11 Best History Gifts for 2025

Looking for a gift for a history buff? Lucky for you, we're history buffs ourselves, and we've got the specimens to prove it!

Here is a list of our 11 favorite history specimens, from across human history. Take a journey through time in the collection below, you're sure to find the perfect gift!

First up, a relic from the home of Abe Lincoln!

During his life, Abraham Lincoln only owned one home: 413 South Eighth Street in Springfield, Illinois. The Lincoln family moved to the property in 1844 and the building would be their home through highs and lows in both family and political life.

This specimen is a fragment of brick from the walkway of that home. The brick was removed during renovation work in 1954.

For the royal watcher in your life...

The marriage of HRH Charles Windsor, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer was an international sensation. Watched by an estimated 750,000,000 people around the world, the wedding was the culmination of a fairy-tale in which an assistant kindergarten teacher became a princess overnight.

This specimen is a fragment of the royal wedding cake, a traditional fruit cake with cream cheese frosting.

A piece of Disneyana from Walt's secret hideaway...

For almost seven decades, families from across the world have traveled to Disneyland to experience the happiest place on Earth. When he set out to build this amusement park, Walt Disney sought to build a place where all people across all generations could come together to experience the nostalgia of the past and the promises of the future.

Straight from the private apartment of Walt Disney, this specimen is a section of the red carpet of "the Cranberry Room," Walt Disney's secret apartment hidden over Main Street U.S.A.'s firehouse. Here, Walt and the Disney family could find privacy and rest in the heart of Disneyland.

When it set sail in 1912, the RMS Titanic was the largest ship in the world, measuring around 800 feet in length and with a displacement of about 50,000 tons. To power this massive ship, 600 tons of coal had to be burned every day of the crossing.

This specimen is an authentic fragment of coal from the wreck of the Titanic, purchased from the RMS Titanic, Inc

Turtleneck time!

While Steve Jobs always worked hard to cultivate Apple's image as a futuristic tech company, he also carefully crafted his own image as the head of that company. Jobs partnered with the Japanese designer Issey Miyake to create a company uniform for Apple, after being inspired by the artist's work making employee vests for Sony. The idea did not go over so well with Apple employees, but Jobs and Miyake ended up making a uniform all the same — the iconic black turtleneck.

This specimen is a swatch of fabric from a black turtleneck owned by Steve Jobs. One of the earliest examples of what would eventually become Steve's trademark style, this turtleneck was worn by Steve at the 1991 PC Forum gathering.

Check out these three Fab Four specimens for one discounted price!

Three iconic Beatles specimens. One collection. The classic Cavern Club brick, the original Strawberry Field manor house, and a piece of George Harrison's childhood home.

These three specimens make up Mini Museum's Beatlemania History Bundle. All three specimens ship in their own gem jar, which is enclosed inside a classic, glass-topped riker display case that measures 4"x3"x1".

For the knight in shining armor...

Chain mail was the perfect armor for a warrior of old: flexible in movement and tough in defense. From the fall of Rome to the Renaissance, chain mail was the go-to armor for warriors of all stripes.  This period is considered the sunset of chain mail in Europe, as advanced plate armor completely supplanted mail.

This specimen is a chain mail fragment held securely in a small gem jar. The gam jar comes affixed to an informational display card including photos and the Mini Museum Seal of Authenticity.

An authentic samurai collector's item from Edo-period Japan.

After a century and a half of warfare, the peace of the Edo period transformed every aspect of life in Japan. A strict hierarchy established the samurai as part of the upper class, with all the attendant benefits but also strict rules on how to conduct oneself, down to how to dress.

This specimen is an authentic ~1cm swatch of fabric from a late Edo period samurai kataginu. This was a formal jacket that was part of the dress code of a samurai at court. The specimen comes affixed to an informational display card with the Mini Museum Seal of Authenticity.

Set sail with this piece of the famous warship!

When the USS Constitution triumphed over the HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812, the battleship became an icon of the US Navy and was beloved by the citizens of the young nation. During the battle, cannonballs seemed to glance off the side of the ship, earning the Constitution its nickname: Old Ironsides.

This specimen is a piece of wood from Old Ironsides, recovered during restoration efforts in the 1920s

Bridges are always built to be functional, but skilled engineers know they can also be works of architectural wonder. The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, is one of the most celebrated and iconic bridges in the world, an engineering triumph and a beautiful piece of design all in one.

This specimen is a piece of original cable from the bridge that was removed as part of a refurbishment project in the 1980s. Along with thousands of other suspension cables, this specimen supported the massive weight of the Brooklyn Bridge from when it first opened to its removal over 100 years later. The specimen measures 0.75-1cm in length.

And finally, give the gift of Hollywood with this piece of the original sign!

For decades, the Hollywood Sign has watched over Los Angeles from Mount Lee, a symbol of the filmmaking capital of the world. First built as the Hollywoodland Sign to advertise a housing development in 1923, the sign fell into disrepair and was entirely reconstructed in the 1970s to preserve it for generations to come.

This specimen consists of two samples from the original 1923 sign salvaged during the reconstruction: a piece of metal from the lettering, and a piece of wood from the support beams that held up the sign.

Lucky for you our specimens come in many forms, including some you can wear! Head on over to our jewelry section for more holiday gifts!