Waffen SS Knights Cross photos wanted

Never had any luck on e-bay,maybe They're more common to pick up in the US.Cheapest I saw on dealer sites here in UK was £15,and that was for Army guys,which I guess would be more common than Say top fighter pilots,U-Boat commanders,and SS.As to why some are unknown,maybe he's just selling them,bought enougth kit off people who don't seem too up on the stuff they're selling,but feel it's it's up to me to be sure about what I'm buying.Got a friend in Ireland,who's got a big collection,sent him scans of the ones I bought,and he said they were all good,so I was happy.Any sites you can point me to,be most appreciated.

 

the prices are a total bogus rip-off, in fact as Paul and I both said some of the chaps mentioned are still alive and would roll over backwards and upside down if they knew their signed pics were going for this much.

there are several sites on the net do a google search, once incidently which I do not like to give out much - check Cy Stapelton on the net and go to his militaria site because it is going to blow your sock right off your feet, now that is a chap that has been collecting and offers for sale rightly so not this ridiculous prices posted here on this thread ..........

check him out if you are interested in more signed materials. Better yet do some research on those living and interview these men for their first hand accts. you might be well surprised how much a equivalent $ 20.00 bill can go along with many thank yous and it has been a privelege to ask and receive a response.

E ~ go through some of the archival threads on this forum and you see what has been posted by half a dozen of our members in regards to RK photos and responses

 

Go onto US Ebay and search for Knights Cross winners if you see any by RFCapt have a go for them , he is a well known collector with 100 % feedback , even i've bought stuff of him, his start price for all is 15 dollars and has some rarer photos.

What you have to remember is that even top Pilots , U boat commanders and SS RK's and high award winners are not that rare in fact some are exactly the opposite so don't justify ridiculous prices, i have loads of photos of Otto Kumm who i was lucky enough to meet who will have signed thousands of photos as will the likes of Erich Topp etc.Because of this £45 for a photo of Otto is greedy you could get one for under half that price.

The rare ones are the ones who have signed very few photos such as SS Panzer RKT Karl Heinz Boska and Army swords winner Waldermar von Gazen who will only sign if you meet him in person.

As long as you are happy with your purchase that's all that matters and i'm not saying they are not good just very expensive !! and can be found cheaper elsewhere.

Anyway happy collecting,

regards

Paul

 

My 2 cents worth, Paul and Erich are correct and, if you want to find good deals-shop around a bit-that's what I do for militaria. As for autographed pics, all the ones I have with the exception of a few given to me by two great friends (who also posted in this topic) I had got from the Vet himself. I'd never sell off these and when I get rid of any, I give them for free to someone who I know will be able to enjoy them and as well who I know would also never get rid of them.

Speaking of Otto Kumm: I got a nice signed one from him I think about 2 or so years ago. I also got one of the last signed ones (that I was told about by a W-SS Vet) from Heinrich Springer. This was due to his failing health at that time. I was "invited" to keep writing to him because they knew that I was really interested in the person, his accomplishments etc and the history-much unlike many who do write. I have been out of the "game" for awhile and have lost touch with who is still living and who aint. Im hoping that Heinrich Springer did get better. The few times I had written him (and recieved replies each time) he thanked me for the personal attention to him and also said he greatly enjoyed my interest in him and his accomplishments. That makes me feel pretty good-to get compliments like that from Veterans. The same goes for a few other RKTs, and many Uboat vets.

After my trip to Germany in 2000, I had the pleasure of being in touch wint one of the U 181 Vets who was too ill to go to the Reunion. This man and I corresponded a few times before he passed away in early 2001. His family wrote back to me saying that I made him feel much happiness during his last few months. This was due to my letters as well as sending him around 30 or so photo's I had taken of his Comrades at the Reunion. As his eyesight was failing, he did at least get to see the photos a few times before he finally went blind. Sadly, shortly after I sent him a postcard, he passed away. One compliment I got from him was that on seeing all those photo's I took and sent to him, he felt as if he had attended that 9th U 181 Reunion.

I wonder if Victor (SP?) Vitali is still alive and doing well? He is a Fallschirmjager who served with Rudolf Kratzert (also had sent me 2-3 pics of him w/ Kratzert) If you ever want to call anyone a Gentleman, V. Vitali is a Gents Gent.

 

Hello mate,

As far as i know Viktor Vitali is still alive but Hein Springer was called to the Great Army on 27/10/2007.

Paul

 

Thank you my friend for this info. It's great to hear V.Vitali is still doing well. And thanks for the sad news about Herr Springer. I wished I had started writing to these guys much sooner than I did. Thank you Mate, you certainly deserve a for this.

Rest in Peace Herr Springer. :mourn:

 

Go to this site
Ritterkreuzträger Autogramme/Autographen
there you will find a lot of signed photos and the prices are fair.

If you are lookin for signed books then go to
Cy Stapleton's House of Gutenberg Home Page
this collector wants to find new homes for his signed books.
I have pruchased several from him, and he has real interesting material still
for sale.