Family heirlooms?

Last night, I had dinner with my grandmother, mom and her husband and my sister.

My grandmother asked me (somewhat out of the left field), "Do you still have grandpa's watch?" A few years ago, when my grandfather died, she gave me my great grandfather's gold pocketwatch--a Howard--which apparently has some value--a thousand plus, I guess. I don't need money, and wouldn't sell it unless it kept me out of a homeless shelter. But it seems important enough to her to ask me. I don't have children, so I can't say yet what might happen to the watch if I die.

Do you have any family heirlooms? Anything you intend to pass on and why? Any knives, guns, antique furniture, watches? What about flashlights? Would those be an "appropriate" heirloom? Are you sentimental or would you sell the heirloom? Do you care if your heirs sell the item? How do you handle multiple children or stepchildren? My grandmother didn't want to tell my cousins about the watch because she thought it should go to a blood relative of my grandfather (she already had my aunt when they got married) and didn't want them to feel bad.

My Grandfayndfather had a Gold Pocketwatch on a chain, a gift from his dad when he was 16, he also had a nice Black Onyx ring. He had always told me since I was a child what they were and how much they meant to him and how someday they would be mine as the sole male heir. About a year after he passed away I finally got the nerve up to ask my Grandmother where the ring and the watch were. She cried when she told me that my mother had given his old woolen coat to "Goodwill" and she hadn't noticed until much later after they had cleaned out all his things. My mother had no idea they were in the pocket and never checked. Needless to say these will never get the chance to be passed down to my childrens children. It was a very sad day

I have my GF Waltham pocket watch and his wrist watch. I have my other GF vice and bench grinder. Also a piece of mammoth ivory my GUncle found in Alaska back in the 20's. Old coins and bills also. I hope they will be passed to a family member who cares about such things.

My paternal grandmother riveted B-29 bombers during WWII, and I have the pocketknife she carried on the job during those years. It's not much to look at, but the history... and how many grandmothers pass on their pocket knives?

I have a little pocket radio from my grandfather. and my grandmother gave me a rocking chair. she bought it from the first paycheck she ever received.

My Family has my Great Grandmother's $40,000 eek pink venitian glass chandelier(sp) that they got in venice about 60 years ago, it is currently sitting in 2 boxes and my mom wants to hang it and hopefully we will do that soon because it is a wonderfull reminder of my GGM, but the thing weighs about 35 pounds so we would have to have the cieling mount reinforced.
and with me and my dad being as clumsy as we are (thanks dad) mom would never let us get near it

A $40,000 pink chandelier family heirloom? That's definitely an interesting conundrum. Sell it and get a nice chunk of change and let someone who really wants it have it, but feel guilty. Or store it in a box and feel guilty that it's not getting any use but is protected and stays in the family. Hanging it would be a project with the guilt of possibly damaging it.

Radio mentions a problem I've thought about--losing the family heirloom after death. My gold pocketwatch (along with some emergency cash) is in a hiding place that could easily get thrown away or given away in the aftermath of my death. I should probably tell somebody in my family (I'm not married, no kids) where the watch and cash is, so it doesn't end up in a landfill if I die tomorrow.

Getting something with some history behind it--like war medals--is common and interesting. I like the idea of handing someone a pocketknife or something and saying, "I used it to build bombers during the war." My mom's father was a metal worker at Lockheed skunkworks and built spyplanes, which I didn't even know until after he died. I also got his small pocketknife when he died, but it's nothing fancy.

If I ever have children, I imagine I'd leave a badge of some sort if I retire from law enforcement. It might be a cool relic for a kid.

My wife and I have managed to inherit all sorts of old furniture, china, silverware, etc. from both families, but there's not hardly anything I'd call an heirloom. There's not much I wouldn't be willing to sell, but, pack rat that I am, most of it will probably end up with my son.

Geoff