Future of the Hobby

[sargetom]

I am 59 and so have been collecting for about 45-50 years. I can remember when you could purchase a german helmet in good condition for under $50.00 US. Also as a veteran who is still in the Reserves but who is also a member of several veteran orgainizations I have been given some items by vets or their children who have no interest in this stuff. The older I get the more I am divesting myself of some of my collection also and there are those regardless of generation who are interested in military history so there will always be a market.

[Ryan B]

As I read through this I saw some very important points. As Patrick and I are some of the youngest members on here I have a feeling that we as fellow collectors are in charge of keeping this hobby alive for the generation after us. From the pages i've seen on facebook and such there are numerous of collectors our age, which is great! Kids from all walks of life trying to scrounge up all their money so they can so they can buy their first german item, it's a great sight to see. From all the knowledge ive developed on here I have passed on to kids like me so they can start off also, I have also gotten numerous of people to sign up on the forum and they love it! As I am now working age I will soon get a job so I can feed my reenacting obsession. Once that is over I will continue with the dagger and photo purchasing. For now buying and selling items is where I make my livelihood.
Thanks Again
Ryan

[Marc]

I'm a relatively new collector as I have only been doing it for about 5 years and I am constantly amazed at the stuff there is for sale and the historical ties to the items. This hobby has drawn me into another hobby , re-enacting. I am glad I bought that WW1 ammo box 5 years ago, it has certainly opened the door to this fantastic hobby.

[Panzersaurus]

Yes it really is a great hobby. As one of the younger members (at least compared to the people who on here who started collecting closer to WWII than present day) I think that this hobby is going to keep moving on. When I first started collecting I spoke to a friend of a friend of mine who had been collecting for many years. He told me that prices are going to drop soon because of all the collectors are selling off their stuff before they expire. Either they are being buried with their stuff or there is more interest than ever because it sure doesn't look like the prices are dropping. I would say more people should do it, but that would just mean higher prices for cheap old me!

[Friedrich-Berthold]

I don't know, I think the hobby is exciting and No matter how good the fakes get they will never be exactly like the period produced items. Even if it means you have to work harder and harder to figure out the difference between real and fake it shouldn't be a problem to the collectors who are really passionate about what they do.

My two cents. My big problem is money, even though I think I do pretty well with what I have.

Young Patrick here and others like him will take up the torch as such older codgers as myself collapse and our collections are spread to the winds.
War and the experience of the soldier have lost none of their force in human affairs, and for this reason as well as the human desire to seek out one's origins as part of culture seem to me, at least, to assure the
future of all of this in one form or another.

Had some apparition of things to come confronted me in a fog in that year 1967 (when I was fifteen) and said to me of the collecting biotope in the year 2014, to say nothing of what items I would find and their price, I would thought all of it to be totally impossible.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

As a person of the cold war epoch, I, for one, am gratified when the people of central and eastern Europe are able to collect these things, as part of their history and culture in its richness.
I am also surprised and pleased to see that persons from Asia have an interest in European militaria and want to collect it, as well.

[Tomahawk]

As most of you, I think that items will grow up their prices.
Internet helped a lot in this situation (in my case, being spanish and collecting polish stuff would be impossible without it) so this makes that more collectors appears and the items are the same (or less) so this makes more demand and less offers...until this goes to crazy prices that no one can afford.
We can see the TR items and what´s happening...hope we don´t do the same with polish militaria!