The World's Oddest Collections

Pennies

Riddle: How can 301 pennies equal $10.7 million? Ask Walter Husak. He recently sold his collection of 301 rare American pennies for that staggering sum, according to the Los Angeles Times. Highlights of the collection include two large antique coppers from 1793 and 1814, valued at $632,500 each.

Tractors

Tractors belong in the field. But apparently, according to city officials in Clovis, N.M., 30 tractors in a field is too many. Wayne Martin, the owner of these 30 rogue tractors, will take the antique tractors to auction later this month in order to avoid fines. Martin remains ambivalent: "Collecting tractors is not profitable," he says. "But didn't cost us nothing either."

Oz

Many collectors are fanatical about The Wizard of Oz. Take Joseph Maddalena, who would like to add the Wicked Witch's broomstick to his already impressive collection. He searched for many years before finally catching the scent. Turns out it was in his backyard all along.

Pop Culture

Real estate mogul Anthony Pugliese recently auctioned his pop culture memorabilia collection because he wanted money to start a green community in Florida. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, bargains were a cigar stub smoked by Elvis, Mel Gibson's sword from Braveheart and a Superman costume, going for $1,200, $25,000 and $45,000, respectively. For those with deeper pockets, Odd Job's derby from Goldfinger and the Wicked Witch's hat from The Wizard of Oz sold for $110,000 and $170,000, respectively.

Barf Bags

Sweden's Rune Tapper has a vast collection of airsickness bags. Tapper's favorite is from Linjeflyg, a defunct Swedish carrier. It reminds Tapper of his first airplane ride when he was 10. He needed a bag then, not for a collection, but for its intended use. Virgin Atlantic took things to new heights when it issued four special edition Star Wars bags, complete with instructions for Jedi combat.

Dog Collars

Last year's Bonhams Dog Art auction featured an impressive 70-piece collection from an American collector, including a spiked iron collar to guard against wolf attacks, five leather collars once worn by pugs owned by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and collars that carried encoded messages behind enemy lines during WWII. According to the Times of London, the collection is valued at more than $75,000.

Odd Art

British artist Damien Hirst decided to auction his recent works instead of displaying them in a gallery. The collection shattered sales records, and buyers walked away with some bizarre pieces. "The Dream," for example, composed of a horse fitted with a narwhal's horn to give the appearance of a unicorn, raked in $6.3 million. Hirst is indisputably popular with the wealthy: Billionaire hedge fund manager Steven Cohen once spent $8 million on "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living," or, in layman's terms, tiger shark in formaldehyde.

Calling Cards

Once a formality from a different era, calling cards are now valuable collectibles. According to the Houston Chronicle, Gerald Burg started his collection at age 15 and has snatched up cards from the likes of Napoleon and Hemingway. He even has a card from Mrs. Frank E. Bulter, better known as Annie Oakley, complete with a bullet hole in the corner.