shop by me (us, generally) had some old and unused D&D stuff. I'm not sure if he still has it, but I'll ask next time I'm there. Very cool stuff, but it's something outside of my wheelhouse as I haven't played in several years now.
Yeah, count me in the shocked camp. I did not expect that. After many years of totally ignoring and disliking even the State quarter series, I finally found an example I like. I guess we are both closet modern guys. (this is not my submission to this thread)
I was wondering if anyone would jump in with MTG collectibles. I will admit I know nothing about the artist, never looked into him at all. I do, however, run many copies of the "island" version of the card across multiple MTG decks. Its my favorite art for a basic land of all time. Tends to be very pricey for a basic, a testament to how many people love this card art.
For my entry in this thread, I could post about my extensive Magic the Gathering collection, which has been a hobby of mine on-and-off since 1994. I could post about my mineral collection, or my childhood stamp collection, or my teenage comic book collection. All of which are fine little collections. But if I had to pick perhaps the most unlikely collection, the one that probably would make the most number of Cointalkers scratch their heads , it would be my..... Christopher Radko Christmas Ornament collection. These are hand blown glass ornaments from Poland. I have been collecting these probably since around 1992, and I add at least one piece every year in anticipation that my young adult sons will each take some to start their own collections some point soon. I am quite picky about which ornaments make it into the collection, and we are long since past the glory days of the late 1990's and early 2000 when Radko designs were at their peak. Meaning, I dislike most ornaments I see, so this is a curated collection, similar to any serious collection. Here are some examples: Here is what a full tree of my Radko looks like:
Hmm, not sure how cool, but how about an American Legion School Award, original Whole Earth catalog (lots of hippie stuff in there), and some insulators I scavenged as a kid near the RR tracks?
Many moons ago I had an original printing of the AD&D Dieties & Demigods handbook that included the Melnibonean and Cthulhu pantheons before they were forced to remove them for copyright....