“What’s The Oldest Item Or Piece Of Furniture In Your House”: 35 Oldest Items Shared By Our Community
Old things are very intriguing. They have a certain aura of mystery, a patina of history, and usually, an interesting story.
Without you even knowing what it is, there's certainly an old piece of furniture or an item lying around your house. It'd be fun to see what kind of antique curiosities you may find in your home, and I'd be happy to see it!
Share it, rate it, discuss it. Let's see who will have the oldest and the most interesting object at home in the Bored Panda community!
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This Trunk That Came Through Elis Island With My Great, Great Grandparents
I have an IDENTICAL trunk- it think it's just as old, but a stamp on it it indicates it went through New York
Hi, I have almost the same trunk here! only diffirents is it has some kind of lether layering but the lock en all the metal parts are the same! with some really old tags on in it from Holland America line, did your did your great, great Grandparents came from Holland?
Same, but mine came through O'Hare Airport in Chicago in the 60's (my dad was moving from Scotland).
Load More Replies...I have one similar to that from I think is the Victorian era in my dad's man cave
I Am The Oldest Thing In My House
You don't look like a piece of furniture but you do look like ''Heisenberg'
My ancestors had crappy taste. And since I'm the youngest sibling, the older ones had first dibs on stuff.
Load More Replies...The Beams In Our Ceiling That Have Bern In Place Since Around 1650
He owns the house, along with his brother. I am but a transient guest.
Load More Replies...It's actually nothing special in the neighbourhood.
Load More Replies...You know in some towns, it’s not rare to see houses with « 16** » engraved in stone.
Load More Replies...Is there supposed to be a extra wooden beem that doesn't connect to anything?
This Gramophone I Got From My Grandma. I Don't Know How Old It Is. It's Still Working Though
I have one as well. Amazing how they still work but stuff you buy today doesn't last 5 years
Fully-Functioning 1914 National Cash Register. 1914 Is The Last Year They Used Brass Due To WWI
Love it, and the trunk it's standing on also look old and beautifull
I can't imagine many people trying to "snatch and run" with this machine. Throw your back out!
This Little Trilobite - Approx. 500 Million Years Old
I live about 5km from this trilobite site: https://www.amnh.org/research/paleontology/collections/fossil-invertebrate-collection/trilobite-website/trilobite-localities/australian-trilobites-wonders-down-under But after a whole lot were STOLEN using explosives and boats offshore, the site is very locked up and its exact location is secret. However the uni groups that come down give talks to the school kids and they all get to go home with little fossils, so we have a few sub par but IMO awesome specimens
We used to Trilobite hunt up on the Georgian Bay shores in Ontario. We found tons as kids but never kept them(we didn't know how old they were). Since, they have put a ban on splitting rock/slate to find them. Wish we had kept some of them instead of donating so many to the Provincial Park
I’d be afraid that thing would come alive and terrorize me till I’m found dead in the morning. Sorry, I watch a lot tv.
Grandfather Clock From 1680s
This clock was bought by one of my ancestors in London in the 1680s, survived a fire, crossed the Atlantic to Canada in the early 1900s, and crossed back last year to my home in France. It still works😁
It is Regency style and has had some repairs and replacements done to it,still lovely though.These clocks have such beautiful chimes..
Good eye! The case was entirely rebuilt after a fire; no chimes though, the clock itself only strikes the hour as it was made long before chimes started being added.
Load More Replies...1907 Crawford Cast Iron Stove I Finished Restoring Just This Week.
I am curious as to what finish you used...I have two in my house (not as fancy as this) and they were painted black...They heat beautifully during the winter..
I have two other cast iron stoves that I painted black but I don't actually use them. They are lamp stands. This one I was going to do the same but it came out so nice I clear coated it to keep it from rusting again. I'll use it for storage because the inside is huge.
Load More Replies...I'd love to grab a good book and hot chocolate and sit in front of this! Beautiful!
This 1894 Copy Of The Three Musketeers
Old Family Bibles From The 1820s And My Great, Great Grandparents Civil War Daguerreotypes
A Roman Amphora Made 400 Years Before Jesus Was Born
Wine jar,Mediterranian...Jacques Cousteau once found some when diving that still contained wine. They opened it and drank a glass of Nectar from the Gods....a few minutes later it had turned into a vinegar-ish liquid due to the contact with the air..
I Think I Might Take The Cake On This One, No Bragging Intended. This Piece Of The Muoniomalusta Meteorite Is Part Of The Oldest Iron Meteorites Known
It's thought to be a piece of an ancient proto-planet likely older than the earth. It's just about the oldest thing you can touch. The pic is right after I had it certified, but now it sits in a moisture controlled glass container in my house.
I didn't know it was the title I was writing, I thought it was the description 😂
Outstanding! That clearly puts my trilobite into 2nd place, though every atom in my body was created in a supernova at least 6 billion years ago ;-)
Your trilobite is an outstanding submission in my opinion, very cool!
Load More Replies...A Roman Denarius Of The Republic, Over 2000 Years Old
I made a pendant for my wife, she is a teacher - Latin, of course :-)
Shame about roman coins also being virtually worthless there are so many in Britain
My Grandfather's Pocket Watch. Given To Him By His Father As A Graduation Present In 1918. Manufactured By The Waltham American Watch Company In 1887
"So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something. His ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. Then he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you."
Back in the days when graduating school meant you could support a family of 5...
I had to have the crystal replaced, beyond a couple of cleanings and oilings that's it. it runs fine but loses about 5min a day
Load More Replies...Have you been to the Charles River Museum in the old watch factory in Waltham, MA? If you are ever in the area, you should stop by. It's a small museum but really cool. They used to (still may, but I think it sort of faded out) host a Steampunk Festival there every spring too.
I have not. But thanks for the suggestion. If I'm ever in the area I will stop in
Load More Replies...it's clearly broken so only worth the price of the gold in the case.
This Photo Of My Great-Grandparents
This post is about : What’s The Oldest Item Or Piece Of Furniture In YOUR House.
Load More Replies...My Estate Desk. It's Roughly The Same Age As The Declaration Of Independence (Handles Unfortunately Not Original)
My nanna has one very simalar to this! She has slightly different handles though
What would make it even cooler is if the declaration was written on it... it was written on a different looking desk.
1960s-1970s - My Mum's Well-Travelled Make-Up And Wig Cases. In A Band With My Dad, The Four Ways Bumper Sticker Was From Their Fan Club. Bottom Pic Shows The Cool Baggage Tags And Stickers From Japan Air Lines, China Airlines, Cp Air, Qantas, And Pan Am (Top Black And White Stub With Bs). And Pows Were, Of Course, Prisoners Of War (Vietnam).
Not sure this will work, but I put a site together for the band here (bit.ly/The_Four_Ways) if anyone's curious. Includes free MP3s of the only album they released (nominated for a Juno, Canada's version of the Grammy).
This Quilt Was A Wedding Gift To My Great-Great-Great-Grandparents In 1847.
America has such a long history making quilts...waste not,want not and snippets from worn-out garments and such were turned into something wonderful...and useful..
My Great Grandmother's Engagement Ring. Circa 1912 I Believe
Very pretty! I like the mix between simplicity and not simplicity I don't know the word for it though!
I have alot of my grandmother's, great grandmother's and great great grandmothers jewelry! Oh, and the jewelry box they kept it in :)
Thank you! I had a jewler a few years ago try to have me reset it, he said a prong was loose. I wear it whenever I leave the house and he's out of business.
Load More Replies...Round Oak Dining Table C. 1890
Normally I give people crap for refinishing antique furniture, but my grandmother bought this at the Salvation Army in 1960 and refinished it then. It suffered some water damage in storage, so I refinished it again, this time in blue, because why not.
My Greek Bronze Spear, Ca. 1000-700 Bc.
Some Old But Not Gold Items We Have At Home ---> Large Fossil I Found In France As A Kid + Indus Valley Bowl Approx. 2800-2600 Bc / Mehrgar Periode Vii Pakistan / Dutch Pommegranate-Tile Approx. 1625
Don´t be so modest ! some of these items are truly magnificent...
Everybody in the so-called civilized World did...it is called the Spoils of War as is demonstrated by the Russians right now pilfering Ukranian museums...before them Isis who not only stole and sold to unscrupulous dealers,but also smashed what they couldn´t carry away.Some items have names i.e the Elgin Marbles which actually were bought...and are now being reclaimed by the Greeks...Egypt want Cleopatra,Benin want their bronzes (have got some back recently) Spain practically emptied South America for gold items...to say nothing about the GI´s in Europe,The Germans where-ever they occupied had a special task-force to rob museums and their Jewish citizens...goes ALL the way back to the Vikings and beyond...
Load More Replies...Pocket Binoculars My Grand-Grand-Mother Used To Watch Horse Races In Vincennes Hippodrome
We have a pair of those too, but instead of horses, we just use them when we get stumped at Where's Waldo.
My gran had a pair of these! Just like them! Sadly, she passed. Gramps got a new gf at about 90yrs old and the hag threw away ALL my grans stuff!
Our Whole House Is Old, But We Have A Penny Stuck In The Floor. No Idea How It Got Stuck. As Far As We Know It’s Original To The House From The 1930s
It probably was welded to the top of a nail. This was a popular prank back then when a penny had the purchasing power of about 20¢ today. Just enough to make someone bend down to pick it up.
Wait that’s a good theory
Load More Replies...Wow that's very cool! I may be able to tell you a more specific amount of years if I could have the size?
I just looked at it, it’s very hard to tell but I believe it isn’t original, it looks like it says 1980 something. Maybe 87? The previous owners must have put it in. It is VERY hard to tell tho bc it has polyurethane on it from when we had the floors redone a few years back?
Load More Replies...most pennies from the 30's are worthless. the only penny i know is vauable are the steel 1940's ones, or the ones below the date of 1900
Load More Replies...A 1977 Binatone Pong Games Console. One Of The First Home Consoles
The Clock My Grandfather Got For His Parents When He Was A Teen
It plays the "Westminster Quarters" chimes :) it still works but I have stopped using it until I can get the hinge of the glass cover fixed, and the wood retouched. (Flax mat is from my second foray into flax weaving from my garden, I gave the first one away as customary)
It looks really cool, i can see that the wood does need some retouching like you said
My Favourite African Sculpture (Headrest) End 19th Cent.bought By My Grandfather In 1904.from Angola
Great piece. I do have African headrests as well in my collection of tribal art.
Chest Of Drawers, Late Xix Century
A friend of mine was throwing it away. It was in terrible conditions. I've had it restored and it now proudly sits in my living room!
throwing it away! Thank you for saving it--it's beautiful
Load More Replies...Old School Crayon Box. Not Sure Of The Age But Found In My Husband's Grandma's House
Nothing In My House Is New....self Included..
i've always wanted one so i could jump scare my friends.
Load More Replies...Same. I love my home having stories for each piece. Eying that couch though, it’s a stunner.
It was part of a 5 piece set my great,great grand parents bought for their 1st home in 1862..
Load More Replies...I upvoted you because you are absolutely right....I do have a ghost,friendly,and it has been with me (and family) for about 50 years....believe it or not,it once went on holidays with my parents when they visited family in Corpus Christi (US) showed up at a family lunch..their dog suddenly went crazy and jumped over the table trying to get at something behind my mother...that´s when my mother felt its presence...she phoned me and said «Sophus was here to-day !!) It first showed up when my kids were small..now they are grown up,rarely.
Load More Replies...Wrong ! everything has a purpose...this was re-upholstered at least 7 times
Load More Replies...And you are the definition of judgemental.
Load More Replies...My Most Prized Possession! And Old One Pence Piece From 1917! (And Yes I Added A Picture Of The Other Side So You Would Know It Was Real)
The Saying goes.....A Penny For Your Thoughts....that is worth something ...
No they are not worth anything, it is worn and common. I have several but they are interesting.
Load More Replies...I have some old british pennies in a collectors album, each coin has it's year labelled underneath. They are not worth much but my late wife liked them so I got them for her.
That's cool! Sorry about your wife
Load More Replies...I Am An Awful Judge Of What Is Old Or Not, But Its Gotta Be This Trunk That My Grandma Gave Me. She Claims Its From My Great-Great-Grandmother.
Dont get me wrong- i have fossils and such too, but i just felt like posting this one :3
...and probably right....this was the sort of trunks immigrants from The old Country brought with them holding all their possessions.....could do with a little TLC though...
Why do such old trunks always look like monsters that are gonna pop out teeth
My House Itself! My House Is Over 200 Years And Was An Old Factory Building In The 1840’s. There’s Still The Presence Of One Of The Workers In The Basement.
Yep. I’ve only seen him once, but he’s there.
Load More Replies...Not surprising. Alot of spirits stick around work places. Tell him I said hello!
We live in an ancient Scottish croft house for years, thought to be around 350 years old. Unfortunately there were no resident ghosts
Pls explain ur encounter w a ghost. I wanna hear all about it!!!
My Husband's T-Shirt From Def Leppard's 1987-1988 Hysteria Tour.
Exactly!! He joined the army shortly after and left it at home. Never been worn.
Load More Replies...Opalised Fossil Marine Shells 15-20 Million Years Old
Yes it is Australian...from the Coober Pedy opal fields South Australia...dug the specimen up about two years ago...about twelve metres underground. [ about 40 feet ].
Load More Replies...My "New" Piano. From What I Have Researched So Far It Was Made In 1915
These Two Pieces Of Flint I Got By Accident (Don't Judge Me I Am An Archaeologist). Probably About 8-9.000 Years Old
Back in 2018 I studied in italy and participated in the excavation of a lithic site. Had not enough bags for all the flint we dug up so put everything in my pocket to sort into bags later. These two seem to have hidden in the depth of my pocket and after several trips to the washing machine and another dig they showed up months later when i had already returned to germany 😂
I have ceramic shards from romanian and protohistoric periods. My ceramology teacher allowed us to take some : "We have tons of those f*cking shards, i brought only 6kg from the pedagogic box to show you how we sort them. Please, get rid of them."
Load More Replies...500+ Year Old Brass Crucifix On A Newer Chain, This Is The Reverse Side
All Family Heirlooms: Table/Chairs From 1870s, Chest From The 30s, China Cabinet From 40s With The Clock And Knitting’s On The Wall From 1900. Our House Is All Antiques,, So Many Wonderful Stories
I love knowing our families much loved possessions are used, displayed and surrounded by love. This is just the front room. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
My Father Was A Pathologist. No Prizes For Guessing What He Kept In This Jar
Hopefully none of his «patients» got to appreciate his sense of humour...just saying
Sketch By A Family Member 11/8/1929
It’s Hands Are Used As A Bowl And That’s Where We Put All My Baby Teeth Ofc
This Camera, Were Not Too Sure How Old It Is, But It's Pretty Old
The Kodak 35 was introduced in 1938, but this model was made between 1947 and 1949 (identifiable due to the whitish plastic knobs, as opposed to metal knobs on earlier models).
Kodak 35 The Kodak 35 was introduced in 1938 as the first US manufactured 35mm camera from Eastman Kodak Company. It was developed in Rochester, New York
sometime in the late seventies/early eighties is what it looks like.
Dresser, Circa 1886
are you joking? No one in their right mind would add metal and brand new drawer sides to an actual 19th century piece. And if they did, they should be fired immediately.
Dovetails are machine made so is it really this old?
Load More Replies...Are you sure of it's age? The joints are obviously machine made, I would have expected more refined hand made, but I could be wrong.
While The Meteorite Wedding Band Is About 4.5 Billion Years Old, The Majority Of Atoms In My Body Formed 4.6 To 4.7 Billion Years Ago From The Super Nova That Birthed Our Solar System And Sun. Some Other Atoms, Such As Hydrogen, Formed 13.7 Billion Years Ago. I'd Say We Are All Tied For Oldest Items In Our Homes
I Used To Have A 1984 Panasonic Rx-5050 But My Dad Broke It On Accident, Of Course The Part That Was Broken Could Not Be Repaired. So Here's A Pic I Found Of Someone Else's :(
My Bear Granville. He Is Over 100❤️
Meet Lucy. A Medical Teaching Aid From The Late 1800's.
This Beautiful Piece Of Furniture In The Background, Came From A German Church. Around 400 Yrs
The Poems Of Edgar Allan Poe, Bell&sons 1900
This Photo Done In The 80s
Bread Dough Proving Chest. 1700s Ca. No Bread Now In It. Only Wine
I have always been a sentimental collector and the family historian and my husband was exactly the same in his family. We had so many items tied to deep family memories and traditions. He passed a few years ago but I couldn't get rid of anything of his. Lost EVERYTHING except the clothes on my back in September 2020 forest fires. So many incredible, beautiful items that are only intact in my mind. Treasure your items of living history, they are incredibly precious.
My oldest item is a 3rd century AD bronze brooch in the shape of a swastika, which was good luck for the Ronans back then.
Some Eastern religions still use the swastika. It was never meant to be a bad symbol. It's actually supposed to represent good luck and prosperity.
Load More Replies...I’m jealous of people with a connection to some piece of history. I only have a few items dating back to early childhood (70s) and some letters my parents sent to each other when dating (late 60s).
I have my grandmother's sewing machine. She made her wedding dress on it. One of my todo project is getting it working.
A stone made of fossilised shells in a little display box - my grandpa gave it to me from when he lived on the Isle of Wight when I was about six. Came from a gift shop in Sandown, where there are loads of dinosaur age fossils. Definitely real fossil. If you're meaning manmade, a jade hat decoration, believe it is Chinese and somewhere around the 17th/18th century, passed down the family and got used as a necklace a lot.
My oldest item is the male side of the family their family weapon, carved in wood or on a ring, both from around the year 1300
I have always been a sentimental collector and the family historian and my husband was exactly the same in his family. We had so many items tied to deep family memories and traditions. He passed a few years ago but I couldn't get rid of anything of his. Lost EVERYTHING except the clothes on my back in September 2020 forest fires. So many incredible, beautiful items that are only intact in my mind. Treasure your items of living history, they are incredibly precious.
My oldest item is a 3rd century AD bronze brooch in the shape of a swastika, which was good luck for the Ronans back then.
Some Eastern religions still use the swastika. It was never meant to be a bad symbol. It's actually supposed to represent good luck and prosperity.
Load More Replies...I’m jealous of people with a connection to some piece of history. I only have a few items dating back to early childhood (70s) and some letters my parents sent to each other when dating (late 60s).
I have my grandmother's sewing machine. She made her wedding dress on it. One of my todo project is getting it working.
A stone made of fossilised shells in a little display box - my grandpa gave it to me from when he lived on the Isle of Wight when I was about six. Came from a gift shop in Sandown, where there are loads of dinosaur age fossils. Definitely real fossil. If you're meaning manmade, a jade hat decoration, believe it is Chinese and somewhere around the 17th/18th century, passed down the family and got used as a necklace a lot.
My oldest item is the male side of the family their family weapon, carved in wood or on a ring, both from around the year 1300
