"Collectables of the post apoc" Topic

Modern items that survived in form or whole that are valued for the original or an alternate purpose.

Items like coin currency and keys would remain fairly intact, would be potentially plentiful enough to have some in most areas, and could be manipulated into jewelry or other.

As well as machine gears, cogs, and springs. From the most tiny watch gear through the industrial iron wheel.

And I include this image, not because it is directly related to the subject but rather because I thought it was fun and it is in the theme of gears, cogs, and springs.

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So these items could be used as intended or for other purposes like money, barter markers, jewelry, weapons, armor, etc.

Another thought would be collecting and melting down aluminum cans. This would provide an easy resource of light metal that would e plentiful for a period of time at least. Easy to melt and manipulate.

Can you think of other items that may survive a less than direct hot apoc end (nuke on top of pop)?

- Hood emblems from automobiles (yes, they were used by rappers in the 80's; kinda a timeless thing, eh)
- bic lighters

I would think anything paper due to its limited life span once its introduced to water.

Text books, instruction manuals, and especially adult picture books since these require no reading skill at all.

Anything that might be of interest to someone can be worth money as a collectible. Look at the low value things that people collect today.

Sad Irons, match books, bottle caps, barbed wire, outdated tech, ect.

Good stuff.

What is a sad iron?

the old irons for clothes that you either heated on the old wood stove or they have an oil reseavour in them to heat them. Generally its any old non-electric iron.

Dirty magazines. Seriously.

"Dirty magazines. Seriously"

I suspect not. Though in an Amazon society where men are servants, slaves, or second class citizens I would guess these media types would be quite the taboo icons.

But for general considerations, especially for gaming, no.

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I have been watching Stuck with Hackett, a TV series where artist/engineer Chris Hackett creates working technology with Obtanium link and he is about as perfect the post apoc scavenger type.

He has the knowledge of a field engineer, skills of a industrial fabricator, and the eye to find just about anything he needs or could use to convert.

He even looks like a post apoc scavenger

The point of this being he makes use of objects that seem to have no value, making useful end results from true junk.

So the reason I ask what may be collectable or have barter value in a post apoc society is to consider the process out of the box.

Items that can be manipulated into raw materials or into other functional items, like a mattress/boxspring set…broken down into medium weight metal wire, springs, fasteners, fabric, insulation, etc…a pile of parts and pieces that exceeds the initial value.

So an old hotel full of ruined dry rotted beds could lend a boon of light forge worthy metal that could be used as is or easily manipulated.

This sort of item will be the barter fodder of the pot apoc age IMO…although a surviving nudie mag would certainly catch the eye for some NPCs to be sure, I tend to not focus any attention to the darker side of life in a post apoc game a they are usually quite dark enough.

Not that a nudie mag is all that dark…but the sex trade for example is nothing I would spend any time with in a game setting. Characters spending an evening out is enough, unless there is a pattern that an enemy might use against them.

I tend to avoid drug addiction, sexual aspects, etc. in a RPG.

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Anyway, the collectable or barter valuable items are an interesting thought for the post apoc setting if your characters have time in between fighting off mohawk gangers, sewer mutants, or zombies :)

Traditionally it is bottle caps.

Bottle caps are an interesting one…hard to duplicate…unlike coins, I can make copies of coins today outside with light metals (copper, lead, aluminum, etc.).

So as little treasured icons of the past these may hold some sentimental value, maybe even as badges of membership or accomplishment?

…missing the joke-Fallout Las Vegas as well as the original computer games that spawned it. In the former there is a screed that establishes the provenances of bottle caps, from high quality to forgeries.

I did miss the joke…you got me lol.

link

(wiki clipped data)

In the Core Region, the relative scarcity of bottle caps made them a perfect currency for Hub merchants to adopt in the 22nd century, leading to the nickname "Hubbucks". Backed by the value of water, the Hub merchants supported bottle caps because the technology to manufacture them and paint their surfaces had been mostly lost in the Great War, which limited any counterfeiting efforts. Secondly, there is a limited number of bottle caps, which preserved their value against inflation to some degree. For similar reasons, the East Coast merchants also recognize bottle caps as a currency, although who backs them and guarantees their value is unknown.

While becoming the standard currency for Hub merchants in the 22nd century, by the mid-23rd century, they were replaced by New California Republic (NCR) dollars, which were backed by gold. Caps would once again became a regularly-used currency after the destruction of NCR's gold reserves by the Brotherhood of Steel destabilized the value of the dollar.

By the late-23rd century, the NCR's tenuous grip on the Core Region, the presence of Caesar's Legion (who have their own currency), and the low value of the now water-backed NCR dollar caused bottle caps to re-emerge as the standard currency of the Mojave Wasteland in 2281. Nevertheless, NCR and Legion currency are both considered legal tender by the various caravan companies and on the New Vegas Strip. Mojave merchants also accept nonstandard variants, such as Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle caps.

I was cruising through some salvage yard photos, how much fun would it be to have free reign to pick and pull from these?

Cloth is gonna be a big thing too, how many people do you know who know how to weave? Heck even hand sew?

I was raised by a Home-Ec teacher who grew up on a farm, and was sentenced to said farm for more summers than I care to remember got taught how to do things the old ways. So a lot of this I consider second nature.

The collectable things are gonna be the things that are hard to reproduce.

"The collectable things are gonna be the things that are hard to reproduce"

Agreed

Copper wire, small fans, AC/DC power supplies, trace precious metals, rechargeable batteries, and more aplenty.

Here we see Vinny the Hammer, a well known dealer of wire/cables/and copper…he is a mutant with the Lazarus mutation…he is ageless, stuck in the body of a small child…smart, devious, and a little bit evil…at last accurate count Vinny celebrated his 79th birthday.

How about what to do with the items that will be in plenty, are in a set form that may not have as much value broken down, and have a specific unique form that may or may not be of immediate use?

Like bowling balls?

Well sure you could use them for bowling, entertainment has a value to be sure.

But what else?

How about a mace?

What fun right? Like those fancy bowling balls with swirls of color…techno color death on a stick :)

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Counter weights that can be added/removed quickly and easily?

Large ball bearings?

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How about other mundane items that can be repurposed?

The easiest and certainly the most plentiful IMO would be vehicle tires.

There are millions upon millions of these tires around the states and many more worldwide.

structure supports or insulation

protective walls

chemical warfare (not just against people, but maybe locusts or the like)

altered into a fuel via pyrolysis

rubberized asphalt

workout equipment

rubber tire armor

flood levees

the Buddha

I hadn't even though about tires….

Or should we say BOOTS and other foot wear. I can see lots of retread shoes out there.

Not to mention bushings and bearings, things that were and can be done with leather, but are more durable and easier with rubber…

Tires, straps, seat belts, etc.

Keys

Locks

Eye Glasses

Sun Glasses

Gold/Precious Jewelry

Cast Hand Tools

Bowling Pins…

link

Info…what would you do with bowling pins?

I had thought about them before…

simple weapon
membership item (yo Vinnie…)
game items

Did you have something else in mind?

Well, Bowling has been a popular sport/pastime for centuries, that doesn't require power.

Decks of cards also make that list as well as dice from before times.

And Clay Poker chips, especially from Casinos, these are not all that durable, but reason ably so outside damp environments. (spent 7 years working in Casinos)

Heck even a working mechanical slot machine, those are rare today.

How about those odd sort of things that are actual collectables now..which have no actual value except that they are rare or have the potential to be rare at some point.

action figures perhaps?

Small toys, baby dolls, etc. surely these items would have that smile factor which I imagine in a post apoc world would have a value of a significant nature.

Or as religious ikons of "That which was"

Why do I know want to cast the crew from 'Jersy Shores' as demons or fools in a PA mythology….

(I think it is my minor in Folklore showing through)

No don't do it…I have never made it beyond the commercials and I suspect my sanity is intact for that very reason.

The cult of those fools would be as much a horror as flower child hippies.

:(