[Paul-Craft]

I wouldn't go so far as saying it give me "heebie-jeebies," but I also don't see the point in collecting mass market consumer items that are not and have never been rare. Probably the closest I come to ever wanting to do so is that I have a real appreciation for old computer systems. Once, I even got it in my head that I could theoretically own and run a working PDP-11. Fortunately/unfortunately, I've never had the space to properly store, much less display a collection of obsolete home computers, and I don't even want to think about the power and space requirements to actually operate a working PDP-11

So, yeah, I truly do not understand collecting Beanie Babies, Funko Pops, or fountain pens. But, I do collect coins. I find them interesting on multiple levels. I can't think of too many other hobbies that give one a good excuse to study history, economics, art, metallurgy, and more. So many things that happen involving humans and human societies also involve money and commerce. Going back to the rarity aspect, I own quite a few coins that are anywhere from quite scarce to truly rare. It also really helps that they don't take up a ton of space, either.

I don't see anything particularly maladaptive about it, except that it's a hobby that can take up arbitrarily much time and money. But, that's actually one thing I like about it: I could definitely have fun collecting coins on less than a $100/month budget, even though I actually spend quite a bit more than that on it. The acquisition process is fun as well. I like going to coin shops and coin shows. Buying online or at auction is slightly less fun, but it gives me a greater opportunity to find what I'm really looking for. When dealing with things that are, as I said, fairly scarce, the hunt itself becomes part of the enjoyment.

[Fluorescence]

> that give one a good excuse to study history, economics, art, metallurgy

Not sharing this as a serious alternative, just sharing this as something nerdy and cool. It's a little more involved than coin collecting lol... but this guy making his own Carnyx (Celtic war horn) ticks many of those boxes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWTFIDAbDtY

A Carnyx being played:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRIQp4qZrrE

Engaging with history in very practical ways like this is very cool. I'd love to make my own Round House one day.

[gilleain]

I have a friend that makes medieval lutes. He even reproduced one from Skyrim - it sounded bad, apparently, as it was designed to look good, not sound good.

More of a business than a hobby, but still.

[vwcx]

Wow, down the rabbithole I go. Thanks for sharing (especially that second link). Always good to get a dose of awe first thing on a Friday.

[mikewarot]

The new hot computer at Rose-Hulman in 1982 was the VAX 11/780. I always wanted to have one ever since. However, I've been through hording, and having had to purge things, I realize that it would be quite silly to actually own one.

So, I've done the next best thing... Thanks to Termux and SimH, I run one in my Android phone. I can telnet into it and log in, not quite the VT100 experience, but close enough. So for the low price of about 4GB of storage, I have a VAX 11/780, running OpenVMS 7.2 in my pocket. ;-)

[cbm-vic-20]

> I even got it in my head that I could theoretically own and run a working PDP-11.

Me too. Thankfully, buying old PDP-11 manuals on eBay and assembling a PiDP-11 satisfied that urge. I also live close to two good computer museums that have plenty of PDPs to poke around on, when they're working. Watching the graybeards diagnose and fix things on these 50+ year old machines reminds me why I don't want to do that at home.

[kaashif]

I used to collect old Sun, IBM, and HP Unix workstations. You know, the ones with weird architectures like SPARC, POWER, and PA-RISC. And the software to run on them, which was often very weird.

Like you, this isn't the mass market consumerism type of collecting, but is maybe a bit closer to it than your idea of somehow getting a working PDP-11.

[slowhand09]

Ha! I used to want an Inmos Transputer. Even tho I had zero experience in parallel process development. Saved myself some money by not being able to afford it. "I should buy a boat" meme appears.