Tunic on Ebay

[trenchtrotter]

I agree...£2000 wont seem so bad in a year. If the collector has been after a good WW1 jacket then when will another come along. As stated on another thread I saw a gem last Sunday...1914 dated 02 tunic (100% paper label) to a sgt RE. Grenades, two wound stripes, overseas and 1914 1914/5 star ribbon. Demob tunic in excellant condition Dressing pocket never opened. 1/6th of this price and a bargain at that. Unfortunately did not come to me!

TT

[wainfleet]

I'd agree with John's buying philosophy, with the proviso that one needs some bargains! When that stops happening, it's time to be prepared to spend a lot more or give up. We're not there yet, but it's moving that way. A great deal of information to aid identification of valuable items is out there for everyone to see, and like it or not, the GWF is playing a part in this process.

PS Anyone seen the helmets added to Buywyze recently? Is anyone going to pay that?

[dutchbarge]

PS Anyone seen the helmets added to Buywyze recently? Is anyone going to pay that?

When I first saw the Brodies, and all the other items on their website with SOLD next to them (and knowing what they went for), it occurred to me that almost no price is too much to ask. It's not as if when the dealer has sold the item he can ring the factory for another. The sheds and attics of the world have been emptied.......quality items are no longer coming onto the market in any quantity. For those in the UK, boot sales, swap meets and militaria fairs might yield some bargains, but for the rest of the world the internet is it............you either pay top whack or lose the item to another collector. Some have conjectured that the spike in prices is due to the impending 100th anniversary of the Great War and that after all the gear has been shifted to the punters the market will crash. I heard the same argument about how the 50th anniversary of WW2, once passed, would collapse prices for WW2 collectibles.......but it hasn't happened. I fully expect that once the current global financial crisis has been resolved (if any of us live to see it) prices for WW1 militaria will really blast off. This will eliminate many genuine enthusiasts from the market, and accelerate the creation of fewer, larger collections, much as has been the case for the militaria of earlier periods. While this seems inevitable IMHO this is also most regrettable. I was an early collector/restorer of WW2 military vehicles. Years ago they were fairly scattered all around New Mexico. In 1945 our statwas at the bottom of the list for the allocation of post war vehicles (during WW2 all manufacturers of farm tractors, truck and passenger cars, converted over to war production) so the gov't virtually gave away Halftracks, CCKWs, power wagons and jeeps to our schools, boy scout troops, ranchers and farmers. You could buy a fairly complete vehicle as late as the early 80's for about 2-300 USD. Lots of people did so and drove them around for fun. We shared sources for spares and even the out of the way location of a vehicle that might be bought from a farmer or rancher. Somewhere along the line it went from being a hobby to being a business. A big time business. The price of a Stuart tank went from a few thousand, to tens of thousands. In short, it became serious. You don't see them driving around anymore. The only people still collecting are either foundations, museums or the very wealthy. Sure, the restorations have vastly improved. They are now sensibly stored under cover instead of out behind the house. And instead of being used for hunting or joy rides (in all their glory... olive drab paint, white stars and canvas gear hung any which way) they have been saved (in perfect mil. spec.) for future generations. But most of us readily appreciate the difference between seeing something behind glass in a museum and having it at home to enjoy and share with friends (and fathers and uncles who remember them from their service years). I remember asking Mike Stallwood in Kent if he still swam his WW2 duck to D-Day and he said no, it was too valuable to take a chance of its sinking. Previously a whole fleet of stout hearties would sail their ducks over together, kids, coolers and happy days. No more. One day that Great War jacket or helmet (or medals, swords etc.) will be too valuable to keep in the closet. And the opportunity cost of keeping it might be too great when weighed against the cost of school tuition or a new family.

Cheers, Bill

[27thBN]

Bill what a great statement and so very true. Especially the pay heaps or don't get one. I went to Melbourne last weekend a city of 4 plus million to the biggest medal dealer to blow some cash on some new medals . I ended buying a second hand copy of a book i have been after on medals for some time. As to medals 99 percent rubbish the one that was ok was so over priced a joke. And the mount was a in correct replacement a ww2 not ww1 on a DCM . MC

[Nigel Marshall]

It makes me cringe when people describe medals as rubbish.

I think what they are and why they came into being means that they can't ever be described as rubbish.

OK the ones you saw might not be what you wanted and you were disappointed with your trip to Melbourne, but rubbish?

No, surely not. The trip was, the medals weren't.

Next time you go, you might be surprised and come away with a hatful. I recently went almost two years without adding to my collection. In the last 2 months or so I've added the medals of another six men to it.

Cheers,

Nigel

[27thBN]

Hi i thought after that rubbish comment way the wrong term ..sorry .I was very disappointed most of the medals were bits and pieces and foreign stuff .The point is you what it you have to pay the premium or you dont get it at all its getting very expensive for anything thats nice.If one of the biggest dealers in australia has bits and pieces its getting pretty bad.Especially if you dont like Auctions (which i HATE).

MC

[wainfleet]

When I first saw the Brodies, and all the other items on their website with SOLD next to them (and knowing what they went for), it occurred to me that almost no price is too much to ask. It's not as if when the dealer has sold the item he can ring the factory for another. The sheds and attics of the world have been emptied.......quality items are no longer coming onto the market in any quantity.

Bill

I can tell you what two of the items went for. The early Slade Wallace pouches were a bargain for someone at £250 for a really good matched pair. The 14 large pack was quite decently priced at £140. I know because I bought it.

I think there are still quite a few items left in the possession of families. It just takes an article in a national newspaper for everyone to know how much they fetch, and out they'll come. I would agree that most of the world's military and surplus stores have been cleared out, though there is probably still a bit of stock remaining in a few unsuspected pockets. We are witnessing the final clearing-out now, and after that - things will go the way you've mentioned.

It's a blow for the ordinary collector, because for many years militaria collecting was a hobby for the man in the street. No longer, unless said MITS has already managed to put by a large collection.

[dutchbarge]

Bill

It's a blow for the ordinary collector, because for many years militaria collecting was a hobby for the man in the street. No longer, unless said MITS has already managed to put by a large collection.

Hello W,

Collecting Great War militaria is becoming a bit like playing marbles when I was kid........at the beginning of the game everyone was excited by the prospect of adding a few 'cat's eyes' to their collection at the cost of losing perhaps one or two shooters. In the early stages of the game everyone won a few and lost a few, but all had fun playing. Played long enough one player usually ended up with all the marbles. A scenario, which if I remember correctly, usually ended in tears for all but the school's bully who took everyones' marbles........and I don't think the Principal (or anyones' parents) will be coming along to sort us collectors out.

Cheers, Bill

[27thBN]

Hello W,

Collecting Great War militaria is becoming a bit like playing marbles when I was kid........at the beginning of the game everyone was excited by the prospect of adding a few 'cat's eyes' to their collection at the cost of losing perhaps one or two shooters. In the early stages of the game everyone won a few and lost a few, but all had fun playing. Played long enough one player usually ended up with all the marbles. A scenario, which if I remember correctly, usually ended in tears for all but the school's bully who took everyones' marbles........and I don't think the Principal (or anyones' parents) will be coming along to sort us collectors out.

Cheers, Bill

But the wife will if she ever gets to work out how much i have spent.