What's the coolest thing you own?

What's the coolest thing that you own, and what's the story behind it?

Mine is probably my Eddie Van Halen guitar pick. Back in the early 90's my dad got the chance to see Van Halen on their OU812 tour. The seating was first come first serve so him and his friend got there 12 hours in advance so they could get seats in the front row. It turned out the seats they chose were right in front of Eddie too. Well, during one of the songs Eddie flung his pick out into the crowd and my dad caught it! Many years later when I was about 11 I was just getting into music and I absolutely idolized Eddie Van Halen. I thought he was the greatest guitarist ever, so naturally I thought it was super awesome that my dad owned something of his. So when I turned 12, my dad gave me that pick that precious guitar pick as a gift. It still hangs in my room today and I still smile with pride every time I see it.

I own oil paintings to all three of the original trilogy of the Star Wars posters. All of them are signed

What is the most impressive thing I have in possession? That would be my grandfather's pocket watch given out to him by the King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele III a mere week before the March on Rome.

Pizarro said:

What is the most impressive thing I have in possession? That would be my grandfather's pocket watch given out to him by the King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele III a mere week before the March on Rome.

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That is amazing. I get the significance being 67 years of age and well aware of European history.

The coolest thing I own is actually five things: dinner knives from the Graf Zeppelin Hindenburg. When the Hindenburg came into Lakehurst, New Jersey, my relatives were there. As everyone knows, the great zeppelin burst into flames as it was filled with hydrogen, and as people were running for their lives, (oh the humanity), my relatives were running into the debris, souvenir hunting. The dinner knives are in excellent condition, just a little darkened. They have the official seal of the Hindenburg on the handle. Both one of a kind place setting and china were manufactured for the Hindenburg, all of them unique.

I've seen some very burned and twisted knives and spoons, all with the same seal, at the Smithsonian Air and Space museum, and mine are in much better condition. I've tried on line to find out what they're worth, but I think they might be priceless. Who knows, they might be worth darn little, but they are an incredible part of history.

Holy crap that stuff is incredible. I thought my pick was cool XD If we're talking historical artifacts, my grandmother has a gavel that my great grandfather crafted out of the wood mantel in Woodrow Wilson's boyhood home when it was torn down. Thought it was pretty interesting.

I suck compared to you guys! The coolest thing I think I own is a 1943 GMC CCKW but it needs parts I can't find too easy so it sits more than anything.

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dogboy said:

That is amazing. I get the significance being 67 years of age and well aware of European history.

The coolest thing I own is actually five things: dinner knives from the Graf Zeppelin Hindenburg. When the Hindenburg came into Lakehurst, New Jersey, my relatives were there. As everyone knows, the great zeppelin burst into flames as it was filled with hydrogen, and as people were running for their lives, (oh the humanity), my relatives were running into the debris, souvenir hunting. The dinner knives are in excellent condition, just a little darkened. They have the official seal of the Hindenburg on the handle. Both one of a kind place setting and china were manufactured for the Hindenburg, all of them unique.

I've seen some very burned and twisted knives and spoons, all with the same seal, at the Smithsonian Air and Space museum, and mine are in much better condition. I've tried on line to find out what they're worth, but I think they might be priceless. Who knows, they might be worth darn little, but they are an incredible part of history.

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I'd love to see a pic!

I have a collection of Arturo Toscanini original prints taken by Emmerich Garrard as well as several books signed by Toscano in one of Wich he commemorates the end of the war and coming world peace in 1947. Garrard widow Valli was a friend of mine and she gave them to me prior to her death.

That's Emmerich Garra you damn auto correct feature.

I don't have anything historically cool. The coolest stuff I have, I guess, is my older video games/ consoles. Which is the N64 and Gameboy color. Granted they aren't that old compared to the Genesis and such but I love seeing how far we've come with graphical improvements.

In terms of collectible stuff, I don't really have that much. I've got a couple of old Apple Powerbook laptops from 1991-92. Some old Commodore A590 external hard drives which sell for around $300-$500 on ebay last time I checked. And old 1986 VHS camcorder, about 400 VHS tapes, that's about it
Oh and my cute lion hat I wear sometimes ^_^ though that's not collectible, I just like it

Tetra said:

I have a collection of Arturo Toscanini original prints taken by Emmerich Garrard as well as several books signed by Toscano in one of Wich he commemorates the end of the war and coming world peace in 1947. Garrard widow Valli was a friend of mine and she gave them to me prior to her death.

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That's really quite a find. As a student I sang under Leonard Bernstein and Leopold Stowkowski at Philharmonic Hall and Carnegie Hall, NYC. As a kid I took piano lessons from Dr. Rodnitski, and he had signed photos of Rachmaninoff and Rubinstein hanging in his piano studio. They were signed, "to my good friend", etc. My teacher was on the faculty and Board of Trustees at Julliard. Tocanini was a giant as an orchestra conductor.

our house
okay, I don't own it (mum does), but i'd be buggered without it. despite the officiality of 'ownership', it's our house: the family's.

i do own my own car, though. and it was bought as 'nearly new' (a few years old) or, as we'd say, 'new'. my dad never owned a new car and made-do with old bangers which were constantly breaking down.
buying my 'new' car was something which i never thought i'd be able to do but, after doing a running restoration on my previous car (bought as a write-off) and totting up the cost in parts alone, a five year commitment didn't seem as daunting as it would've, previously. i was in steady employment at the time (another big thing) and it was panic stations when i got made redundant, but i had another job within a week (just had to spend two weeks on kippers and bread, until i got my first pay; and then, ooooooooooo, chocolate!!!!!).

following on from my previous cars, my tools are also pretty cool. my least used tool, a brake-pipe flaring kit, probably gets the raised eyebrow? i also have a gastester, but the Colourtune is the best (for carbs), although i can often tune a carb/ignition by nose.

and with the latter, i suppose my most absolutely-estismistish, totally coolest thing is me.
yep, the car and the tools would be nothing without me: me, to not crash the car and me, to use the tools to maintain and repair it.
you'll have to ask my mum about the story behind that :smile1:

US navy Navigation compass from WWI is the coolest thing thing I own. The WWII army enlisted flight cap is a close second. A Vietnam era metal first aid kit complete is another special item. These items were owned by past generations of my family and represent their contributions to support and defend the US. Placing these with my own USAF enlisted flight cap is priceless.

My tank driving license. To be precise, it is an Armoured Personnel Carrier driving license. (Strictly speaking, the two are not the same, though they look similar.) Though I have completed my mandatory military service, I still think the experience is my most valuable takeaway from my service.

probobly guns Ak-47 1911s and Ar15 ect..im a fan of old russian military surplus (mosins, sks's ect)

Probably my Hewlett-Packard DC - 500 MHz 68-Channel Digital Logic Analyzer, plus other pieces of electronic test equipment.

two 1920 $20 gold double eagle coins rated good.
When gold was recalled my grandfather held on to them just in case. He almost cashed them in during the depression but thought to wait for harder times. They have been passed from father to son since.

In a weird way, a clear sony walkman that was used in Federal Prison so inmates couldn't smuggle stuff inside the cassette bay as it would just be seen. Bought it at a government surplus auction along with a winter shirt and baseball cap for about $10.00. Nowadays I doubt that these are used at all in the Stoney lonesome, but it's a nest thing to have and it's not at all common to see one.

A copy of Andersen's Fairytales (dated 1884).