Nazi Collecting... In Russia!

For the benefit of those collectors contemplating a trip to the former Soviet Union to buy German relics, I would like to relate some observations I had during a recent (1992) tour of duty in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

I had assumed the Russian collectors would be ignorant of western prices and demand, and on this point I was wrong. Most serious collectors had western reference books and pricing guides (a subscriber told me that when trying to buy Nazi items from an antique market in East Berlin, before the wall came down, the dealer pulled out a copy of Der Gauleiter to use in justifying his price! ed.) and asked top dollar for their items. On Sundays in St. Petersburg, a 75-100 table military collectors mart takes place, where you can buy anything from current Russian uniforms to Iron Crosses. The mart serves as a meeting place for serious collectors, who don’t bring their better items, but rather invite you to their homes to view their collections. They are very proud of their collections and justifiably so some of these collections looked like they were airlifted from the MAX show. Most of their buying trips are to the Baltic States, where friends and contacts locate and hold items for them. I saw beautiful helmet covers and uniform insignia, including nice cuff titles, most of which allegedly came from Estonia.

Replicas are common, mostly poor quality medals and badges. However, they make some excellent uniform upgrades, and they have the time and expertise to turn a standard Army tunic into an excellent SS. Be very careful when buying, they will not usually let you return an item even if arrangements were made, and they want absolute proof it’s a fake of has been tampered with. They are quick to point out many "variations" exists and many obviously re—worked helmets are “just like Ivan found in the bunker" or "Misha brought home. For me, the scariest replicas were "KURLAND" cuff titles. These were supposed to have been locally produced and were well made and embroidered on the silver/white strip. They were all dirty, aged and cut short about four inches on either side of the letters. They looked prefect... all 300 of them! Once again, they are keenly aware that WW2 was fought in their back yard and sometimes use that fact to their advantage when trying to justify a bad piece, i.e., "many of our SS daggers have leather scabbards, as the metal scabbards froze to the lower crossguards".

The bunkers and defenses around St. Petersburg are not completely picked over, and
the brave of heart can go hunting with local collectors. German divisional cemeteries are not off-limits and the Russians are not respectful in this regard, so don’t be surprised to see them popping the dogtags off fallen log crosses or digging in the area. The swamps have preserved large amounts of field gear and weapons and the Russians know how to retrieve it. You would not believe the condition of some of these items. I saw an MG-42 tripod with all the leather intact and a G-43 that you could not tell had been submerged. lf you do choose to go hunting in the woods, go with someone who had done it before and be careful! Landmines were never completely cleared and considerable ordnance is still around. Some museums will sell items outright, as they do not have the same custody restrictions we do.

Museums served as staging areas for much captured military material, sooften they have dozens or hundreds of the same item. The local collectors will know who sells what, but either way try to get a tour of the storage room(s) of the military museums. The museum staffs are friendly towards Western collectors who are doing research and will give you a tour.

Remember, any pre-1945 items you purchase is considered an artifact and can not be legally exported. However,the Russian customs agents do not open most suitcases. If they do find a relic and recognize it, they will seize it unless you bribe them, and I’m not talking cigarettes. Give them $10.00 (about a month’s pay) and they will usually close the suitcase. The bottom line is... Do not get into an argument with the Customs people... ask for a supervisor and explain that you did not understand the rules, then bribe HIM! If this all sounds a bit shady, remember this is the way the Russians have been making their crippled system work and it is the accepted way of conducting business.

Russians prefer hard currency to trade items and the years of bargaining just to eat gives them an edge in negotiations. Deals are best made in Russian, but they also know the German word for many items or details and "pointy-talky" will suffice. Depending on the collector, they will trade for U.S. items, but there appeared to be a lot of current Western gear around, so don’t expect them to jump for your old utilities.

Generally, Russian collectors are serious about their hobby,will informed on prices, and eager to deal with you. As withus, they have their share of dishonest individuals and it is hard to convince them of some of the basicrules of authenticity which we in the west believe to be true. Be flexible, don’t be startled by their business/collecting methods, and err on the side of caution before buying anything. Good luck!

Robert G. Ensley U.S.M.C, "Nazi Collecting...In Russia!", Der Gauletier, 1993

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