Posted on 02/15/2016 6:24:28 PM PST by jy8z
I saw this question posed by a fellow FReeper in answer to another Freeper today. I thought it would make for an interesting topic. I do not remember who it was so I can't attribute it to them.
Not the oldest thing, but I’m related to Sadie Bushman who was 9 at the time of Gettysburg. The Bushman Farm was on the battlefield and I have a piece of wood with a Minie ball in it with “my bedroom” written on the back.
Are those 2 pics of the same shell?
Ebay! You can get an 800 year old penny from the UK for less than 10 bucks.
LOL, you need to come up with some really romantic, exotic story about how you got it. ;)
Yes, top and bottom.
Is it complete, or just one half? In other words, is it like a snail shell, one piece?
It’s a half, I guess... my wife found this image... so, it’s probably not prehistoric like I think... It’s an abalone...
http://www.stylepinner.com/abalone-shell-value/YWJhbG9uZS1zaGVsbC12YWx1ZQ/
According to what I found, although they are still around today, they date back to the late cretaceous. In other words, to the time just before the dinosaurs became extinct. About 10 million years before their extinction.
The shell in your photos looks pretty old, like it could be in the millions of years, particularly with those tiny impressions of other creatures embedded in the surrounding rocky material.
The oldest thing I own is a Mosin Nagant rifle, made at the Tula Arms Plant 120 miles south of Moscow, in 1942.
If you’re really interested and want to find out its approximate age, try this site below. Someone there might be able to ID it for you.
_________________________
“If you have a shell or a shell fossil at home and you just can’t place an identification label to it, or is your snail doing something and you’re not to sure just what, here’s where you might get some help. I am but an amateur collector myself, but there are many good conchologists and malacologists that may be willing to help you.
Send your photos and collection data, if you have any, to me, Avril Bourquin. I will set up a file page for your shell or fossil shell then people can contact you personally in regards to their idea as to your shells proper identification. Please try to keep your jpg files small.
This kind of service is also available from some other GREAT shell collectors and dealers on their web sites. You may wish to seek out their assistance as well. Contact information for some of these sites and people is located at the very bottom of this page.
Good luck in getting that definitive identification on your treasured shell or shell fossil.”
http://www.manandmollusc.net/id_help.html
Very cool. Thank you so much. :)
lol We have a small town story about our house. The house was built in the 19th century and in addition to newer deadbolt locks retains the old locks with skeleton keys. The skeleton key holds a fascination for me going back to my childhood, having to do with an elderly auntie who lived in the old family place and still used the original locks. Anyway not long after we moved in I lost the skeleton key to our front door. One evening when coming home from a party, my husband said Mrs.N gave me a key to our front door. I thought he gave him one she thought might fit, but he said no it is to our front door. How did she find the key I lost??? No her aunt was the second owner of our house and Mrs.N had a key so she could come and go as needed. She heard we would be at that party and remembered the she had the key so brought it for us. Her aunt had been dead for many years and the house had been empty for a long time, Mrs.N just happened to find the key in a drawer and thought to bring it for us that night. LOL I have occasionally wondered if other people have keys. It is a small town and everyone seems to be related in some manner.
I own three Mosins- ‘42 and ‘43 Izzy’s, and a ‘36 hex Tula. I’m a fan :)
Holding a Mosin Nagant in my hands gives me a deep sense of history.
I wonder about the hands that made it, and what became of them. Did they starve to death at a later date, or were they forced to become fodder on the front lines, or maybe they ended up in a gulag to be worked to death.
So yeah, fun!
Since it was so cheap, I actually glued it to the pommel of a 14th C.-style reproduction sword I own. Seemed very appropriate there. (and it’s only glue, so doesn’t damage it in any way.)
Reproduction Medieval swords are another thing I collect... (You’d be surprised on what’s available out there...Knights from the 1200s would be incredibly jealous—as what we can buy is far better than the best of what they could get...) http://www.kultofathena.com )
Now that is cool. Do you do any reenactments or just enjoy collecting them?
Just collecting. The SCA folks are a bit too much for me.
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