Some advice for a beginner.

Hi im a new member and came to the forums seeking advice and people that can help me. So basically i have a real fascination for war memoribillia and i may start collecting soon. Im only 16 and so i have no real large cash income untill i can get a part time job. Basically i was wondering where i should start or maybe where some other members started. The German side of things is what i really find more interesting but i have a foundness of all other parts of the war. I was thinking medals or badges? Also any good books that would get me into things would be great.

Thanks in advance.

 

The first thing is to buy reference books on the stuff you want to collect, that way you can start to get a "feel" for collecting and what things look like. One book I would stay away from at all costs because its of no value at al-is Detecting the Fakes by: Robin Lumsden. He uses low end cheap fakes that even a blind man could spot off the bat. Collect reference books in your areas of interest-such as, if you want to collect Infantry Assault Badges? buy the book that was put out on them-its expensive but will teach you more than enough to be able to go into buying with out having to have a mentor by your side.

Do not jump into collecting with both feet, more like-do the Georgia High-Step-meaning, take your time when looking for something to buy, do NOT just jump on the first thing you see, shop around as that will always save you money and more often than not-in doing so you will almost always get a better piece for cheaper price. I know because I do that all the time ;-)

If it looks and sounds too good to be true? it USUALLY is. I know this next bit might sound dumb but, trust your gut instinct-mine has not failed me yet. Call it lucky??? I dont know but, I have not lost out when trusting that instinct.

Prices on German stuff can be astronimical, people will give the item of interest a "story" just to inhance its alleged value and to make you pay more. STAY AWAY from those types because all they are doing is lying to you through their teeth and all they want is what little money you have and they could care less who they hurt in the process.

There are more than one dealer with plenty of items available-so there is still plenty of this stuff available and not all of it is gobbeled up immediately.

Get to know fellow collectors who will also give you tips and a heads-up on militaria. This site has more than several people here who know their stuff-such as: Skipper, Kai, Erich, John, Martin Bull, Mr.S (John) Collector, Hucks, Sniper, Pierre, 36thva, Fischer, Stewy, and several others.

Hope this helps?

 

Yes that helps alot thanks for the detailed answer and tips. I know know where to start.

Thanks.

 

You are looking at hundreds of dollars in reference materials if you do not specialize...Tagungsabzeichen or 'tinnies' are a great place for a young collector to start thier collection. Reinhard Tieste makes what many consider the Bible of tinnie collecting...you can find his reference work here:

LITERATURANGEBOT

Some tinnies can be had for under $10.00 a piece but they can also go as high as $700.00 - $800.00.

Rich

 

Welcome, glad to help a bit.

 

Oh right, what are tinnies? Sorry but im new to all of this.

 

Tinnies are Day Badges. These are mostly small in size and fairly cheaply made and are made for a certain day or a certain event and only expected to be worn on such a day for such an event. Tinnies are made out of many materials like: Pressed cardboard, pressed fiber, plastic, wood, glass, cloth, and differing types of metals like Tin, Copper, etc.

Personally, I dont collect them but you might like doing so. I had 5 at one time, gave away three of them and the only two I kept, have something to do with the Military. These used to be so cheap that if you bought omething from a dealer or a collector you might know, that often thye would throw in a few of these just to get rid of them. Nowdays, you can pay quite a bit for some of these depending on rarity.

 

Ok thanks for help.

 

No probs ;-)

 

Hi, it all depends where you live. If you liv enear the Batlte fields, than yo ucould find your own relics or find them at garage sales, flea markets etc... I rarely buy from the internet as I usually find more than I could ever afford on weekly markets. if you live in the USA then you could buy from collectors. Many people have WWII items that were brought back from Europe and Asia in 1945 and later.

 

They also have tons of crap that they picked up at local gun shows in the '60's...be very careful of buying from anyone...just because it comes from a Veteran doesn't make it original. You also have to take into account that the average US WWII Veteran is now in his late 80's to early 90's...not too many left...and with the rise of the internet a family member is bound to take Grandpa's EK2 and google 'old nazi cross' and they will naturally come a cross a Knights Cross...now they want $8,000.00 for Grandpa's weathered EK2.

Buy what you know and you will not end up like many you will come across on this board...do yourself a favor and spend some time looking at the mistakes that members have made because they were buying items that they really had no what they were buying. Find something that you are really interested in...buy some reference materials...study, study, study and then spend your hard earned money.

 

Legotank,
I was a collector in the 1970's and early 80's before I sold all of my medals to help pay for my college education. Back in the 70's Iron Cross 2nd class was going for $15 and at that price it was hard to make quality reproductions. Also there were not as many people collecting then as there are now.

I looked into starting a collection again a few years ago but once I saw what the prices were I decided not too. The market is also flooded with quality repros and fakes now that it is so profitible to sell them. There are all kinds too, some are flat out junk fakes, some are good fakes with minor flaws and some are repros made from original dies but made in the past 20 to 30 years not during the war. You can also find some places that will admit they are selling repros made from original dies or made at a quality as good as the originals and they are even expensive too.

It is so hard to come by a medal that you can be sure is real now a days and the prices are really high. At your age you may find that buying items that have a good chance of being legitimate may be just too costly. I have seen Iron Cross 1st classes go for $500 where in 1980 when I collected there were $50 and in the mid 70's I was paying $30 for an Iron Cross 1st class.

I was lucky to have an uncle that lived close to me that had been a collector since the early 1960's. He had a huge collection, Hats, helmets, uniforms, flags, knives, daggers and hundreds of medals, you name it, if it was WWII German he had it at one time or another. He was a great resource and mentor for me. He took me to shows, flea markets and Manions auctions. I got to look at his reference books and I was tutored by him as well. Sometimes when left to my own devices I ended up buying repros so I learned by blowing money that it helped a great deal to have a pro with me when I purchased.

Your best bet would be to associate yourself with a good collector that won't take advantage of you and is willing to spend some time with you to teach you the ins and outs. Go see his collection and ask him to show you what to look for and see if he will help get you started by selling you some items that he gaurantees are real for life. Go with a collector to shows, flea markets, etc and watch him work and ask him questions while he is looking over things.

I think the only good way at this point to get involved in collecting is to have a live mentor, educating yourself is a a lot of work and can be costly, this market now is fierce and the repros and fakes are good. At the price of things now you really can't afford to make too many mistakes even though everyone does from time to time. It would not be a good feeling to just read some books and then start spending hundreds of dollars only to find out a year later that everything you bought is not real. Then what can you do? If you resell it as a repro you won't get much money for it, if you try to pass it off as real then you are just as bad as the people that intentionally try to rip people off.

Hopefully you can find someone that will be able to help you by showing you their collection and taking you to shows and helping you look at items that you want to purchase ahead of time. It will take a while to buy the reference books as good books are expensive in their own right. When you are at shows or run across any collectors ask a lot of questions about items, markings, sources etc.
beware of stories that people tell you about where the item came from. There is a saying about anything in life....the longer and detailed the story or excuse is the more likely it is not true.

Trying to go at this alone may be costly to you so I hope you can find a pro to help you out. Remember German production standards were and still are strict and the original quality control was very very good. If the item does not have sharp details and solid construction with no gaps or defects and good proportions then it is a very good chance it is not original.

Good luck, I wish you success
L S.

 

Thanks alot for detailed input...

I have heard around that prices have soared recently and that i may be too young to actually get into the field of collecting this kind of thing. It seems that having a mentor really worked for you getting into things, unfortunately i have no veterans or relatives that were in the service back then although i do have two cousins in Afganistan right now. I live in East Kilbride near Glasgow in Scotland and so im not too sure about any specific shops that would sell me miltaria and give me advice around my area except for a small one man run stall in the markets in the Barras in Glasgow. I wonder if you think that kind of shop is worth a good look. He has lots of medals, coins and also im sure i saw a few Waffen SS helmets and British R.A.F coats hanging on the wall... but im not sure of the authenticity as as you know im new to this hobby and to research this kind of thing the reference books are multiple hundreds of pounds ive been told. Infact i definately remember a Purple Heart medal last time. Maybe you good share some info on it and how to tell its authenticity and i could go down and ask for a good look at it. Maybe it will tell me if he sells repros or fakes... or i could just ask but its Glasgow so an honest answer isnt probable. I suppose asking his backgorund in collecting may proceed into him sharing some info on how to start collecting and he is easily visitable on a daily basis or i could find someone on this forum who would spend time with me.

Anyway ill visit the stall in the next couple of days just for a look.
Shall i take some photos of his stall or a few medals to see what you guys think?

Thanks for big replies guys.. bye.

 

Lego,

You can look at it as spending hundreds of Pounds on reference materials or you can spend hundreds of Pounds on fishing weights...it really is your decision.

Rich

 

I in no way doubt this forums knowledge from only just looking around on threads for a couple of days you all know your stuff.

Ill try to get pictures up soon.

 

One thing you can always try is to ask for an unconditional, lifetime return policy, gaurantee, in writing for anything you buy that allows you to return an item no questions asked if you are not fully satisfied, for life or at a minimum of a year or more. anyone that offers this for a day or a week is not very sincere and if they are not willing to gaurantee their items at all then walk away.

when you ask for this watch the reaction on the sellers face to see if they balk or flinch at this idea or see if they start double talking or back tracking their way out of it. Or they may give you a big story about how they got the item. Like, "I don't remember where I got this", "I got this in a box full of stuff", "I got it at a flea market and not sure where it came from before that", or the big time commonly used excuse......."I got it at an estate sale"!!!!

Always beware of someone saying they are not sure where it's from or that they got it at an estate sale, The Estate Sale excuse is very common now with all kinds of collectibles and is a very good indication that the item in not genuine and the seller is giving themself a way out of being responsible for the item's authenticity.

anyone who is positive that they are selling real, authentic and original items should have no problem gauranteeing the items with confidence.

 

Also new to the forum, thanks for the blunt advice. I'm a collector by nature and have to be very intentional about not collecting items for every interest of mine that comes along. It's good to know that one is not going to put together much of a militaria collection with $10, $15, and $20 items. This helps me to focus my WW2 interest energies elsewhere, such as reading and research.
Ryan

 

hi there,i have a few items you might like to take a look at,im not sure what they are worth myself though,i can email you some pics if your interested,there is a hip flask with ss and a kind of wreath on it and the german eagle and dated 1939,a iron cross with a wreath on the top dated 1939 in the box also dated 1939 and a pocket watch with the german sign and a skull in the centre and a chain with skulls all along it.the watch maker is junhans and has a bakerlight face and is dated 1941.all are in excellent condition and working as they should...thanks.

 

Buster, word of advice - WW2f is not a site for you to advertise your militaria, there are plenty of online dealers/auction sites for that. ....but by all means post photos of your collection for discussion / learning purposes.