NB: For those who hate context/backstory, skip to the bottom of this post for the nutshell version.

About a decade ago I managed to break my record-collecting habit. It wasn't easy -- withdrawal was a bitch -- but I am now capable of getting enthusiastic about a band without having to track down and buy every single release in each format (and from each region, when having a region-specific tracklisting). This was fortunate for me, given that in mid-2004 I caught the Bloc Party bug badly (could you imagine having to buy every fucking one of those single releases from Silent Alarm in every format and with all the different versions with different remixes,etc., etc.?).

But while I was in the grip of the addiction, I always found it very hard to walk past a "limited edition" sticker on an attractively packaged (i.e. gimmicky) 7" or 12". Nothing was more likely to extract the cash from my pocket than the latest limited edition Cure 12" single on clear vinyl or numbered 7" box set with liner print, or some hip shoegazer act's latest album released on double-10" vinyl, etc.

I was reminded of this weakness when I recently purchased a copy of the second season of Dexter on DVD, which comes with a pair of surgical gloves, a blood-stained microscope slide and a length of crime scene tape, all packaged in an evidence bag. And it made me realise that many others here probably have suffered or continue to suffer from the same weakness.

So to the point of the post: what's your favourite limited-edition, unconventionally-packaged release that you own? One of my faves, for instance, is Mr Floppy's "100000 Morrisseys" 7" on meat-coloured vinyl. What other weird and wonderful but otherwise completely pointless collectables have you come across in your record-buying life?