New Member and a

[Doberdob]

Hello fellow collectors!

I have been a collector of military items from my region for 40 years. I particularly focus on the Austro-Hungarian army of World War I and the badges and decorations of World War II Germany.
I'm a bit older and just recently started trying my hands at forums. While I don't post often, I enjoy staying informed. About five years ago, I went through my collection and eliminated from my collection a few reproductions that I had unfortunately acquired. These fakes, which made up about 5% of my collection, were a mix of postwar souvenirs sold to GI's and some regrettable purchases. But hey, that's life! The good news is that I still have a great selection of authentic items. I responsibly sold the reproductions to reenactors at a fair price, keeping only a very few high-quality copies.

I'm hoping to join your forum. I'm interested in learning more about badges and decorations, and I believe this community could be a great resource.

Regards!

[rheppler]

Welcome to the forum! Many great people and resources on this site

[AndyM35]

Welcome to the forum Doberdob!

Sounds like you’ve had a really interesting collecting history and I’m sure have seen some changes over the years. I think we can all relate to picking up some dud items over the years - I know I can. Looking forwards to seeing some of your collection if you choose to post.

Enjoy the forum!
Andy

[Willmore]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Kind regards,

Will.

[Doberdob]

Hello everyone,

Thanks for the warm welcome to the forum! I recently decided to start posting some of my collection as well. My collection isn't massive, just one room in my house. With so many good fakes out there lately, I can't solely rely on my knowledge and reference books anymore. This is especially true for Bandenkampfabzeichen - fakes seem to be particularly prevalent for those. The one I have came from a reliable source a while back, but these days you just can't be too careful.

Regards!