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Where to start?

Discussion in 'Other Militaria' started by Nathan Alan, Nov 3, 2008.

  1. Nathan Alan

    Nathan Alan Member

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    Hello.

    I'm looking to get into militaria (specifically WWII artifacts, but I'm also considering WWI), and I don't have the slightest idea of what to look for, where to start, or where to buy. I have an interest in just about anything war-related from helmets, to weapons, to uniforms, to field gear, to medals, to propaganda posters, etc. The biggest concern for me is making sure that all of the pieces I aquire are authentic and completely original. I'm also interested in knowing the history behind as many pieces I aquire as possible, and learning about how to best preserve the artifacts I pick up so that I can maintain them for future generations to enjoy. It looks like such a great hobby and I really appreciate the historical significance of these pieces.

    I'm hoping that some of you long-time collectors can point me in the right direction and get me off to a good start, and maybe even sell me some nice starter pieces. Any advice you can offer me is greatly appreciated.

    Thanks for your time.
     
  2. Slavic Marksman

    Slavic Marksman Member

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    A good place to buy from is ebay,I get most of my items off there-Ive even purchased ww2 items off ebay for less than $10 when their worth more than $300. But be careful though when buying off ebay-there is a lot of fakes/reproductions but if you know about the item your looking for it should be fairly easy to tell the fakes from the real deal.

    Im sure theres more people here that can give you lots of more info.

    Good luck:)
     
  3. drewthefan123

    drewthefan123 Member

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    Hey man, I saw your cry for help, and I would like to help you out. Send me an email at drewthefan123@yahoo.com if you are interested. If you have AIM, MSN, or YIM let me know in the email too. I wish to help a fellow person that has interest get into this great hobby. If you want proof of my skill(s), please check out the following link as a means to prove I mean buisness to help you out with this hobby :).

    http://www.ww2f.com/militaria/27088-...ate-later.html
     
    krieg likes this.
  4. Nathan Alan

    Nathan Alan Member

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    I sent an email your way, Drew. :)
     
  5. Skipper

    Skipper Kommodore

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    If you are lucky enough to go to the former battlefields you can make your own finds. Flee markets and militaria fairs are also great.
     
  6. bigfun

    bigfun Ace

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    Hey Nathan,
    Skipper is dead on here, I have recently stopped by several Flea Markets and am amazed at the items I see there! Gun shows attract the collectors as well!

    Good luck, and keep us posted as to your collection!
     
  7. LETTERCOLLECTOR

    LETTERCOLLECTOR Member

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    you have to decide what you're interested in. Do you want helmets? do you want uniforms? Do you want field radios? Are you going to look at it as a big pile of heavy, bulky, shit that you will ask yourself "what do I do with all this crap now?" Do you have a big enough house for a display room? Do you want to donate to a museum? Do you have enough money to buy enough of a variety to publish a book of your collection? my specialty is letters: handwritten letters; typed letters. FOUR STAR GENERALS I dont look for. Im a value investor. Im looking for interesting content. Im a letter collector. thats not the same thing as being an autograph collector. I dont want autographs. I will buy letters of no-name soldiers, because they often wrote interesting letters that I could publish one day in a book. this is my eventual goal. I also buy some amount of WWII photos. you'll find many interesting letters from various organizations, like WWII refugee organizations; WWII veterans hospitals; letters from politicians discussing things like the Marshall plan. The variety of the content out there is amazing.
     
  8. Skipper

    Skipper Kommodore

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  9. LETTERCOLLECTOR

    LETTERCOLLECTOR Member

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    YEAH, I checked out the romeo and juliet thread. Interesting, BUT I stay FAR away from the German war letters. I cannot decipher handwriting in a language I do not read or speak. The only German letters I consider buying are the typed KIA telegrams. Not to mention the fact, that I dont want to pay into the thousands of dollars in translation fees to find out a set of German handwritten war letters are a bunch of sappy love letters "I miss you; I love you; the chow sucks, send socks; did greta get the christmas package; did hans get the truck fixed."
     

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