I have a bunch of different collections, but nothing really extravagant like many of the folks here on the forums. (And I mean that in the most envious of ways. ) Since I turn 30 this year, I don't have all the expendable income to spend on things like autographs, really rare cards, or really rare coins. I do have the following collections though:
Baseball Cards: Topps complete sets, including updates/traded, from 1980 through the present. (Again, due to my "print run" starting in 1980. ) Variations of the base sets including the Gold and Gold Winners sets, the Limited Edition sets from 2000-2002, the Tiffany sets from 1984-1991 I believe? Insert sets that are obtainable. (It's something about modern cards that has me ill. There are more and more insert sets each year that achieving my goal of having everything has become prohibitively expensive. When it comes to the one offs, or the incredibly limited print runs like the modern gold variations, I have no chance.) Base set card variations. (Things like the red back version of the Topps base set from a few years ago, the card variations from that same year, the Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa HR Chase sets, and the only one that I have actually completed; the Barry Bonds HR Chase set). Unopened packs of the base and traded sets from 1980 through the present. (This is a pretty neat collection seeing how the packaging and distribution of the cards has changed so much throughout the years).
Modern Coins: Lincoln Pennies, proofs and uncirculated, 1909-Present. Jefferson Nickels, proofs and uncirculated, 1938-Present. Roosevelt Dimes, proofs and uncirculated, 1946-Present. (I actually have this collection fully completed, even the proofs! ) Washington Quarters, proofs and uncirculated, 1932-Present. Kennedy Halves, proofs and uncirculated, 1964-Present. Sacagawea Dollars, proofs and uncirculated, 2000-Present. (Another complete set). Presidential Dollars, proofs and uncirculated, 2007-Present. (Another complete set). Coins from the year 1880. (This is 100 years before I was minted, , and I have a one cent piece, all Morgan dollars except the proof, and a $5 gold piece which is the only vintage gold I have or really can afford).
The Periodic Table: This is probably the only collection I have that I can say is "impressive" and is also the basis for my avatar. I have actually been interviewed by a few scientific magazines regarding my collection, had a couple of my photos published in a couple of chemistry textbooks (and getting paid for them was a nice bonus!), and had the London Financial Times ask if they could publish a photograph of one of my samples for an article they were writing. (THAT had me smiling. Too bad it wasn't on their website and only used in print as I didn't get a chance to see the end result).
But it was my coin collection that got me into this one. While in high school, I had learned about a little practical joke type chemistry experiment that sounded way too fun to pass up. (I saw it in the start of the movie The Manhattan Project). The experiment required elemental Iodine to make it so I asked my chemistry teacher and she said "NO WAY!!!!!!!". That was a bit disappointing. While in college, I remembered the experiment again and figured I'd take a look on E-Bay and see if I could get the Iodine there. I could, and I did. Many people in my dorm weren't too happy with me for the next few weeks. Hehe.
I got the Iodine and also saw a massive block of Magnesium metal on E-Bay for a few bucks, so I bought that too. I then realized that with the gold, silver, platinum, copper, and zinc from the coins I had, aluminum from aluminum foil, my Iodine and my magnesium, I had quite a few of the basic elements of the periodic table. So I decided to start a collection of them! I looked around online to see if there were any other collectors, and found one site from someone out in Chicago who already had completed a collection and had a great one at that. Using the links to the sources he had used, and also sending some e-mails to get some information and inspiration about the hobby, I was able to find some great sources myself.
One of the people I met I ended up become great friends with. Dave Hamric is the owner of Metallium (www.elementsales.com) and has turned the hobby into a business for himself and is a great resource for all of the collectors out there like myself. From what he tells me, this is a pretty big hobby and there are a lot of people who collect the elements.
My collection is just about as complete as it gets. It started out with me being happy just to have any sample at all of any element, and slowly expanded to include nicer and nicer samples and even different allotropes of the same element. (Such as graphite, buckminsterfullerines, nanotubes, charcoal, and diamonds for Carbon). For Hydrogen, I've even been able to secure samples of all three main isotopes; protium, deuterium, and tritium. Some of my samples are indeed radioactive and I've built myself a nice wooden lead-lined box to safely store them. My thorium sample, which is sealed in an evacuated ampoule to prevent oxidation of the metal surface, is what the London Financial Times used in their article. Uranium metal is in the form of some foil and chips of depleted uranium. (Uranium where the naturally occuring percentage of fissile U-235 has been drastically reduced). The Uranium is simply amazing at how dense it is. I don't usually view them all too much so as to keep my yearly radiation dose down, but in the grand scheme of things the amount I receive from viewing them for a few minutes each year is negligible. I get more radiation exposure during my cross-atlantic trips for work.
Just about all of my samples are the element in their pure, unbound forms. This is the case for all elements except promethium (a radioactive element) which is in the form of a painted watch hand that still glows faintly in the dark from the painting process they use, tritium which is in the form of a key ring and it illuminates brightly and will continue to do so for another 20 years or so when the decay of the tritium will make the light not visible anymore, radium which is the same situation as promethium, and americium which is a VERY tiny little dot of an alloy of Am-241 which is used as the ionization chamber source in just about every smoke detector on the planet.
My most impressive samples are probably my troy ounce pellets of Osmium (due to it's blue color and incredible density), Iridium (again because it is so dense, the pellet is about the size of a quarter), all of my alkali metals as I have them sealed in ampoules completely free of air so that they retain their bright and shiny look, my tube of Fluorine gas which has probably just turned into a Fluorine compound by now as the glass has become quite frosted as the F2 ate away at it, my little ampoule of liquified chlorine gas, and my sample of Red Selenium. (That one is there because I was just reading some old chemistry books and noticed that there was an example given for how to make the red allotrope of selenium which I did not have a sample of. So I told my friend Dave and went up to his place to test out the experiment on a small scale to see if it could be increased to make larger amounts. Everything went great until the silane gas that is produced in the reaction spontaneously ignited and nearly made the both of us deaf. lol. It was quite the loud "pop". We also discovered that if you let the Red Se heat up, it converts to the normal gray form).
So having an element collection is kind of neat. In my office at work I have a large scale poster that a friend of mine printed out of my element collection. It's hanging up on the wall behind me, and whenever people come by to talk to me they always go up to the poster and take a closer work and say "So THAT's what xxxx looks like!" It's pretty neat to see. It's also a collection that I want to tell my home insurance company about because if a fire broke out and I lost it, it would be VERY expensive and very difficult to gain back due to the volatile nature of the prices of each element, but at the same time I'm not sure if I want them knowing I have these elements in my house. hehe.
I collect the elements on the periodic table, and some coins. I have a complete Roosevelt set, and am putting together a set of coins from 1880.
Dude collecting the elements is very cool. I have some very old refractometers and other scientific stuff laying around (does ancient HPLC's count as a collectibles because they are a pain in the butt to use).
<< <i>Hey, my wife allows me 4 as well! >>
Hey BWB, how do you like the V's. It is very hard for me to play them sitting down as they are neck heavy. I have my eye on the new LP Studio Silver Burst Gibson just put out. It has push/pull coil taps standard which is very cool on a Studio model.
I really want a Fender Strat one day (Iron Maiden played them so they are cool!) and the one I want is the Candy Tangerine model!!!!!!!
My best buddy has a black burst Strat custom, I didn't even know they made that color.
Currently completing the following registry sets: Cardinal HOF's, 1961 Pittsburgh Pirates Team, 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates Team, 1980 Pittsburgh Pirates Team, Bill Mazeroski Master & Basic Sets, Roberto Clemente Master & Basic Sets, Willie Stargell Master & Basic Sets and Terry Bradshaw Basic Set
I'm more of a book collector than a sports card and memorabilia one. Primary focus is on American Literature - first editions, working on a Pulitzer Prize run along with favorites (Catcher in the Rye, Slaughterhouse-Five, Fitzgerald's works, et cetera) Found lots of pictures in old books, but nothing of any monetary value
Patrick, do you have a copy of Confederacy of Dunces. The only book i've read that made me laugh out loud, and the story behind getting it published is pretty amazing.
Mainly sports, but if something catches my eye then I will get it. I have a Sarah Palin autographed book; sometimes stuff like that will call for me to buy it.
Rick
Buying or trading for Cubs, Angels autos and anything related to Nick Adenhart! ****RIP NA 34****
<< <i>I'm more of a book collector than a sports card and memorabilia one. Primary focus is on American Literature - first editions, working on a Pulitzer Prize run along with favorites (Catcher in the Rye, Slaughterhouse-Five, Fitzgerald's works, et cetera) Found lots of pictures in old books, but nothing of any monetary value
Pat - do you have Updike's Rabbit Run in first ed?
Patrick, do you have a copy of Confederacy of Dunces. The only book i've read that made me laugh out loud, and the story behind getting it published is pretty amazing. >>
I don't have Rabbit Run, but gosh, what a great book
Confederacy of Dunces - this one is pretty hard to find and expensive in 1st edition/1st printing...it's on my list to buy though
It all started with Garbage Pail Kids in 1985/86. I then went with my first football set-1981 Topps for $17. I moved to my first baseball wax box-1989 Topps for about $18. I got into basketball with 1990/91 Hoops, I still have tons of that stuff. I was always into G.I. Joe since I can remember, I still have my childhood vehicles. I've got a ton of Star Trek action figures/dolls, so yeah, I'm a Trekkie. I got heavy into Starting Lineups and a few McFarlanes. I've also got a ton of Star Wars action figures. So to sum it up I'm a
Sports cards and Action Figure Collector.
Slowly moving towards autographs..........uh oh......
Along with cards which is my main collecting habit I also collect baseball Hartland statues of which I'm one Dick Groat away from completing. Being in the TV business I've always had an interest in the old broadcast technology, so like Mike posted earlier I along with my wife collect old radios and also was very lucky to find these old very cool microphones. Everything here in fact works including my son Charlie who's leaning on a 1938 Zenith radio. Great thread by the way. Thanks and take care. Doug
Before I played guitar, I played drums for years - in 1962 one of my band mates went into Manhattan to Sam Ash - at that time it was was one little store! He bought a Jazzmaster - we were covering the Ventures back then - and it was "the" guitar to have. It was more money than the Strat. Now? I'm takin the 62 Strat.
Which Martin do you have?
thanks Mike, the Martin and Les Paul were my grandfather's which he passed down to me. My dad was also a big Ventures fan..about all he listened to were instrumental bands like that. The Martin resides at my parent's house. I don't have a pic saved on his cpu...but it's the 1965 Martin D-18 Dreadnought
This is actually the perfect thread to ask if anyone can use something I picked up as part of an estate auction lot years ago.
I have 15 color video cartridges (mainly Panasonic NV-P530s). According to the TV Guide cutouts accompanying the boxes, they contain taped special TV programs - most of them are of the CBS Turns 50 retrospective (9.5 hours over 6 nights), and I can make a list of what everything is, if someone would like.
I don't have the equipment to watch them. I tried to donate them to the Museum of TV and Radio, university mass media libraries, etc., only to find that they can't accept programs taped off the air.
Is anyone interested? I'm not looking to profit off them; if you can put them to good use, pay for shipping and they're yours.
Very cool guitars. It looks like the Les Paul has been modified as I am pretty sure it was supposed to have 3 mini humbuckers. 3 pickup Les Pauls are very hard to find compared to the standard two. Also if that Telecaster is an original 70s model it has gone up alot in the last 10 years. It is one of the most desired models from the 70s by Fender.
Currently completing the following registry sets: Cardinal HOF's, 1961 Pittsburgh Pirates Team, 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates Team, 1980 Pittsburgh Pirates Team, Bill Mazeroski Master & Basic Sets, Roberto Clemente Master & Basic Sets, Willie Stargell Master & Basic Sets and Terry Bradshaw Basic Set
Before I played guitar, I played drums for years - in 1962 one of my band mates went into Manhattan to Sam Ash - at that time it was was one little store! He bought a Jazzmaster - we were covering the Ventures back then - and it was "the" guitar to have. It was more money than the Strat. Now? I'm takin the 62 Strat.
Which Martin do you have?
thanks Mike, the Martin and Les Paul were my grandfather's which he passed down to me. My dad was also a big Ventures fan..about all he listened to were instrumental bands like that. The Martin resides at my parent's house. I don't have a pic saved on his cpu...but it's the 1965 Martin D-18 Dreadnought
>>
Great pieces. These days I am mostly into Fodera Guitars. They are a newer company compared to Gibson and Fender but their sound is amazing.
I like off brand guitars too. My two favorite companys besides Hagstrom is Reverend and Eastwood.
I would love to have the Eastwood remake of the Ovataion Ultra GP (guitar Josh Homme of QOTSA and Kyuss) plays. Recently John Fogerty sported one on his last tour.
I have had a Gretsch Malcolm Young model but want the orange version not the natural like he actually has (note, his actually used to be a firebird red and he removed the finish).
Older Reverend's made by Joe Naylor are becoming quite collectable and are still sorta cheap. Kid Rock is pictured on one of his album covers with his custom Reverend.
Currently completing the following registry sets: Cardinal HOF's, 1961 Pittsburgh Pirates Team, 1972 Pittsburgh Pirates Team, 1980 Pittsburgh Pirates Team, Bill Mazeroski Master & Basic Sets, Roberto Clemente Master & Basic Sets, Willie Stargell Master & Basic Sets and Terry Bradshaw Basic Set
I like off brand guitars too. My two favorite companys besides Hagstrom is Reverend and Eastwood.
I would love to have the Eastwood remake of the Ovataion Ultra GP (guitar Josh Homme of QOTSA and Kyuss) plays. Recently John Fogerty sported one on his last tour.
I have had a Gretsch Malcolm Young model but want the orange version not the natural like he actually has (note, his actually used to be a firebird red and he removed the finish).
Older Reverend's made by Joe Naylor are becoming quite collectable and are still sorta cheap. Kid Rock is pictured on one of his album covers with his custom Reverend. >>
Thanks. I'm quite proud of my element collection and just admire it knowing that every single thing I come across in my life is made out of those basic building blocks. Kind of like looking at the legos of the world.
I collect the elements on the periodic table, and some coins. I have a complete Roosevelt set, and am putting together a set of coins from 1880.
There are some man made elements out there too. Element 109 was discovered/created by German scientists in the 1980s. It is really unstable. You don't have those do you?
"So many of our DREAMS at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we SUMMON THE WILL they soon become INEVITABLE "- Christopher Reeve
Thanks Steven, this radio sounds soooo good it's amazing. It also has a unique feature, a cats eye tuning circle. It varies while tuning in a station and becomes a fully green circle when the signal for that station is at its strongest. Technology even back then was pretty cool.
All this talk about collecting....as I look around my space, I am overwhelmed. I accumulated way too much stuff in the name of collecting. Its not that my collections are huge, but my space is so limited. It really takes the fun out of everything.
-Anyway I do collect baseball stars of the 80s and 90s. I do not do much with sets because of the space factor. I do have the 1987 Donruss set, 1988 Fleer Update, 1987 Fleer Update Glossy, and a few more. I have Bowman Baseball Draft Picks in sealed hobby boxes.
-Garbage Pail Kids... the old and new
-Action figures: GI Joe, Star Wars, Superman, transformers...
-antique cameras
-model cars
-I kept various toys I grew up with for sentimental reasons
-Gold and Silver coins
-Stamps
-Mercedes-Benz cars (1980s diesel cars)
As collectors, we all tend to be a bit on the OCD and hoarding side. There were numerous times when I would pick up something unique thinking perhaps I can turn a profit on it one day while I enjoy it in the meantime ... WRONG...collect what you like and don't sweat the profits....
My most expensive hobby is the Mercedes-Benz one. I think the most profitable is collecting gold and silver coins (not that I am selling them, I just know in a crisis situation, I can get my money back and then some the longer I hang on to them).
"So many of our DREAMS at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we SUMMON THE WILL they soon become INEVITABLE "- Christopher Reeve
When I was a kid, I used to collect lots of stuff - coins, bottle caps, stamps, comics, cards. As an adult, the other things I collect are hardcover books (first edition/first print) of my favorite authors, and Sports Illustrated with either the Dodgers or Rams on the cover.
There are some man made elements out there too. Element 109 was discovered/created by German scientists in the 1980s. It is really unstable. You don't have those do you? >>
Those aren't possible to collect since their existance is a for a mere few nanoseconds. So those elements have never actually been produced in a visible form. Just a few atoms that were detected by the machine that made them. In addition, it is also illegal to own any fissile element. So things like Neptunium and plutonium are not obtainable.
Of the elements I don't have a sample of, only Technetium and Polonium can really be obtained by an unlicensed individual. Technetium is just very difficult to get a hold of since those who have the ability to sell it will only sell to specific institutions.
The elements I do not own a sample of, and the reasons for it, are the following;
Technetium - can't find a source of it. Astatine - half life is to short. The element has only been made in tiny quantities and never in a visible form. Francium - less than an ounce exists at any one time on the planet, and the half life is on the order of a few minutes. Actinium - waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too radioactive. The radiation it emits is so intense that it actually causes the air around it to glow blue. There's no way to safely store it, and only a few governments have ever made any. Protactinum - again, way too radioactive and only small amounts have ever been isolated. Neptunium - illegal to own. Plutonium - illegal to own. Curium - too radioactive and only small amounts exist in the universe. Berkelium - too radioactive and only small amounts exist in the universe. Californium - too radioactive and only small amounts exist in the universe. Einsteinium - too radioactive and only small amounts exist in the universe. Fermium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Mendelevium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Nobelium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Lawrencium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Rutherfordium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Dubnium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Seaborgium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Bohrium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Hassium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Meitnerium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Darmstadium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Roentgenium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Ununbium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Ununtrium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Ununquadium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Ununpentium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Ununhexium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Ununseptium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life. Ununoctium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Element 109 was actually not created. Further research into the experiments the scientists did showed that the element was not created. The highest numbered element confirmed to have been produced is element 108 (ununoctium).
For those which I can not own, or there aren't enough atoms in existance to own a sample of, I just have some high resolution images of them.
I collect the elements on the periodic table, and some coins. I have a complete Roosevelt set, and am putting together a set of coins from 1880.
Comments
Baseball Cards:
Topps complete sets, including updates/traded, from 1980 through the present. (Again, due to my "print run" starting in 1980.
Variations of the base sets including the Gold and Gold Winners sets, the Limited Edition sets from 2000-2002, the Tiffany sets from 1984-1991 I believe?
Insert sets that are obtainable. (It's something about modern cards that has me ill. There are more and more insert sets each year that achieving my goal of having everything has become prohibitively expensive. When it comes to the one offs, or the incredibly limited print runs like the modern gold variations, I have no chance.)
Base set card variations. (Things like the red back version of the Topps base set from a few years ago, the card variations from that same year, the Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa HR Chase sets, and the only one that I have actually completed; the Barry Bonds HR Chase set).
Unopened packs of the base and traded sets from 1980 through the present. (This is a pretty neat collection seeing how the packaging and distribution of the cards has changed so much throughout the years).
Modern Coins:
Lincoln Pennies, proofs and uncirculated, 1909-Present.
Jefferson Nickels, proofs and uncirculated, 1938-Present.
Roosevelt Dimes, proofs and uncirculated, 1946-Present. (I actually have this collection fully completed, even the proofs!
Washington Quarters, proofs and uncirculated, 1932-Present.
Kennedy Halves, proofs and uncirculated, 1964-Present.
Sacagawea Dollars, proofs and uncirculated, 2000-Present. (Another complete set).
Presidential Dollars, proofs and uncirculated, 2007-Present. (Another complete set).
Coins from the year 1880. (This is 100 years before I was minted,
The Periodic Table:
This is probably the only collection I have that I can say is "impressive" and is also the basis for my avatar. I have actually been interviewed by a few scientific magazines regarding my collection, had a couple of my photos published in a couple of chemistry textbooks (and getting paid for them was a nice bonus!), and had the London Financial Times ask if they could publish a photograph of one of my samples for an article they were writing. (THAT had me smiling. Too bad it wasn't on their website and only used in print as I didn't get a chance to see the end result).
But it was my coin collection that got me into this one. While in high school, I had learned about a little practical joke type chemistry experiment that sounded way too fun to pass up. (I saw it in the start of the movie The Manhattan Project). The experiment required elemental Iodine to make it so I asked my chemistry teacher and she said "NO WAY!!!!!!!". That was a bit disappointing. While in college, I remembered the experiment again and figured I'd take a look on E-Bay and see if I could get the Iodine there. I could, and I did.
I got the Iodine and also saw a massive block of Magnesium metal on E-Bay for a few bucks, so I bought that too. I then realized that with the gold, silver, platinum, copper, and zinc from the coins I had, aluminum from aluminum foil, my Iodine and my magnesium, I had quite a few of the basic elements of the periodic table. So I decided to start a collection of them! I looked around online to see if there were any other collectors, and found one site from someone out in Chicago who already had completed a collection and had a great one at that. Using the links to the sources he had used, and also sending some e-mails to get some information and inspiration about the hobby, I was able to find some great sources myself.
One of the people I met I ended up become great friends with. Dave Hamric is the owner of Metallium (www.elementsales.com) and has turned the hobby into a business for himself and is a great resource for all of the collectors out there like myself. From what he tells me, this is a pretty big hobby and there are a lot of people who collect the elements.
My collection is just about as complete as it gets. It started out with me being happy just to have any sample at all of any element, and slowly expanded to include nicer and nicer samples and even different allotropes of the same element. (Such as graphite, buckminsterfullerines, nanotubes, charcoal, and diamonds for Carbon). For Hydrogen, I've even been able to secure samples of all three main isotopes; protium, deuterium, and tritium. Some of my samples are indeed radioactive and I've built myself a nice wooden lead-lined box to safely store them. My thorium sample, which is sealed in an evacuated ampoule to prevent oxidation of the metal surface, is what the London Financial Times used in their article. Uranium metal is in the form of some foil and chips of depleted uranium. (Uranium where the naturally occuring percentage of fissile U-235 has been drastically reduced). The Uranium is simply amazing at how dense it is. I don't usually view them all too much so as to keep my yearly radiation dose down, but in the grand scheme of things the amount I receive from viewing them for a few minutes each year is negligible. I get more radiation exposure during my cross-atlantic trips for work.
Just about all of my samples are the element in their pure, unbound forms. This is the case for all elements except promethium (a radioactive element) which is in the form of a painted watch hand that still glows faintly in the dark from the painting process they use, tritium which is in the form of a key ring and it illuminates brightly and will continue to do so for another 20 years or so when the decay of the tritium will make the light not visible anymore, radium which is the same situation as promethium, and americium which is a VERY tiny little dot of an alloy of Am-241 which is used as the ionization chamber source in just about every smoke detector on the planet.
My most impressive samples are probably my troy ounce pellets of Osmium (due to it's blue color and incredible density), Iridium (again because it is so dense, the pellet is about the size of a quarter), all of my alkali metals as I have them sealed in ampoules completely free of air so that they retain their bright and shiny look, my tube of Fluorine gas which has probably just turned into a Fluorine compound by now as the glass has become quite frosted as the F2 ate away at it, my little ampoule of liquified chlorine gas, and my sample of Red Selenium. (That one is there because I was just reading some old chemistry books and noticed that there was an example given for how to make the red allotrope of selenium which I did not have a sample of. So I told my friend Dave and went up to his place to test out the experiment on a small scale to see if it could be increased to make larger amounts. Everything went great until the silane gas that is produced in the reaction spontaneously ignited and nearly made the both of us deaf. lol. It was quite the loud "pop". We also discovered that if you let the Red Se heat up, it converts to the normal gray form).
So having an element collection is kind of neat. In my office at work I have a large scale poster that a friend of mine printed out of my element collection. It's hanging up on the wall behind me, and whenever people come by to talk to me they always go up to the poster and take a closer work and say "So THAT's what xxxx looks like!" It's pretty neat to see. It's also a collection that I want to tell my home insurance company about because if a fire broke out and I lost it, it would be VERY expensive and very difficult to gain back due to the volatile nature of the prices of each element, but at the same time I'm not sure if I want them knowing I have these elements in my house. hehe.
<< <i>Hey, my wife allows me 4 as well! >>
Hey BWB, how do you like the V's. It is very hard for me to play them sitting down as they are neck heavy. I have my eye on the new LP Studio Silver Burst Gibson just put out. It has push/pull coil taps standard which is very cool on a Studio model.
I really want a Fender Strat one day (Iron Maiden played them so they are cool!) and the one I want is the Candy Tangerine model!!!!!!!
My best buddy has a black burst Strat custom, I didn't even know they made that color.
Impressive.
Steve
Patrick, do you have a copy of Confederacy of Dunces. The only book i've read that made me laugh out loud, and the story behind getting it published is pretty amazing.
Rick
Collecting: Topps 1952-79, Bowman 1952-55, OPC 1965-71, and Pre-War White Sox cards
<< <i>I'm more of a book collector than a sports card and memorabilia one. Primary focus is on American Literature - first editions, working on a Pulitzer Prize run along with favorites (Catcher in the Rye, Slaughterhouse-Five, Fitzgerald's works, et cetera) Found lots of pictures in old books, but nothing of any monetary value
Pat - do you have Updike's Rabbit Run in first ed?
Patrick, do you have a copy of Confederacy of Dunces. The only book i've read that made me laugh out loud, and the story behind getting it published is pretty amazing. >>
I don't have Rabbit Run, but gosh, what a great book
Confederacy of Dunces - this one is pretty hard to find and expensive in 1st edition/1st printing...it's on my list to buy though
Sports cards and Action Figure Collector.
Slowly moving towards autographs..........uh oh......
While I have amassed other things in phases over the years, they are nothing I would consider to be a collection.
Snorto~
Got any pics?
Before I played guitar, I played drums for years - in 1962 one of my band mates went into Manhattan to Sam Ash - at that time it was was one little store! He bought a Jazzmaster - we were covering the Ventures back then - and it was "the" guitar to have. It was more money than the Strat.
Now? I'm takin the 62 Strat.
Which Martin do you have?
thanks Mike, the Martin and Les Paul were my grandfather's which he passed down to me. My dad was also a big Ventures fan..about all he listened to were instrumental bands like that. The Martin resides at my parent's house. I don't have a pic saved on his cpu...but it's the 1965 Martin D-18 Dreadnought
This is actually the perfect thread to ask if anyone can use something I picked up as part of an estate auction lot years ago.
I have 15 color video cartridges (mainly Panasonic NV-P530s). According to the TV Guide cutouts accompanying the boxes, they contain taped special TV programs - most of them are of the CBS Turns 50 retrospective (9.5 hours over 6 nights), and I can make a list of what everything is, if someone would like.
I don't have the equipment to watch them. I tried to donate them to the Museum of TV and Radio, university mass media libraries, etc., only to find that they can't accept programs taped off the air.
Is anyone interested? I'm not looking to profit off them; if you can put them to good use, pay for shipping and they're yours.
Nick
Reap the whirlwind.
Need to buy something for the wife or girlfriend? Check out Vintage Designer Clothing.
<< <i>Now that's a nice array Lane.
Got any pics?
Before I played guitar, I played drums for years - in 1962 one of my band mates went into Manhattan to Sam Ash - at that time it was was one little store! He bought a Jazzmaster - we were covering the Ventures back then - and it was "the" guitar to have. It was more money than the Strat.
Now? I'm takin the 62 Strat.
Which Martin do you have?
thanks Mike, the Martin and Les Paul were my grandfather's which he passed down to me. My dad was also a big Ventures fan..about all he listened to were instrumental bands like that. The Martin resides at my parent's house. I don't have a pic saved on his cpu...but it's the 1965 Martin D-18 Dreadnought
Great pieces. These days I am mostly into Fodera Guitars. They are a newer company compared to Gibson and Fender but their sound is amazing.
I like off brand guitars too. My two favorite companys besides Hagstrom is Reverend and Eastwood.
I would love to have the Eastwood remake of the Ovataion Ultra GP (guitar Josh Homme of QOTSA and Kyuss) plays. Recently John Fogerty sported one on his last tour.
I have had a Gretsch Malcolm Young model but want the orange version not the natural like he actually has (note, his actually used to be a firebird red and he removed the finish).
Older Reverend's made by Joe Naylor are becoming quite collectable and are still sorta cheap. Kid Rock is pictured on one of his album covers with his custom Reverend.
<< <i>a 1938 Zenith radio
Wow that radio is an amazing piece!
<< <i>Fodera? I thought they only made basses.
I like off brand guitars too. My two favorite companys besides Hagstrom is Reverend and Eastwood.
I would love to have the Eastwood remake of the Ovataion Ultra GP (guitar Josh Homme of QOTSA and Kyuss) plays. Recently John Fogerty sported one on his last tour.
I have had a Gretsch Malcolm Young model but want the orange version not the natural like he actually has (note, his actually used to be a firebird red and he removed the finish).
Older Reverend's made by Joe Naylor are becoming quite collectable and are still sorta cheap. Kid Rock is pictured on one of his album covers with his custom Reverend. >>
Fodera makes both
coins, signed books, old transformers. (action figures) bob dylan records and old 60's folk singer posters.
looking for low grade t205's psa 1-2
<< <i>Wow Jdurg thanks for sharing that.
Impressive.
Steve >>
Thanks. I'm quite proud of my element collection and just admire it knowing that every single thing I come across in my life is made out of those basic building blocks. Kind of like looking at the legos of the world.
There are some man made elements out there too. Element 109 was discovered/created by German scientists in the 1980s. It is really unstable. You don't have those do you?
BST: Tennessebanker, Downtown1974, LarkinCollector, nendee
<< <i>
<< <i>a 1938 Zenith radio
Wow that radio is an amazing piece! >>
Thanks Steven, this radio sounds soooo good it's amazing. It also has a unique feature, a cats eye tuning circle. It varies while tuning in a station and becomes a fully green circle when the signal for that station is at its strongest. Technology even back then was pretty cool.
-Anyway I do collect baseball stars of the 80s and 90s. I do not do much with sets because of the space factor. I do have the 1987 Donruss set, 1988 Fleer Update, 1987 Fleer Update Glossy, and a few more. I have Bowman Baseball Draft Picks in sealed hobby boxes.
-Garbage Pail Kids... the old and new
-Action figures: GI Joe, Star Wars, Superman, transformers...
-antique cameras
-model cars
-I kept various toys I grew up with for sentimental reasons
-Gold and Silver coins
-Stamps
-Mercedes-Benz cars (1980s diesel cars)
As collectors, we all tend to be a bit on the OCD and hoarding side. There were numerous times when I would pick up something unique thinking perhaps I can turn a profit on it one day while I enjoy it in the meantime ... WRONG...collect what you like and don't sweat the profits....
My most expensive hobby is the Mercedes-Benz one. I think the most profitable is collecting gold and silver coins (not that I am selling them, I just know in a crisis situation, I can get my money back and then some the longer I hang on to them).
BST: Tennessebanker, Downtown1974, LarkinCollector, nendee
I'd love to have a radio like pigs. I have a 1945 Victor that needs work.
Dodgers collection scans | Brett Butler registry | 1978 Dodgers - straight 9s, homie
<< <i>Jburg,
There are some man made elements out there too. Element 109 was discovered/created by German scientists in the 1980s. It is really unstable. You don't have those do you? >>
Those aren't possible to collect since their existance is a for a mere few nanoseconds. So those elements have never actually been produced in a visible form. Just a few atoms that were detected by the machine that made them. In addition, it is also illegal to own any fissile element. So things like Neptunium and plutonium are not obtainable.
Of the elements I don't have a sample of, only Technetium and Polonium can really be obtained by an unlicensed individual. Technetium is just very difficult to get a hold of since those who have the ability to sell it will only sell to specific institutions.
The elements I do not own a sample of, and the reasons for it, are the following;
Technetium - can't find a source of it.
Astatine - half life is to short. The element has only been made in tiny quantities and never in a visible form.
Francium - less than an ounce exists at any one time on the planet, and the half life is on the order of a few minutes.
Actinium - waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too radioactive. The radiation it emits is so intense that it actually causes the air around it to glow blue. There's no way to safely store it, and only a few governments have ever made any.
Protactinum - again, way too radioactive and only small amounts have ever been isolated.
Neptunium - illegal to own.
Plutonium - illegal to own.
Curium - too radioactive and only small amounts exist in the universe.
Berkelium - too radioactive and only small amounts exist in the universe.
Californium - too radioactive and only small amounts exist in the universe.
Einsteinium - too radioactive and only small amounts exist in the universe.
Fermium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Mendelevium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Nobelium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Lawrencium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Rutherfordium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Dubnium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Seaborgium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Bohrium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Hassium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Meitnerium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Darmstadium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Roentgenium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Ununbium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Ununtrium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Ununquadium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Ununpentium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Ununhexium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Ununseptium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Ununoctium - only a few atoms have ever been made, and it has a vanishingly quick half-life.
Element 109 was actually not created. Further research into the experiments the scientists did showed that the element was not created. The highest numbered element confirmed to have been produced is element 108 (ununoctium).
For those which I can not own, or there aren't enough atoms in existance to own a sample of, I just have some high resolution images of them.