Items to collect for collectors who are getting started?

[LARams]

Hey all.

I figured I'd post a thread to get some discussion going. The question I would like to pose is: for new collectors getting started in the hobby, what are some items you recommend to start collecting? Some criteria may be items easier to find and are lower value.

For example, a collector in the US would find it relatively easy to come across buttons, older arrowheads, and spent Minnie balls from the Civil War.

I'm relatively new to collecting war relics and I've come across Iraqi Freedom backpacks, new old bandages from Vietnam, 3rd Reich coinage, WWII Impregnation, among other lower value but historical items.

Any recommendations for new collectors? Personally I am open to any type of history from any era. Primarily US or German but I'm open to anything. Thanks!

[Rakkasan187]

The first thing I recommend is find a particular field of interest and invest in reference books on the topic. If you just go out and focus on anything military after a while you will have a Hodge podge of stuff with no real direction. We all started out that way when we were kids but then after several years, more seasoned collectors tend to "specialize" in a particular area, theme, unit, era, etc. This becomes more enjoyable and the challenge is exciting to find those items particular to a specific organization.

The key though is to have a plan and research the topic before investing. I have over 10,000 reference books on all topics of militaria from the American Revolution to Present day. These have been remarkable materials when researching and also assisting others in their collecting focuses.. These books have a lot of merit,, prior to the internet this is what we did.. We read books and although some of the books are aged now and replacement books have taken over, they still have value to the historian and collector.

I am a museum professional and we can't always rely on the internet so we have a library full of books that we use every day.. Just recently I was able to positively Identify an artifact that we have in our collection based on the information/photos in a book that was written in the 60's,, so again I am a very strong advocate for having books on your shelf to accompany your military collection..

See what your interests are and what era you want to collect. ASK a lot of questions before you spend money. You will thank us in the long run, believe me.. The thousands of dollars you will save by doing research will pay off in the long run..

Most importantly, enjoy what you collect, preserve it's history and learn from the items..

Smitty

[CBH]

My advise to a new collector would be to collect "Cold War Era" Warsaw Pact and Soviet items.
These items are still relatively cheap and plentiful. With little of the faking seen in German WWII items, tho some big ticket items are being faked.
With the fall of Communism the flood gates opened and items once rare in the West became available, these items are drying up but many are still around.
And the fact you could put together a complete East German uniform for the price a WWII german hat says it all.
In time these items will disappear into collections and there values will only increase.
Best of luck in whatever you decide to collect, and welcome to the forum.

[Rakkasan187]

Great Topic Area CBH..

I was in the middle of the Cold War in Berlin.. Saw the Wall come down and the virtual flood of East German/Soviet items.. It was amazing having access to the uniforms and equipment of our adversary's..

Smitty

[MAP]

If you want to collect Third Reich, the market is flooded with fakes but the best place to start your "focus on" (as advised above) is Tinnies. They are plentiful, relatively in-expensive and not faked as much. So even if you do end up with a dud. It won't hurt too much. Plus they are extremely interesting with 1,000's of variations.

Key to any collecting (again as noted above) is study. We always advise to post items for opinions before purchasing but....the true learning is not from someone telling you it is real but to try and figure out yourself and then to post with your views when you ask for confirmation. Perfectly fine to get it wrong (and we won't beat you up ) but the satisfaction gained when you finally do get it right is amazing.

[LARams]

The key though is to have a plan and research the topic before investing. I have over 10,000 reference books on all topics of militaria from the American Revolution to Present day. These have been remarkable materials when researching and also assisting others in their collecting focuses.. These books have a lot of merit,, prior to the internet this is what we did.. We read books and although some of the books are aged now and replacement books have taken over, they still have value to the historian and collector.

I am a museum professional and we can't always rely on the internet so we have a library full of books that we use every day.. Just recently I was able to positively Identify an artifact that we have in our collection based on the information/photos in a book that was written in the 60's,, so again I am a very strong advocate for having books on your shelf to accompany your military collection..

Thanks for the advice. As a college student I try to use as many online resources as possible before purchasing books. I do have access to so much via my school's library having access to every public college in my state's libraries as well.

My advise to a new collector would be to collect "Cold War Era" Warsaw Pact and Soviet items.
These items are still relatively cheap and plentiful. With little of the faking seen in German WWII items, tho some big ticket items are being faked.
With the fall of Communism the flood gates opened and items once rare in the West became available, these items are drying up but many are still around.
And the fact you could put together a complete East German uniform for the price a WWII german hat says it all.

Thanks!

1. Do you have recommendations on websites besides eBay or how to find militaria shows? I seem to only have access to antique malls, resale/consignment shops, and a surplus store.
2. Are there any specific pieces from the cold war era you suggest? Just trying to get an idea of what's out there for that period.

If you want to collect Third Reich, the market is flooded with fakes but the best place to start your "focus on" (as advised above) is Tinnies. They are plentiful, relatively in-expensive and not faked as much. So even if you do end up with a dud. It won't hurt too much. Plus they are extremely interesting with 1,000's of variations.

Key to any collecting (again as noted above) is study. We always advise to post items for opinions before purchasing but....the true learning is not from someone telling you it is real but to try and figure out yourself and then to post with your views when you ask for confirmation. Perfectly fine to get it wrong (and we won't beat you up ) but the satisfaction gained when you finally do get it right is amazing.

Tinnies are pins, correct? eBay have too many but I'll can an eye out. I'll keep learning. I suppose there is a balance to asking/doing research. Thanks

[MAP]

Thanks for the advice. As a college student I try to use as many online resources as possible before purchasing books. I do have access to so much via my school's library having access to every public college in my state's libraries as well.

Thanks!

1. Do you have recommendations on websites besides eBay or how to find militaria shows? I seem to only have access to antique malls, resale/consignment shops, and a surplus store.

Tinnies are pins, correct? eBay have too many but I'll can an eye out. I'll keep learning. I suppose there is a balance to asking/doing research. Thanks

Unfortunately, I would highly doubt that college libraries would have access to the resource books that we use in this hobby. They are generally low printings and very niche oriented.

As Smitty noted, there are 1,000's of reference books out there. Some are junk and filled with fakes, others are excellent. Quality research books are also not cheap unless you buy them second hand (and some that are out of print go for multiples of the original list prices). Two well respected publishers are B&D and Bender. Links to their websites are below.

http://bdpublish.com/

http://bdpublish.com/

While you can source original items from ebay, we recommend for the beginning collector to stay far away from it. There are more fake items than real. So until you know your stuff, steer clear. Local military shows are a great place to buy but as with ebay, there are many fakes there as well. If as I assume you live in the LA area, I'm sure some members from there can advise you about local shows.

Then there is the classified section here as well as loads of "dealer" websites. Once you know what you want to collect, I'm sure we can guide you to specific dealers (some tend to specialize)

"Tinnies" are day badges. Very common during the Third Reich. Day badges were given out for events, parades, charitable donations, etc. Typically made of stamped tin or zinc.

A member here runs a site that sells many examples of tinnies.

Winterhilfswerk.com Web Shop -
Web Shop Home

But in the end, you don't have to focus on these. Pick what ever interests you the most and be patient. Don't rush a purchase.

Edit: Odd that your quote of me, has CBH's name? Tech glitch? Not that it matters.... LoL

[LARams]

Unfortunately, I would highly doubt that college libraries would have access to the resource books that we use in this hobby. They are generally low printings and very niche oriented.

As Smitty noted, there are 1,000's of reference books out there. Some are junk and filled with fakes, others are excellent. Quality research books are also not cheap unless you buy them second hand (and some that are out of print go for multiples of the original list prices). Two well respected publishers are B&D and Bender. Links to their websites are below.

http://bdpublish.com/

http://bdpublish.com/

While you can source original items from ebay, we recommend for the beginning collector to stay far away from it. There are more fake items than real. So until you know your stuff, steer clear. Local military shows are a great place to buy but as with ebay, there are many fakes there as well. If as I assume you live in the LA area, I'm sure some members from there can advise you about local shows.

Then there is the classified section here as well as loads of "dealer" websites. Once you know what you want to collect, I'm sure we can guide you to specific dealers (some tend to specialize)

"Tinnies" are day badges. Very common during the Third Reich. Day badges were given out for events, parades, charitable donations, etc. Typically made of stamped tin or zinc.

A member here runs a site that sells many examples of tinnies.

Winterhilfswerk.com Web Shop -
Web Shop Home

But in the end, you don't have to focus on these. Pick what ever interests you the most and be patient. Don't rush a purchase.

Edit: Odd that your quote of me, has CBH's name? Tech glitch? Not that it matters.... LoL

Well, I'm actually in Chicago-land. We have access to UIUC's library which is one of the largest in North America. When I did my senior thesis for my History Undergrad, I obtain source material of 20 extremely rare copies of Apparel Arts worth a few hundred each. I have found every book people have suggested so far. A city near me just hosted one of the nation's largest WWII re-enactments where they buy/sell/trade and I missed it! I'll be sure to make it next year. Hopefully some Chicago-land members can help out.

Thanks for the advice about eBay.

I'll definitely take a look at that shop! I'd love to own one with a swat on it. I'll do some research on tinnies and more about them for sure.

Sorry about that, when I was copying the HTML source code for the opening and closing tags, I forgot to edit that out.

[MAP]

Lucky you if you can get access to these reference books! I know my modest collection probably cost almost $1,000!!! But has saved me that much and more.

If you can swing up to Minnesota this weekend, there is a fair up there with a number of members going. (see link). Also you can start a new thread asking for leads on shows in your area.

Military Collectors Show at Minnesota State Fair grounds

There is also this show in Glendale Heights.

Chicago Military Collectibles Show (Oct 2018), Glendale Heights USA - Trade Show



With a member here talking about it from years ago...

Chicago Military Collectibles Show, April 25-27

And it appears that there used to be a show in Joliet but not sure if it still is held. Joliet Military Collectors Show

Joliet Military Collectors Show 2018 • Joliet, Illinois

[LARams]

Lucky you if you can get access to these reference books! I know my modest collection probably cost almost $1,000!!! But has saved me that much and more.

If you can swing up to Minnesota this weekend, there is a fair up there with a number of members going. (see link). Also you can start a new thread asking for leads on shows in your area.

Military Collectors Show at Minnesota State Fair grounds

There is also this show in Glendale Heights.

Chicago Military Collectibles Show (Oct 2018), Glendale Heights USA - Trade Show



With a member here talking about it from years ago...

Chicago Military Collectibles Show, April 25-27

And it appears that there used to be a show in Joliet but not sure if it still is held. Joliet Military Collectors Show

Joliet Military Collectors Show 2018 • Joliet, Illinois

Thanks for the resources! Hopefully I come across some books at resales. I'll get to contacting the attached numbers on some of those events to see if they're still run in Chicago-land.