What Do You Collect?

[jfain]

Oh I see what you mean now that is completely different than rutilated quartz. I do have several stone with rutile crystals running through them. I have a very nice lapidolite with rubilite crystals. I LOVE Rhodocrosite. I have a few pieces that are really nice but that is actually something on my list to get. I want a rhodocrosite ring set in gold. I do have some nice lapis and also azurite. I love the big green blobs of malachite that you find in azurite. I do like wire wrap jewelry but when I see it they seem to always use very common stones and I already have lots of the common ones. I guess they are trying to appeal to the masses but I wish they would take a chance and be more adventurous with their stone choices.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

I know what you mean! I liked wire wrapping crystals in the rough, it was more exciting to wear that the common ordinary faceted stone! Yes Azurite with malachite is so beautiful! So are all the different minerals! I love geodes, we actually have geodes at a location not too far from where I live, they are not as pretty as the Brazilian specimens but fun to collect and crack open!

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Jfain that link I gave you to see the photo of the rutile crystal, well I went there today and the entire list of specimens that they have are really nice and interesting, if you care to you may want to take a look around their site I loved it!

[kittykat103172]

cd's,books.dvds

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Originally Posted by kittykat103172

cd's,books.dvds

It goes with out saying those are "MUST HAVES" !!!

[TaterTot]

I collect old coins

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

I love old "stuff" old coins are neat also. I have a funny story I would like to share:

When I was just a youngster I used to hike out in the Everglades down in South Florida. There are many old Phosphate Quarries out in the "Glades" and as a result you can come upon some rather large boulders that are white limestone. One day I stopped to look at one of the boulders and lo-and-behold laying right on top of the boulder was a mint condition old silver dollar. I can't remember the year, but it was pretty and I was excited to happen upon it and this in the middle of NO WHERE, a seriously unexspected FIND!!!

Well my Dad was an antique dealer, he also dealt in many rare and old coins. Well he really liked the coin I found, and so he made me a "nifty trade" for my beautiful old coin. He gave me a sparkling new $.50 cent piece that I could spend for my old coin I could not spend! I was so young I thought I'd gotten a true blue wind-fall Of-course Dad made GREAT PROFIT on that trade with his oldest gullible kid!!!

Then on another occasion I went to a coin show with him, and they had everyone fill out a slip to win a door prize for a lovely coin! Well YOURS TRULY won the door prize!!! And once again on our way home Dad had a real nice offer for me to trade my coin!!! I was so happy when I got my big old Ice Cream cone in trade for the coin I won

My Dad was a mess to say the least, I am glad I can laugh it off, some of my other younger siblings do not see the humor in some of my Dad's ways!!!

My middle sister had to give a presentation at college once and the subject matter had to be "One Of The Things I really Hate". Her subject of hate was "Antiques". This was in 2005 the year they minted the new Buffalo Nickels. She bought a roll of the Buffalo nickels and passed a nickel out to each class mate present for the presentation, and began her talk on why she hates antiques. I about rolled over laughing as she told me the whole thing, she said her class was in stitches from the stories she told, how my Dad and his "antique business" had so soured her on anything even remotely associated with antiques, be it old coins, furniture, etc.... So every time I see a Buffalo nickel I am reminded of my Dad, my Sister and my adventures in old and rare coins!!!!!