So, I have been collecting for several years now, and my general routine has been that, if I see it at a sale and it is cheap I buy it. No matter what it is generally, as long as it is military. So I have this moderately sized collection with no rhyme nor reason to its content. So I'm thinking of specializing in a particular area. I'm thinking gas masks and related. A sizeable part of my collection is Civil Defense and chemical warfare items, so I think it would be a plan to stick with that. I do enjoy that segment of my collection.
Now a few concerns.
What should I do with unrelated items? Sell it off, or specialize in one area and dabble in others? I know I have items to get rid of, and stuff I would never sell. When should I sell those items that I will sell? Now, to get rid of them, or will they appreciate in value soon? A few items I'm thinking of are WWI leather leggings of which I have several different pairs, WWII US militaria, and East German items. Will those appreciate in value within the next 3-5 years substantially or would I be waiting 20 years to get any rise in price out of them?
Second is fakes. I am also deciding to specialize in these items due to the relatively low cost of them and the seeming absence of fakes. Are there fake and/or reproduction gas masks? I know they make reproduction carriers, but are the masks and filters ever reproduced, or could I be safe in saying they are all authentic?
Thank you so much. My first post here and I have high hopes this forum will turn out to be everything I hope. This is a very important milestone in my collecting, so any opinions matter greatly.
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