One question I have in mind is. Are WW2 items such as flags, helmets, belts, insignia Etc. Becoming more rare and expensive throughout the years. And if so even more collectable than before?

[Rakkasan187]

Watching and keeping up with the trends of what is selling and what is not selling has been beneficial for me for the most part. I have collected for over 50 years and when I started, WW2 era patches were selling for $.10 cents each at flea markets and at Army Surplus Stores you could find them in barrels for $.25 cents each. Since I had a limited budget at the time being so young, I focused on the most for my buck and at the end of a summer vacation I would have 50 or more WW2 era patches in my collection. I think I was about 9 or ten when I purchased my first German Flag (which was actually a 12-foot-long vertical banner for $40) and a German mess kit for 25 cents at a yard sale. Military gear from WW2 and Korea was in great abundance and you could get camping gear (old US surplus) for mere pennies. Our Boy Scout Troop used surplus Army tents, cots, backpacks, canteens, pistol belts, you name it, they had closets full of the stuff and every new kid who joined the scouts got their own kit and got to keep it as well. (Our Boy Scout troop was sponsored by the towns VFW so it was a bonus that the meeting place for the Scouts was above the VFW hall as well as having the chance to meet and talk to several of the WW2/Korean War Veterans that went to the VFW, not to mention many of our fathers who were scoutmasters were also WW2 and Korean War Vets)...

 

Growing up in New England there were hundreds of flea markets, yard sales and antique stores that I would go to with my parents and many vendors saw that I had more of an interest in military items in their shops versus matchbox cars or other toys and they gave me a lot of items for less or even for free, so I remember that growing up as well and the fact that many of these folks were military veterans and they actually appreciated that someone younger showed an interest in the military during a time when it was not so popular (I grew up during the Vietnam War and had relatives in country so it was stressful for the family at that time and showing support for the military in some places was not too popular since there were many protests) 

 

As I continued to get older I was mentored by some wonderful individuals in the militaria community that helped me when I started showing interest in the Third Reich era items. They showed me what was fake, what was real and I had the chance to really handle some of the artifacts and items that our fathers and grandfathers brough home from Europe and the Pacific so it helped me to know who I could trust and who to avoid, especially at the regular flea markets we would go to often. 

 

I took a pause from collecting (for the most part) when I served in the Army as it was too much to have to pack the collection and ship everywhere I went so it was not until I got to my last duty station when I started up actively again and having just returned from Germany where I was able to get some nice Third Reich items I was now in a more established location and post army career when I had time to focus on specifics of my collecting.

 

After serving with the 101st Airborne Division I wanted to focus on the specific unit I served in, the 187th Infantry Regiment (Rakkasans). This was one of the most decorated regiments and initially it started as a Glider Infantry Regiment in WW2 serving in the Pacific Theater, serving with the 11th Airborne Division in Occupied Japan as an Airborne and Glider unit and they serving in Korea making two combat jumps in the Korean War (Suchon and Musan Ni) as well as service in Vietnam (Hamburger Hill) and in later conflicts, Lebanon, Desert Shield and Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan, and it is still an active unit today with the 101st. I found out that I had family members that had served in Korea with the 187th and very close friends of the family also served in the 187th in Korea. 

 

From a collecting standpoint the majority of people that I had talked to focused their collecting on the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions and their contributions in WW2. When Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers came out everyone was looking for WW2 101 and 82nd stuff and the other Airborne units were for the most part being ignored. I looked at this as an opportunity to focus on collecting uniforms from the 11th Airborne Division and the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. Since these units were mostly overlooked as most attention was focused elsewhere this is when I started to collect and purchase uniforms from the 187th for pennies compared to 101 and 82nd uniforms. I have over 30 uniforms from the 11th and 187th Airborne.

 

Moral of this long story is watch the trends on what is selling for pennies and what is selling for crazy dollar amounts and if the pennies are more of what your budget can afford now and it is something you like buy now and later on those investments made for pennies may turn you a profit.

 

Whatever you collect, enjoy it..

 

Best regards

 

Leigh 

[Gear Fanatic]

I do the same thing with coins, Incan get 5 coins 1945 and under for a dollar at my local antique shop. And other ones like Indian heads for a dollar or 50 cents a piece. I feel I get my money’s worth there.I now have a good collection German Notgeld coins and US Pennie’s.

[mikie]

On 7/15/2023 at 9:23 AM, Gear Fanatic said:

That is crazy! I am complaining about US stuff, you guys have it ten times worse! I don’t really collect medals but I have seen some of the prices, there crazy…

I was at an antique shop and they were selling an iron cross 2nd class for $430 and a repro for $155!

I definitely think prices are inflated here in California, know where else have I seen it this bad.

When I got into the hobby my intention was to collect German militaria, but prices for even small items were through the roof!

I am not quite old enough to have a job so it is just money I have saved up from helping people around my neighborhood.

You definitely need to have a good cash flow to collect German stuff, because those prices are NUTZ.

I moved out here to California from Upstate New York 40 + years ago. I sold my original collection for what I thought was a decent price before the move. Almost had a heart attack when I went to my first gun show here. EVERYTHING was 2 or 3 times what things were going for back home. If only I had known!

 

mikie

[Gear Fanatic]

Yah lol it’s badddd

Hopefully my collection will become a small fortune when I am older….

one day…

[RRA227]

Old catalog sheet. Sorry bad pics. Rich A. in Pa.