Heirlooms and traditions are meant to be protected and respected. They’re what help connect all the different generations in your family tree with a shared heritage. Not only that, but they’re often very physical reminders of the people we love who have passed on.
Bored Panda has collected some of the most impressive and unusual examples of family heirlooms ever from all around the internet. It’s proof that you don’t have to inherit a chest full of jewels and gold doubloons for something to be valuable. Scroll down to see what some families’ legacies look like.
Bored Panda reached out to Jodi Wellman, MAPP, for a chat about leaving behind heirlooms and positive legacies for our heirs. She was kind enough to answer our questions and you’ll find her insights as you read on! Wellman is a speaker , author , and leadership coach, as well as the founder of ‘Four Thousand Mondays.’
Saucy_Lemur Report
BMWbill Report
Nervardia Report
Not sure of the year they married, but my grandfather was born (in wedlock) in 1908, so the ring and box are 113+ years old! The box is as fascinating as the ring. It is leather, velvet-lined, hinged, and secured with a latch hook. Most importantly to me, inside the ring, alongside the Maker’s Marks, is the inscription “With Harry’s Love”.
Heather Godden Report
redbandit87 Report
ejchristian86 Report
alcadesa Report
Some backstory behind this: my grandfather died before I was born. My family always told me how genuinely nice and cool he was, even to strangers. Growing up, whenever I visited my grandparents’ house, I would see a shelf proudly displaying his collection. My grandmother passed away when I was 18 or 19, and none of my father’s six siblings or my father himself were going to claim the collection of sharpeners. I couldn’t let it go to waste.
mattygraddy Report
eberbs Report
Crips_Ahoy177 Report
morrisonismydog Report
To my surprise, it’s made from uranium glass.
buzzbot235 Report
Stanley is indeed their family name. His great-grandfather was John T. Stanley, who emigrated from England to the United States in 1860 at the age of 17. He was skilled in soap and candle making at the time however, his first job was in collecting animal fat from around the city. Now my history of how he parlayed this trade into soap making is a bit hazy at the moment but I’ll be sure to get the full story after we blow out some candles on my father-in-law’s cake.
lucybri83 Report
rainyrew Report
Some of these things he had since he was barely out of diapers. There are so many gems here.
8bit-meow Report
jb2386 Report
By request, here is the other piece of jewelry from my great-great-grandmother! Unfortunately, there are no maker marks on this one or that’s the case, either.
Mc_Tater Report
map-6346 Report
deen5526 Report
chrisodeljacko Report
It allows you to select which cocktail you want to make, and it even tells you which ingredients and quantities you need.
Crowdfunder101 Report
BenderSimpsons Report
zach171002 Report
nsteck10 Report
It’s not quite 100, but it will be in the next year. My great-grandfather purchased it new. I remember eating waffles fresh out of it at my grandmother’s house thirty years ago. My mom has had it for the past fifteen years and decided to gift it to me this Christmas, as she knows I love cast iron cookery.
ijusthavenoidea Report
Innuendoughnut Report
wcoast191911 Report
Recently, I showed my mom and aunt (her daughters), and neither had ever seen it before. I’m guessing it’s a treasure my grandfather brought home from his Navy or Merchant Marine adventures. Initially, I thought it was costume jewelry, goldtone cloisonne. However, I recently discovered it’s 22k solid gold, enamel-painted, made in Spain in the 1940s or 1950s, which is why I think my grandfather had a hand in this. My grandmother likely gifted it to me because I’m a total water, beach, boat, and fish lover! I’ve never seen anything like it, but I’m hoping someone else has. Isn’t he funky and fierce? Look at those teeth!
Kim Wunderlich-Cady Report
This crystal ball was passed down from my great-grandmother to my nana and now to me. It’s my most prized possession that I can’t stop looking at. I also love the stand that my nana got - three meerkats!
mochimeggie Report
bethshurt Report
kitkatzz Report
muffintestine Report
brittlebittle Report
Zenmetsu- Report
All ready for the birthday girl! I’ve been fixing up all the furniture and making new bits for it for the last few weeks. Kitchen, as a surprise for me, my amazing brother carefully dismantled the whole house, packed it up, and shipped it over to our UK home from Canada where it had been in storage. Master, still have to fix up the baby’s cot which will go with the rocker. My sister-in-law made the tufted rug. In the living room, the rug is a squirrel skin my mother was gifted in the 5th grade from a boy who had a crush on her. Bathroom! the majority of the furniture (and the house itself) was purchased in Germany in the early ’90s when my military dad was posted there (we lived there for 5 years.) In the kids’ room, my mum has made the bunks new bedding since this photo was taken. The cars for the car mat are buttons. And in the entryway, the lights are strings of fairy lights with the battery packs strategically hidden. I didn’t want to do anything too permanent, so they’re just taped up for now.
ladysearah Report
dittidot Report
My birthstone is sapphire as well, so this is extra special to me. We even had our house robbed, but they missed it, thank goodness.
Debbie Parchen Duncan Report
Almostpetite Report
Day47media Report
HERMANNATOR85 Report
6b6r6 Report
eyunzicker Report
His father was not the photographer - the photographs were mailed to him from the infamous “PO Box 1663” in Santa Fe and were taken at Bikini Atoll. His dad went to Notre Dame, MIT, and USC, and had degrees in chemical engineering, architectural engineering, and nuclear physics.
NoodleBlitz Report
rivet_head99 Report
micahd98 Report
reddit.com Report
Kado_potato Report
My dad used them while flying helicopters in the Army, then in the National Guard. I adapted them for use when I maintenance taxi commercial aircraft for a major airline. They still sound great and will probably outlast me as well.
MentalEntropy Report
I used it decoratively until I realized that it accepted 4x5 sheet film without modification. Now, it’s my go-to, large-format film camera.
goodcheapandfast Report
I teach 5th and 6th grade math. I have no idea how old it is, but it’s certainly older than all the students and even some of the teachers.
alja1 Report
My mom got this car as a gift for my dad before I was born (1980s). It only came out on special occasions, sometimes for him to take my mom on a beautiful sunny day date, and it has never seen the rain. It’s bittersweet that it’s now mine. I have great memories riding around in it with him. I’m so honored to take care of it.
xPolLuTicOrnx Report
AwkwardGrimace Report
It’s too late to ask them now. But the compass still points to magnetic north after 99 years!
Logybayer Report
IncandescentSquid Report
HankTheCrank Report
sauntimo Report
My mom knows my interest in watches and showed me her dad’s old pocket watch that my grandmother got for my grandfather for my mom’s wedding. It’s not currently running and is missing the crystal and the second hand, but otherwise, in great condition. I’m picking up the hobby of watch repair, so when I become proficient, I’m going to fix it up and give it back to her. A little research shows this as a Waltham Colonial Series Royal. I’ll take off the case in the future and get the serial number to get a more exact date of manufacture. Looking forward to getting this all fixed and running.
ShamusNC Report
Kakariti Report
parothed28 Report
Lightmyfire213 Report
LucasAugustus Report
Sinistralas Report
My dad thinks it may have been satin black originally… Is there any hope of removing the paint to get the original finish?
olivia_noelle15 Report
All drawers slide out flawlessly, and it’s built like a tank. All I had to do was run a wire wheel on some rusty corners and give it a bit of paint. Here’s to 60 more years with this thing!
tannerkane Report
hezzyb Report
Brotimus Report
MusicaMundana Report
SmurfSlurpee Report
SpenRob96 Report
andthatis Report
Crbn8ed Report
w33kndxotwod Report
Naiphe , Naiphe Report
lizziecuppcake Report
tacosRpeople2 Report
snoopsdream Report
My dad’s Woolrich outerwear has kept me warm on many cold hunting days. It’s extremely functional and has endured years of walking through brambles and brush. The buffalo check plaid is easy for other hunters to see. Deer can’t see red, so it breaks up the silhouette and serves as effective and quiet camouflage. My dad is okay, he just outgrew it. Featuring a thrifted HBC eight-point blanket.
Tamias-striatus Report
ShaquielleOFeel Report
drewvii Report
idgafos2019 Report
testfire10 Report
AlyssonFromBrazil Report
d7it23js Report
neverthemood Report
jackie_blue6 Report
ghollowell Report
bluhEwanka Report
thenewyorkgod Report
SuspiciousPillow Report
hcubed3 Report
PracticalAndContent Report
Does anyone know anything about this? My grandfather lived in Iran and had this since I remember and he passed away at 100 years old in 2020. The stones seem like they are turquoise and maybe agate. Any information is appreciated.
CrystalHummingBirdie Report
UncleDankBong Report
Malatorpe Report
I believe it’s from the ‘86 season. I could be wrong though.
rskiarsis Report
flamboyantpuree Report
Gifthealvision Report
It has gotten me through several harsh cold snaps during winter as supplemental heat in my bedroom. Bathing in its warmth right now.
Defenestrationism Report
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