What is the oldest item you own?

[bbbamI]

For me, it would be the original abstract from property I own in MO. It dates back to 1894.

I have a 1895 5 cent piece. I have another one shown here dated 1900, the older one wouldn't scan well.

Then, I have this 1914 $5 dollar bill I think is pretty cool.

 

[Marquette]

I have some rocks

 

[bbbamI]

Hey...me too! I bought some rocks for landscaping a few years ago...the guy showed me some rock that was on sale. He said it was really old rock.

 

[Marquette]

Hey...me too! I bought some rocks for landscaping a few years ago...the guy showed me some rock that was on sale. He said it was really old rock.

mine are all packed otherwise I'd take a picture... but the one I'm thinking of has gone unidentified through several geology departments, although we're pretty sure it's a weird take on a certain common geode formation. I showed it to a gentleman that owns a rock shop and asked him if he knew what it was. His response was that he'd never seen anything like it and he'd give me $200 for it.

I think it's kryptonite. I notice that whenever I have it, I can't leap tall buildings or use xray vision.

your rocks are probably older, though =)

 

[GoodSense]

I have some ancient Chinese coins. I think they are 1,300 years old. They were given to me by my father as a gift when I was maybe 10. Pretty cool!

 

[MGYog]

Well, I have a few fossils I've collected over the years (one was dated as 3 and 1/2 million yrs old), so it's no contest. I also have a tektite which is probably as old as the universe. If you're asking about human made artifacts, I have a small coffee table that was built in 1898.

 

[Finance Dave]

I have a penny from about 1896. I don't get it out often anymore. Even if it had increased in value 10,000 % it would still only be worth $100 (did I do the math right?).

 

[laurence]

My grandfather's purple heart 1942(died in WWII) along with some of his belongings. Everything else in our house is 10 years old or newer. When the previous generation passes on, we'll inherit some very old things, I'm sure.

 

[CuppaJoe]

I don't have a response for this. I'm just thrilled to open a thread that is not political or financial. I'll post again when my old brain figures out what's oldest. um.

 

[haha]

The oldest item I own? Maybe my birth certificate?

Ha

 

[Nords]

We have family portrait photos going back to the 1880s. The notes on the back are almost as interesting as the people on the front.

We also have an official German document from that era. Translated, it's a court record of one of my ancestors who essentially escaped the German draft by emigrating to America. When he returned to visit family he was arrested as a draft dodger and eventually "deported" back to America.

I used to keep books dating to the early 1900s & 1890s. I had an 1893 edition nine-volume set of the works of Alexandre Dumas that I found at a garage sale in the 1960s and packed around for nearly 40 years before donating to charity.

I've been able to verify that paperback books don't age well. I just got rid of a stack of old 1950s/60s Donald Hamilton novels. Next up for disposal-- an entire set of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels.

 

[donheff]

I have a 12-60 million YO fossilized dolphin vertebrae I found in the water in front of my weekend house. I took it down to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History where they have collections you can use to match and date your specimen. Then you leave it for a staff "scientist" to review and confirm your work. I got a written response confirming my analysis -- it was fun.

 

[OAG]

I have the dollar bill (silver certificate) my Sister had in her hand when she went to the store in 1941 to purchase milk for me. She was hit by a speeding car and killed that day. My Father carried it in his wallet until the day he died - it was my only inheritance from him and I will pass it on some day.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I have a playstation 2!

Hey, is it just me or did lincoln look a lot younger in 1914?

 

[FUEGO]

Probably 20 Morgan silver dollars from the 1880's and later. They were my grandfather's and then after he died, my grandmother asked me about them and what they were worth, so I bought about half of them from her (she needs the money more than she needs old silver coins). My grandparents are depression-era, so those silver dollars were without doubt a form of savings for him. I also have a full set of the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe that are from the 1890's. Still in ok condition, and I have read them from time to time (they aren't worth a whole lot I don't think).

And, oh yeah, pretty much everything I own is made out of atoms whose constituent matter is ~14 billion years old.

Edit to add: And I have an original 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. I used to play it occasionally before I got a Playstation 2 last year.

 

[bbbamI]

 

[retire@40]

I don't have a response for this. I'm just thrilled to open a thread that is not political or financial. I'll post again when my old brain figures out what's oldest. um.

I have an old family Rosary and a old Truman presidential pin.

 

[Marquette]

I have an old family Rosary and a old Truman presidential pin.

Post five messages in the soap box as penance and get back to us.

 

[FIREd]

I own a few books published around 1820-1830 as well as a set of silver flatware dating back to 1847 (still in excellent condition for 160 year old forks, spoons and knives...).

 

[freebird5825]

quite a few old things actually...i find marine fossils all the time locally..but the prize for a man-made artifact goes to...
a small Bible, hand written in the Greek language, that belonged to my grandfather, who probably got it from his father.
my mom was born in 1927, so we can assume her father was probably born in 1907, and maybe his father was born in 1887.
i wish it had a date in it.
i have no kids, so it will be probably be donated to the local Greek Orthodox church library archives, one of these days. it is still in great shape.
i also have a small piece of the Berlin Wall. i know it's authentic cuz LH was there right after the Wall came down.

 

[Texas Proud]

I have been given a few fossils in amber... isn't that Jurrasic period

We have some old morgan dollars... don't know the years but the 1880s seem right...

This weekend was looking at my grandmother's picture from 1888... yes.. I said it right... we have some long generations here...

Hmmm... never thought of this...

1880 - grandmother born
1919 - mother born
1957 - me!!
2003 - step daughter

 

[W2R]

I have a playstation 2!

I've got you beat on that one. I have a Playstation (1? original). I never did upgrade to the 2.

My great grandfather and his father were photographers in the Wild West back in the mid to late 1800's, and I have some of their portraits and other photographs. I haven't looked at them for many years, and should. As I recall most of them have no dates or labels except a few photos of my ancestors. They had a great eye for composition and they are pretty fascinating to me. Sort of a window into history. One that I particularly love is a photo of my grandmother holding a tiny infant - - my mother. That was taken in 1909.

 

[Purron]

I have some fossils I picked up around my grandparent's house years ago. I also have some old coins in the safe deposit box but don't recall the exact dates. DH has a Parker shotgun that belonged to his grandfather.

DH and I, being LBYM kind of folks, still have some of the hand-me-down furniture people unloaded on us when we got married in '74. Hey, it still looks OK to us

 

[Moemg]

I have a silver tea set from the late 1800's . It was a present from a dear friend . I also have a full set of green depression glass that was my MIL's . Those items are worth quite a bit but my favorite older items are the letters my kids wrote me from camp . They are priceless .

 

[two4theroad]

I have a small pottery shard said to be from 850 to 1150 AD found on a hike in Chaco Canyon NM. It was not from the major ruins area but found on an old trash pile from a dig back in the 1950's. I also have a Texas Rangers badge from the 1800's and some old silver dollars left to me by my great grandmother.
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