I believe the first things I began to collect were rocks.
I've never been much of a collector but I used to collect rocks and gems back when I was a kid. My granddad was always telling me about them and we'd do some collecting on the beach. He even made me a necklace with an amethyst (I guess that purple flair rubbed off on me, lol).
Great to see your post in the POB community bud, it's been a while! Hope you and the family are keeping well.