I have my grandmothers gold wedding ring. She and grandpa were married Dec 8, 1909.

I have a hand spun, hand woven wool and cotton overshot coverlet in the Pine burr pattern made by a great-great ? about 1835 in Tennessee. I have long planned to reproduce it (I weave) but have hung up on the fact that there are two ways to transition from one block to the next and she used the less attractive transition. Petty I know but the amount of work is considerable. She spun her cotton singles warp(don't see myself doing that, takes forever!) and spun and indigo dyed her wool warp. That I would do but the pattern is much more attractive if you use the alternate transition. Do I weave the ugly awkward one because she did? Hmmmm. I had a ton of old stuff but I lost it all in a house fire years ago. I love old stuff with a history.

I have a few things passed on to me. I have my dad's pocket watch and slide rule. I have the brass bell from the boat he was restoring when he became ill - he passed in 1965.

I have a couple pairs of salt and pepper shakers from my grandmothers collection. Two tea cups from my elderly neighbors collection that she gave me when she found she had terminal cancer.

I have several things my mother has given me. I still have her. But she's passed some of her jewelry to me. It's not really my taste but I will never tell her that. I do wear the plain gold band on my right hand always that my father gave her when they married in 1946, and have the platinum and gold band he gave her on their 10th anniversary when money was not as tight. I have things that are Mom's handwork, a vest she quilted and embroidered. A quilt. Some small paintings she did as a young girl.

I have my grandmothers waffle iron, proctor-silex before the companies joined and used it until several months ago when it finally did not heat evenly any longer. Until then, flawless. I never had a single waffle stick. I have her clamp-on-the counter meat grinder.

Not quite as much on DH's side but he was one of 10, not three. I have socks his grandmother knitted. I have fishing net needles that his fathers dear cousin handcrafted from wood. A pottery sauerkraut crock, and the cabbage shredder his dad made to shred the cabbage for kraut. His mother's oyster knife, she worked in the canneries off and on to help support 10 kids.

None of these things take up more than their share of space, and I have lots of space. Having them here feels right.

I have too many things to list, family heirlooms and my house is filled with antiques. I have my great grandparents bedroom furniture in the guest room. I had an antique spread on the bed until I saw one just like it at The Art Institute in Chicago. Took it off of the bed!

I have a desk that my dad got for my mom before they were married. I'd say he got it in 1930.

My grandmother's butter churn, unfortunately just the crock. I am sure it's over 100 years old. It was always a decoration in our house growing up. I also have my mother's console radio from her childhood home. It was in our attic growing up and we used it growing up as the control panel from Star Trek. :)

I have a couple of quilts made by my grandmother and one made by my great grandmother. We also have an old pie safe that belonged to my DH’s parents. We had it refinished many years ago and I use it for placemats and napkins and a few cookbooks in our breakfast room. I also have an old dressing table in a spare bedroom that was my parents and I used it in my teens.

I have my Great Grandmother's wedding ring. 1870

My great grandmother's diamond engagement ring. I don't know when she married but my grandmother was born in 1900. I also have some of her Limoges and Bavarian hand-painted china tea cups, saucers, and dessert plates and sterling silver teaspoons. My mother said young ladies used to give them as gifts to their friends and that's why they don't match.

I have 2 small dressers with marble tops that were purchased by my great-great grandparents when they married and set up housekeeping, I have other small items from various relatives, but nothing close to the age of those dressers.

My great great grandmother left several things to my family, in her will. We inherited her bedroom furniture, beautifully embroidered bed and table linens, a lovely rocking chair, a silver plated brush and comb set, and her emerald engagement ring. I was 10 when she passed away, and was the only female that her ring fit.

When I was a teenager, I was babysitting my younger siblings and playing with them on the front lawn. As I went to bring them inside the house, I noticed the emerald had fallen out of the band. My family members all searched through the grass, but it literally was like looking for a needle in a haystack. During a drought in the summer when we had no rain, my Dad purposely never watered the lawn, to see if it might be possible to spot the emerald, in very short yellow/brown grass. But no such luck. So somewhere, in the front lawn of my childhood home (which still exists) lies my great, great grandmother's engagement ring emerald.

I have lots of old things. My bed is an Eastlake, easily 100+ years old. I think the oldest thing I have is a stone axe that was found by my oldest brother in NC, when he was a kid. From my mother, the only things I have are her old flour jar, and a bowl. Oh, and I have a center table with glass ball and claw feet, that was found in the debris of the 1900 Galveston hurricane by my great uncle. Another thing I have that is old is a pair of Staffordshire dogs that date to 1860. Everything I own, with few exceptions, I bought used....everything is at least old-ish.

Oh, I forgot...I have a cookie jar that belonged to my mother too. It dates to the 1930's. Not an antique, but old-ish.

I have a ceramic pitcher given to my great grandfather, a racehorse trainer, way back, when it was the equivalent of NASCAR; it has his name on it. It must be from some time prior to his death 1888 or 1889. My cousin gave it to me to get it out of her house; I worry about it here in earthquake territory. There are also a few items of jewelry, but I'm not sure to whom it belonged or how old any of it is.

We have a dresser made by an ancestor in DH's family from the 1850's and a silver serving spoon engraved with ancestors name from the late 1700s/ early 1800's. Plus a bunch of other stuff - my MIL had all this stuff and it came to us by default. Neither of my kids are going to want any of it and neither do my DH's sisters.

My house is filled with English antique furniture, much of it 18th century period pieces. All but one upholstered piece was handed down from my parents and my in-laws. Much of the in-laws was handed down to them by their parents. To put this in perspective, my own parents were born in 1901 and 1908; my in-laws 1909 and 1911. So it's all very, very old. Heck even my kitchen stove is a 1948 O'Keefe & Merritt!

I also have older jewelry, including my engagement ring - three diamonds that belonged to my late husband's grandmother - no idea where she got them.

Not much new in my house! Many of my clothes are old, too - also shoes and handbags.

I have a small side table that belonged to my Grandmother that is approx 100 years old. I don't really want it, but ended up with it after my dad died. I keep it becuse its not in my way and my sister would like to have it someday if she ever settles down in one place on a permanent basis. Next time I see her, I'm going to ask if she still wants it. I also have a few toys and a pair of ice skates that belonged to my mom. The reason i have them is the same reason as the table.

My 180-year-old house is one of the oldest things and I have furnished it with antiques of that era. So actually there are very few "new" things in my house. Everything except for appliances and upholstered furniture is from the mid-1800's including the rope beds we sleep on.

Mother gave me some extinct polished fossils embedded in rock, once. Those are pretty old...

One of the oldest things I have is my g-g-grandfather's Captain's Commission for the Black Hawk War in the summer of 1832. It's dated 5 May 1832.

I also have his muster roll for the Black Hawk War.

I have 2 promissory notes he wrote in Tennessee on scraps of paper dated in the 1820's. On one of these notes he states "I promise to pay in the money of Tennessee . . . . " This was during the period when the Federal Banking System was not fully established and some states issued their own money. Nails, hogsheads of tobacco, bushels of corn, and cattle were also used as money.

The oldest thing that I bought, and still have, is a slide rule. It was purchased in 1954 and used for engineering courses and my job. After graduation, it was used during my early years on the job until pocket calculators became available. Somewhere in the house, I have my first calculator as well. Its a Hewlett-Packard 35. I never threw it away after I bought better calculators.

We salvaged a couple of beams from the old house before we tore it down to use on our wood stove surround. Hand-hewn from the 1790s.

But probably the oldest item in the house is a piece of petrified wood that my in laws picked up in the 1930s on their trip around the country visiting national parks. I still recall how they said they went to Crater Lake and the ranger there gave them both big hugs and said they were the first people he'd seen in 3 months. It's a little different these days...

The house itself, 1918. I'm not sure how old the next oldest thing is though. It's a waternymph statue that was at my great grandparents' fishing lodge on the Cumberland here. Actually, it's probably older than the house. I don't leave it outside though, it's on my hearth.

These are neat stories- maybe more the history than the item itself?

The oldest meaningful thing I have around here is an oil painting done by a great grandfather who served in the Civil War. The painting probably dates to around 1860 and it's surprising it survived and is in good condition because it was poorly stored in a damp basement, unframed until it came to me about 10 years ago.

The oldest man-made thing in the house by far is a Roman coin that dates to 330AD. As impressive as that might sound, they are common and the value is probably around $20. It's really fun to share with kids and watch them comprehend its age and history.

Note: I found one just like it @ The ARC Thrift store a few weeks back. Missing the mirror, $50.

a piece of coal with the imprint of a fern - My grandfather was an Alabama coal miner. He smuggled this slab of coal out of the mine. Mine owners would claim any fossil imprint and sell them as a profit. I would guess the age it somewhere in the hundreds of millions of years.

Amicus, your emerald ring story reminded me, I have an emerald and pearl pendant that was my grandmother’s. She told me her boyfriend gave it to her when she was 16 which would have been in 1917. He was not my grandfather. Anyway, lots of family brides have worn that necklace. I will pass it on to my oldest granddaughter when she marries. It’s time to get it out of the safe and pass it along.

And I have a collection of miniature tea sets. The oldest is from the 30’s and belonged to a favorite aunt. They have the old style Mickey Mouse on them. She gave them to me when I was 7.

Ooops......I also forgot. My grandmother dated a jeweler. She was engaged 3 times before marrying. I have her gold bead necklace and string of little ruby & pearl buttons. I'll add a photo later:

We have a silver set that has been passed down in the family that appears to be from sometime in the 1700’s. Had an Edwardian chair my mom gave me that had come down in her family, I gave it back as it just did not fit our lifestyle. Also, have a quilt top my great-grandma sent for my grandmother to finish for my Dad who would be 85 this year. Been boxed all these years. Looks new, torn about hiring an experienced quilter to complete.

I have a set (10) of history books that were published in 1875. Also, a child's dresser that my great grandfather made for my grandmother when she was a young child (she was born in 1899), and I have my grandmother's wedding ring--she was married in 1917 or 1918. I have a Sunbeam Mixmaster mixer that my father gave to my mother on their first wedding anniversary (1947). It is older than I am, and still works--but, like me, it is slowing down....

My husband has a cast-iron washtub that belonged to his great-great grandmother. My husband is pushing 80, so the tub's OLD.

I have 2 handkerchiefs that have a crocheted edge done by my maternal Grandmother. One all white, was done by Grandma for my Mother to carry on her wedding day, my sister carried it on her wedding day and I carried the same one on my wedding day. Mom was married in 1930, my sister in 1951, and I was married in 1959.

I also have just one of Grandma's silver serving spoons from her Wedding silver. It's Rogers, probably from about 1900. One edge of the spoon's 'bowl' is worn flat from all that stirring over the years.

Oldest human made items are a couple of quilts made by my former MIL's grandmother, with her name and date (1884). I also have several shards of native pottery, found by me on a beach walk on an uninhabited island off the coast of Beaufort, SC. They were tentatively dated by archeologists as being well over 2000 years old.

The oldest natural items are numerous fossilized dinosaur bones, large chunks of petrified wood, plant fossils, and a couple of giant Megalodon teeth from the Charleston River.

My mother gave me a charger plate that my father had brought home from WWII and gave to his mother.. Grandma gave it to my mom when my dad passed. Mom gave it to me years ago. Last year I gave it to my daughter, as she had told me she wanted it. When I gave it to her she wondered why I was giving it to her all ready. I just wanted to make sure she ended up with it. Haven’t found anything to fill that empty space on my wall, but it doesn’t matter.

The oldest thing is a deep relief carved secretary desk that a local antiques auction house has dated to the 17th century. They thought the carving was added later, perhaps in the 1800s, and that the top, glass door bookcase was added then. I bought this from a neighbor who had brought it from England when they were transferred to my hometown for business, but were then returning and decided to not keep and transport this family heirloom.

Also I have a couple of silver coins that were dredged from the Thames, from the 1700s. I have a silver tea set also bought on that trip which I should get appraised and dated.

I also have some fossils and petrified wood. Lots of fossils to be found around my childhood home.

My family heirlooms: set of 78s that belonged to my great-grandmother, from the early 1900s, as well as a watch of hers that I don't know the date, but the style makes me think 1910s to 1920s. Also I have a pressed glass plate that my maternal grandmother won at the movies during the Great Depression; also a side table and chair that belonged to my other grandmother probably from the 1930s.

Most everything we own is old and not of this century and few from the last. But the oldest thing I own, I think, is a silver mote spoon from the early 1800s. We have some family heirlooms but most we've bought ourselves -- we just like old.

Keepsakes are what we've always called them.

I cherish my Grandmother's crocheted bedspread. Plus her quilt that I keep always on my bed.

I think the two oldest thing I own are a flint glass pitcher from the 1880's, and a piece of Van Briggle pottery from 1920. Neither of them are family items. I don't have anything from my grandparents or great-grandparents, but I wish I did.

I'm not really a collector of old stuff. I have a picture of my great grandfather and two of his children and his friend circa 1927. He did some photography and taught others. The handwriting on the back is his.

I forgot - we have my father's coin collection. There's multiple coins older than 1800 in it. The problem is it's owned by me and my siblings and we all can't agree whether we want to sell it or divide it up. Of course, dividing it up would be problematic. So it's still sitting; my dad died 7 years ago.

Like schoolhouse_gw, I have an old schoolhouse. Mine was built around 1850. It is sort of a family heirloom, though my family didn't acquire it until a hundred or so years after it was built. I rent it out now.

I had a couple of pieces of antique furniture but we sold them as they didn't work well in our condo.

rhizo beat me to what was going to be my smart-ass answer.

I have some fossil brachiopods from the Middle Devonian Period that are about 400,000,035 years old. (Because when I found them 35 years ago, I was told they were 400 million years old)

The oldest thing that I can think of that I have is Dad and Mom's wedding picture, from 1925. I have Dad"s pocket watch, as well - probably acquired later.

My brother, who took over the farm, has a wooden rocker with arms and leather seat that's his favourite, sitting in a corner of the kitchen - he's usually sitting in it when we talk on the phone. I think it was great-grandfather's before it was Dad's.

Dad was an only child: Mom had 3 brothers and 2 sisters, was in psych. hosp. from 31 and died of TB just before she was 40, so left no ancient artifacts.

The community in Ontario gave us a nice small upholstered chair in 1945 when we moved to Saskatchewan that my brother has.

I'm the main old fossil in this house.

ole joyful

Other than a rock from the Canadian Shield, 1-1.5 billion years :) , I think my oldest thing is a mechanical door bell from about 1890. It was salvaged from my great grandfather's house that burned. The next thing is some sort of foil covered small mat, like a large beer coaster. It is embossed with a country hunting scene. I think it was from a roadhouse my grandparents ran.

From my side of the family -- sounds silly, but I cherish a folding ironing board made of wood. I think it dates from the 1910's. My grandfather said that when he was a little boy he often saw his mother weeping at it as she ironed. Why, he asked. Because "I'll never see my dear parents again." They had been left behind in the Old Country and although letters could be exchanged, there wasn't enough money on either side of the ocean for parents to visit child, or vice versa.

From DH's side, we have a very plain "pie safe" that DH's great-grandfather made, maybe as early as 1900. No tin work, just black painted wood, but it's the configuration of a typical pie safe and that's what the family always called it.

I get sentimental real quick about old things. I love the stories. (I also love IKEA, to balance things out, lol!)

Now that I'm looking at it Daddy calls it a water nymph, but I don't know why?!

I forgot about my bathtub. It is dated on the bottom 1895, and is extra large and has lion paws instead of claw feet.

Anglophlia, I used to have an old OKeefe and Merrit stove. I have a 1949 Maytag now but it went underwater in the flood. The water was very caustic and it needs too much refurbishing now to keep it.

I love cooking on the old stoves and once settled somewhere, I plan to get another one. There is a place in Houston that restores them.

For me it is an oak desk that my grandmother got in the 1890s. It is from the Larkin soap company which was in Buffalo, NY. You would get coupons in boxes of soap and when you had enough you mailed them to the company and they sent you a piece of furniture.

I have several old things.

A dark green glass mixing bowl with no markings on it that belonged to my grandad's mother, I believe it is from the 20s.

Some silk handkerchiefs that my paternal grandmother received when she was a little girl from her older brother when he joined the military, probably from the 30s or 40s.

My great grandmother's chest of drawers, which has actually been mine since I was a child. She passed away before I was born and my parents inherited her bedroom set. I have always had it and used it, it's a good solid piece of furniture, even when I decided to cover it in stickers as a small child. Oops! We refinished it when I was a teenager. My brother has the headboard that goes with it.

My husband has the antique harp that belonged to his grandmother. We have a picture we restored several years ago of her sitting and playing that harp in her parents parlor room when she was teenager in the 20s. The harp was damaged years ago during a move and is no longer in playable condition but we intend to restore it aesthetically and display it in our home along with the picture. She was a concert harpist who also taught harp, organ and music theory for decades. Many of her former students are all over the country in orchestras or teaching music themselves.

If we ever decide to get rid of the harp, we would most likely donate it to the last University she worked for.

I have my dad's report card from the 8th grade, which was his last year of school. Farm boy, needed in the fields. That was in the 1930's.

I have a lot of old things. Nothing of monetary value, but great sentimental value.

I'm not sure what the oldest item might be, possibly a pin that my husband's Great Grandpa received for his service in the Civil War. There is no way to know for sure when he received it, it has "War 1861-6" engraved on it, so we know he got it after the war ended.

I also have some serving bowls that came from my Grandpa in Germany. They could possibly date back into the 1800's, or could be as late as early 1900's, no way for me to know for sure. I also have my Dad's set of drafting tools that he brought with him from Germany when he immigrated in 1923. And my mother's engagement ring and wedding band. A baby bonnet that I'm told all three of us kids wore, (the oldest of us was born in 1927), the 'hope' chest my mother had as a teenager. Far too many things to list here.

This has been a very interesting and enjoyable post, Toomuchglass, thank you for starting it!

Rusty

I think this is one of my oldest items. My Grandpa worked for the railroad, this is his morse code machine. He would be about be about 132 years old now.

My piano. My grandmother gave it to me when I was 4. I took lessons from the church organist (she was 6’ 3” tall!). I can’t imagine how much it cost. She worked as a waitress/server at the Philadelphia Naval Home. I no longer play, but I still cherish the gift.