'Collectables' (thimbles, stamps, plates, etc) is a suggestion by lilyalli.

Good idea lilyalli! As you can see, I collect thimbles, although I only have a small collection because they are not popular here in Australia and they are hard to get (and expensive). Australian souvenir thimbles all look the same - boring - so I try to stay away from those. If there are any other thimble collectors out there who would be interested in participating in some swaps, I'd love to hear from you!

Oh, I really like the thimbles, MG. My neighbor when I was little had a huge thimble collection from all over the world, which we loved looking at.

Our family has a goal to see all 58 of our nation's National Parks, and we collect lapel pins for each one we visit. This is our collection after 3 years of park visiting.

Wow nice pins djsgal. We collect pins as well. I try and pick one up in every country, city etc that we go to. Here is what we have so far.




Larger view

GREAT pins, Argus! I think we have the same Halekahala National Park pin.

I haven't collected anything for years, but have a collection of old banknotes in the attic. Many are colourful, but I think these hand printed Tibetan notes of around 1940-45 are interesting. There are two notes in the image, showing the front and back, or more correctly 'obverse and reverse' sides. The obverse shows two lions holding a fruit bowl and has two seals, the Dalai Lama's red seal and Tibetan Mint's black seal. The upper text says "Tibetan government is all victorious anywhere". The reverse shows a holy men under a lime tree holding a magic bottle, which stands for fertility of the earth.



A larger image can be viewed here

Fascinating images, picqero. The enlarged second note looks almost like a rug or wall hanging!

Wherever I go on holiday, I like to collect a tile as a souvenir. They brighten up a dark wall in my kitchen. A sample below....

I love that idea Lilyalli, I bet it's a great conversation piece in your home. I am really enjoying seeing what everyone here likes to collect!

This is Fred. He was born sometime around the 1920's.

I love this thread too! lilyalli, I don't think I have ever known anyone to collect tiles, that is a wonderful idea and they are unique. RMG, Fred is in great shape for his age, no? Do you have birthday parties for him?

RMG, is Fred a Steiff by any chance?

I don't have any photos of my collectibles and they are all packed away until we have found a new home. However, I am enjoying the collectibles here.

Lilyalli, that really is a neat idea (and one that I may decide to copy ).

MG, are your thimbles all porcelain or are some metal as well. I might be able to come across some in my travels.

Unfortunately Fred Bear isn't a Steiff. I only wish he was. He belonged to my uncle who was born in 1923. When I sent him off to be restored I was told he was either German or American, but they couldn't identify the manufacturer, but they said he was definitely early 1920's. We have other bears as well, but he's the granddaddy.

I have collected thimbles since shortly after getting married (almost 30 years). My collecting has slowed considerably in the last few years because my case is full... I have thimbles made of all different kinds of materials and from many places in the world. There is a tiny piece of paper rolled up inside of each one reminding me of where/when I received it and who it was from, if it was a gift.

This is just a small portion of my hat collection - mostly baseball caps, but also including the odd toque and sun hat. Some are gifts, some are souvenirs from holidays or events, a couple are from softball teams I used to play for. Recent gifts from a couple of FT friends have helped the collection grow

Thanks everybody. 'Coffee/Tea mugs/Cups' is this week's theme.