Vietcong Flag

**Shamsy** · 06-09-2018, 12:02 PM

Hi all,

I know nothing about any militaria beyond WW2 Japanese. I have a really unusual desire for a Vietcong/NVA flag for the wall though. I saw they're on ebay for $30 so immediately discounted finding anything genuine there.

There are a few on enemymilitaria.com which look good and are much more likely to be original. Any advice? Suggestions?

At the end of the day it is either a veteran directly or a reputable militaria dealer who I'll be going to. EM seem to have some good stuff, so what do you think?

Thank you in advance.

**Gunny Hartmann** · 06-09-2018, 01:04 PM

For the prices they are asking i'd really hope they are original. A friend of mine visited Vietnam last year and according to a local tour guide 99.9% of the flags being offered for sale there are aged fakes.

**Shamsy** · 06-09-2018, 11:55 PM

by Gunny Hartmann

For the prices they are asking i'd really hope they are original. A friend of mine visited Vietnam last year and according to a local tour guide 99.9% of the flags being offered for sale there are aged fakes.

That doesn't surprise me in the least. A fair few of the cheap flags from eBay were located in Vietnam.

I like to think that dealers know what they're doing and source items from veterans when they're ones as prevent to forgery. I think it's my best shot. Thanks.

**Rakkasan187** · 06-10-2018, 12:28 AM

Shamsy,. My experience with capture items is limited, but with that said the captured flags I have all have provenance to them, thus I think you might be safer with a veterans estate lot. It's not a guarantee but it may be a little safer for piece of mind. I don't have a VC flag but I do have other captured VC items that were obtained directly from the veteran. I noticed your location is Australia, perhaps there are some veterans in your country that served in Vietnam and brought some artifacts back.. I hope you are able to find an original for your collection. Good luck.. Smitty

**Gunny Hartmann** · 06-10-2018, 01:41 AM

by Shamsy

That doesn't surprise me in the least. A fair few of the cheap flags from eBay were located in Vietnam.

I like to think that dealers know what they're doing and source items from veterans when they're ones as prevent to forgery. I think it's my best shot. Thanks.

Indeed so, your best bet would be to buy from a vet!..

**christek** · 06-10-2018, 01:54 AM

G'day Shamsy, This one is for sale on Gumtree, a seller in WA.

Free Local Classifieds Ads from all over Australia - Gumtree

I can't speak for it's authenticity but it may be of interest.

The seller certainly has many original items, not that means this is one.

Good luck in your search mate.

**MAP** · 06-10-2018, 04:04 AM

by Gunny Hartmann

For the prices they are asking i'd really hope they are original. A friend of mine visited Vietnam last year and according to a local tour guide 99.9% of the flags being offered for sale there are aged fakes.

I've been to Vietnam (beautiful country, wonderful food, great scenery and pretty Ladies) but your friend is wrong. 99.9% are not fake. 100% are fake!!! LoL. And what few Vietnam era items I find at local shows, 99% of those are fake and the supposed legit items are crazy expensive.

**Shamsy** · 06-10-2018, 01:06 PM

Thank you all for the input and wise words. I agree that veteran obtained would be the best option... but unfortunately as was pointed out I'm in Australia and it's very difficult to obtain anything directly from vets. Usually things are sold by the family to dealers, or by vets through 'cash for items/gold' style weekends at RSL clubs (Retired Service League). My family volunteer with the Vietnam Veterans association, but I don't feel it is right or respectful to be bothering them about souvenirs.

I had a look at the Gumtree flag, but it looks too close to one of the fakes. In light of all this, I decided to order one from the website. I decided the variants are the best bet. My general experience in forgery/repro is that common designs are copied. Usually with a few bits wrong on a complicated item. On a flag, it's a bit easier to copy as most were very simple. However, really rare items, things less known and variants tend to have a better chance of being original, just because forgers either don't know about it or prefer to stick to common designs people recognise (and are thus likely to buy).

At the end of the day I'd love to get a veteran sourced flag, but I'll take the best option I have.

**Chopperman** · 06-10-2018, 01:36 PM

by MAP

I've been to Vietnam (beautiful country, wonderful food, great scenery and pretty Ladies) but your friend is wrong. 99.9% are not fake. 100% are fake!!! LoL. And what few Vietnam era items I find at local shows, 99% of those are fake and the supposed legit items are crazy expensive.

Couldn't agree more. I tried for some time to get into collecting Vietnam era
patches, insignia and discovered early on that most everything I looked at was fake.
Money lost--Lesson learned.

**Rakkasan187** · 06-19-2018, 02:54 PM

Shamsy,

Your family is doing a very admirable thing by volunteering with your Country's organization to support Vietnam veterans. I salute you for this. This may also be an opportunity for you to show your respect and interest with your hobby. The next time you volunteer, see if it is possible to set up a table with some of your artifacts to show the public. Veterans always like to see tangible items that are familiar to them and their service time and in many cases it will generate a conversation between the veteran and yourself. With those conversations, relationships develop and you may also unknowingly become the caretaker of a veterans artifacts if they see your passion for the history and for the service of t he men and women..

I too felt uncomfortable at first asking a veteran to share their experiences,, so what I decided to do was to set up displays on Veteran's Day at my Church and I did not make the first contact. I just stood by and before I knew it, Veterans and their family members were giving me duffel bags full of items. They saw the passion I had for preserving their history and they willingly gave their items to me..

After a while I was able to approach veterans more confidently and relationships developed from there. When the veteran was ready to speak to me, he or she reached out to me.. I didn't press the issue or appear to be over anxious in anticipation that I would receive items. That always was the bonus. The true gift was being able to spend time with the veterans and in many cases I was able to relate to them since I too am a 22 year Army veteran...

So, I encourage you to reach out to the veterans if you aren't doing so already.. Thank you again for volunteering your time for the Veterans, and best of luck with your collecting...

Smitty