Collecting and collections

I collect things but sparingly. I find that if it's special to me, something bad happens to it. 

For instance, people who are angry would break my special things to hurt me. People who are resentful would steal my things and claim it's theirs, or it'll just get stolen in general and I'll never see it again. Or I'll just lose it somehow, or people will think it's garbage and throw it out. 

But I currently have a dozen card decks, some special stones, tons of books, a small special coin pouch. I'd really like a fossil someday. I think my father had an amber with an insect in it, and it was really interesting, so I might get an amber one day too. 

Miniature museum display cases - I love that :) 

I am really scared of the dentist though so I would not be able to enjoy dental related items in my house! 
I love little glass bottles though - especially those lovely antique deep blue and green ones.

I’ve sometimes considered getting a metal detector but have come to the conclusion that I would probably get far too obsessive about that and never be able to stop! I remember going to a beach where I was told said you could find amber on the beach and I couldn’t stop looking - it sort of spoiled my visit there! I HAD to find some - (but didn’t! ). 
Also at Lyme Regis where you can find fossils - I partly enjoyed that but partly found it hard to stop searching so it was a bit stressful. 
I love things made from wood by hand - my particular favourite woods are oak, yew and burr walnut as I love the grain. Oak is such a beautiful colour - I love solid oak furniture. 
The statues I buy are bronze or brass, or sometimes other metals that are a mix and I’m not sure. I like to collect things that don’t break - as I wouldn’t want to invest money in something very fragile. The one exception to that is antique spongeware pottery that I love so much that I will buy it anyway if I find some. It’s mostly too expensive now though as it seems to be very popular at the moment, I love copper - it had the most beautiful, rosy warm colour. People moan about polishing copper and brass but I find that very relaxing and things look so lovely when they’re polished. The other thing I always look out for are 18th century brass candlesticks. Not everyone knows the difference between 18th & 19th century ones so sometimes you can find the 18th century ones quite cheap if your lucky. I love to have things that are so old and to think of what the world was like when they were first being used. The other thing I collect is Crotal Bells - they’re lovely. I can find a 300 year old crotal bell for about £30. That’s such a lot of history for what some people would spend on a rubbish plastic modern object. As you see I could go on about these things for ages - I love them! 

I like the name ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’. The word ‘curiosities’ would definitely have summed up my old radiator shelf collection. It was very eclectic. My mum was a dental nurse so she used to be able to bring home these incredibly small pots that were made of a clear plastic. They had an opaque base and small foam pad, the top part was clear. These made excellent miniature ‘museum display cases’ for anything small enough to fit into them.

I too collect semi-precious gemstones, so can understand the appeal. I also like the sound of the copper bowls! I have some very miniature wooden bowls that were turned in a lathe that I enjoy, but something like that made from copper would be nice I imagine.

To be out in the field you described must have been exciting though- finding the treasures yourself would have been very satisfying. That’s how I feel when I find a new rock/mineral that grabs my attention. 

Are the statues you collect carved? If so, what materials are they typically made of? 

I can see the interest in coins. I really like the idea of having some from different periods of history. I know of some people who enjoy collecting Roman coins for example.

The LOTR coins sound interesting too- I’m a fan of Lord of The Rings (if this is the same abbreviation that you were using) so I can see the appeal.

Hi - yes definitely! I love that idea of ‘a cabinet of curiosities’ - small treasures. When I was very young I found (in a field) the site of an old Victorian rubbish tip and I collected loads of little bits of broken Victorian pottery with lots of different prints and colours on them. I loved doing that. In more recent years I’ve loved antiques fairs and have collected small buddhist and Hindu statues whenever I can find them, and small bronze or silver items that are unusual or curious in some way. I also collect semi precious gemstones and crystals. I also like Arts and Crafts items, and Persian copper bowls.  Lots of things. But the small statues are my favourite - I get so much pleasure from those. They are hard to find though (good ones anyway). 

My Dad collected coins.

My brother also got LOTR silver coins from the Royal Mint; as a kid.

I have a handful of Silver coins; from a friend of a friend.

I enjoy both of the things you mentioned and agree with the need of a limit. A few years ago I got into Magic The Gathering cards. That got expensive quickly!

I think I’m lucky in some of the things I’m interested in as rocks are often free, but you can spend a lot if you go to a mineral shop for a specific thing. Especially fossils.

Small but slowly growing collection of Pokémon and Star Wars.

I limit myself to buying one of those things once a month so I don't spend my entire payslip in one go