It’s no surprise that celebrities collect strange objects. Tom Hanks collects typewriters; Angelina Jolie collects antique daggers. What is rare is a celebrity collection with historical significance.

That was before Phil Collins’ appearance at the 1836 Battle of the Alamo and Texas Revolutionary shrine in downtown San Antonio this week. The Genesis singer-drummer announced the donation of his collection of related artifacts—a collection that is now considered the world’s largest private collection.

Collins, 63, said he became fascinated with the Alamo story as a child while watching the 1955 Disney mini-series, “Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier,” starring Fess Parker. The series chronicled the frontier legend of Crockett, who eventually died as one of the defenders of the Alamo.

The Grammy-award winner said his music wealth helped him satisfy a boyhood fascination with the battle, where 1,500 Mexican troops laid siege to 200 Texans.

The collection includes more than 200 rare items, such as a rifle owned by Crockett, one of the original Bowie knives, made famous by Alamo defender Jim Bowie, said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, whose office runs the Alamo.

“Some people would buy Ferraris, some people would buy houses, I bought old bits of metal and old bits of paper,” the pop star told reporters in front of the famed structure in San Antonio, Texas.

Collins said he kept the items at his home in Switzerland. He said he wanted to ensure the collection was better cared-for in the future

The collection is said to be worth millions. Collins said that he would continue buying the artifacts. Once he’s lived with them for about a month, he would ship them to San Antonio. The collection will begin arriving in Texas in the next few months. They will go on display around October.