Militaria Related Articles

A Word on Collecting

Before entering the realm of collecting quality militaria, time should be spent acquiring literature on the subject. Seasoned collectors realize that investing in a reference book is money well spent yet novices to the field would rather risk losing that money by unknowingly purchasing a fraudulent artifact. Trust me as I know from experience. When I first began collecting, I never invested any time whatsoever into reading a reference book on collecting military antiques. However, I was more than eager to purchase anything I found at the local flea markets and antique shops. As a result I came home on separate occasions with fake artifacts. The first instance was at a local antique shop in Waldo, FL. There was a dealer in there that had a selection of Civil War antiques. My eye caught a two piece tongue and wreath Confederate buckle for $100. At the time, I was familiar with the buckle from viewing catalogs and visiting local shows. I knew the buckle was worth much more than the asking price so I called my parents on the phone and asked if I could use the credit card. It is important to note that I was a poor college student at the time but knew I had a great find. My parents asked me if I was certain of what I was buying and I said yes of course. It wasn't until after I purchased the buckle that I went to a local collector who specialized in Civil War memorabilia and he took one look at it and spotted it as a fake. I got a second opinion and sure enough I'd been had. The following week I returned to the antique shop to let the dealer know that his "original" buckle was a fake. His response was that he was sorry and directed me to the small sign that read "no returns". Fortunately he did let me trade the buckle for another item in his case so I walked out of the store that day witih a 6lb solid shot.

My next mistake took place while spending the weekend in St. Augustine, FL. I used to head over there for the weekend with my girlfriend at the time (soon to be wife) while attending the University of FL. We were inside another antique mall and I spotted the find of a lifetime. A genuine Waffen-SS combat tunic. I can't recall the cuff title but it was a rare bird indeed. The best part was that it was only $700 and I knew that they sold for thousands even back then. So once again I called my parents on the phone and told them that this time I knew for certain this was the real deal. Now for the record I was convinced that I knew it was authentic. It was only later that I became familiar with the term "authentic reproduction". I'm not sure at what point I found out that the tunic was just a really good looking fake but I did keep it for a while as one of the centerpieces of my collection. For those of you that have a centerpiece of your collection, I'm sure you can imagine the feeling I had when I found out that it wasn't real. Not long after finding out it was a fake, I sold it for a couple of hundred dollars as an "authentic reproduction".

So what's the moral of my story? The moral of the story is that before you dive head first into collecting militaria, invest in some of the hundreds of books on the market that pertain to the area where your interest rests. Whether you want to collect US Airborne headgear or Japanese uniforms, there is a book out there. I would recommend purchasing as many as you can especially if you are going to collect what I consider higher risk items such as anything from Nazi Germany, Confederate and American paratrooper items. As for me, well, my library now consists of dozens of books. All though these books are of tremendous importance, there is no substitute for handling authentic items. So if you have the chance to visit a local show or dealer, just ask as to whether or not you can handle the item. In most cases, the dealer will oblige.

- Good luck and happy hunting!

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We are always interested in purchasing items such as helmets, forage caps, kepis, cartridge belts, sack coats, and frock coats.