Collector Land Revisited

I haven't been involved in the militaria scene since 1975, but lately I've been getting the itch. Last month I came to Houston to attend a wedding and while there I managed to contact Bob Treend whom I hadn't seen for 12 years.After catching up with what has been going on and talking about collecting, I departed with two years worth of DG back issues, which Bob gave me. After reading 18 issues, I am a little surprised at the changes that have taken place, and feel like Rip Van Winkle.

Scanning these copies of DG is my first exposure to the collecting scene in 15 years. So, admittedly, this is a limited view. However, exposure to an outside perspective is sometimes useful to others.

First and most obvious, are the prices. I had expected a little inflation but wasn't prepared for the harsh realities of 1990. The intensity of the current scene is reminiscent of the Civil War collecting market in the late 60's and early 70's. I quote Tom Wittman in the April 90' DG: It is "dead serious business... almost like any real legitimate [sic] business." With all due respect, when a plain SA dagger sells for between $225 and $300 and a pair of SS officer's collar tabs list for $375, you have left the realm of "hobby" and entered the world of business. True, there are many expensive hobbies, but when you buy a motor for your bass boat or a new lens for your camera, you know exactly what you're getting. In militaria collecting it isn't always so.

Generally speaking, people engage in a hobby to relax. I can't speak for anyone else, but competing with 10,000 other people for the privilege of forking over 3 or 4 digit sums for a piece of scarce and desirable militaria is anything but relaxing. The competition has indeed become fierce. The publication of increasingly specialized reference books has made it easier to document and identify more and more pieces. Almost anytime you can document a piece of militaria by referring to an illustration or a photo in a book, its value increases. An increase in an item's popularity, as well as a broadened interest in a particular area (SA for example), often accompanies this inflaition. With this increase in value, popularity and interest, it suddenly becomes lucrative to reproduce an item or items. I'm not suggesting a straight line cause and effect relationship here, but would like to point out something that always puzzled me and other collectors I knew in the 60's and 70's.

Why is it that we never saw or heard of many of these items until after the reference was published?

Obviously reference books are an absolute necessity, but besides providing collectors with valuable information, they also provide fakers with working drawings for their handiwork. The pristinely executed line drawing in the Mollo SS series are a good example. The sudden appearance of many off-the-wall insignia as illustrated in the Kahl series shortly after its publication could actually be nothing more that coincidence. Still, in a hobby (excuse me "business") where you often must trust your instincts, it seems strange.

Tom Chaney: "Collector Land Revisited", Der Gauleiter, 1990