UBB.threads Forums General Interest Community Center Custer's Battle Flag

I,and I'm sure many others, view comments to the effect that WW II militaria values will plummet shortly since the remaining participants are rapidly dying off with a great deal of skepticism.
It has just been reported that the Custer Battle flag the was recovered from the Little Bighorn has sold at auction to a private collector for $1,900,000.
There is no one left alive that participated in the Indian Wars in the 1870s but interest in that period is still very strong and it remains strong in the Civil War period as well.
I have a question to pose to the membership here:
With the WW I Centenial rapidly approaching do you think there will be a re-kindling of interest in that War?
Jim

I think that interest within the US for Civil War items will remain strong as it has always has, same for WW2...I think that interest in US items from WW1 (other than airforce related items) will not increase to the same degree. I think that the same can be said for interest in the Korean War. I think that interest in Vietnam items will grow more rapidly. I think much of this has to do with Hollywood. Not much out there concerning WW1 or Korea.....also the US did not have as much participation in WW1 and Korea was not very exciting when compared with WW2 or the Civil War....even Vietnam was more exciting and diverse...from a purely collecting point of view...cheers, Ryan

Just an observation from recent months-

There's been some really nice, scarce pieces coming up for sale on the forums and i've noticed that these higher end items don't seem to be moving much at all. While at the same time, the more common, less expensive items like Heer sabers, run of the mill 2nd pattern Lufts, EKs and so forth are.

Perhaps this is indicative of the current global economy, or perhaps fewer and fewer collectors are interested in betting on the higher dollar, scarcer items. I don't know. I guess only time will tell. Most of us agree it's much easier to unload decent items in the $300-$600 range by virtue of the vast number of collectors who have these means and are therefor reachable. Where as scarcer items sales are really only applicable to those who fall into a very specific sub-group which represents a small fraction of the community at large.

Talk of a potentially precipitous decline in value only serves to spook collectors and can have some pretty adverse effects on market inventory, demand, and overall value. Fortunately, there are more young collectors out there than many people believe. It's important we foster interest in the hobby and welcome them to the hobby. This generation of collectors are going to be the ones who will maintain the value of everyones collections. I periodically will see long time collector here and there, behaving less than hospitably toward younger collectors via the online forums. Doing so is tantamount to shooting oneself in the foot. I can't stress how important it is we foster interest in the hobby.

I'm not too worried. I don't collect as an investment. I collect what I enjoy. If at the end of the day I make a few bucks than right on. When I see dealers specifically use the nomenclature "investment" in many of thier higher end item descriptions, I cringe.

Just my 2 pesos.

hello -just a small observation. i been buying stuff from my ads in the newspapers for the last 10 years.from what i have seen first hand, civil war stuff, like swords and leather have dropped around 20%. i am talking about the common stuff.

I agree with this above assessment. I just picked up a Civil War 1860 Model sword(Emerson) for what was certainly under prevailing market value. I also recently sold a Colt 1860 martially marked revolver in good/very good condition for under market value as well.
However: How much of this is related to period interest and how much is related to current economic conditions is anyones guess.
Jim

Public radio was broadcasting before the auction that the Detroit Institute of Arts was expecting 4 to 5 million for the thing.It didn't even get half way there.Seems to me the militaria market is hurting across the board.JMO

Man... I got a WW1 era 7th Cav Whole uniform, boots, spurs, and the freakin' SADDLE maked to a LT Smith 7th CAV on the bottom of the saddle..

I dont think it will go anywhere near that...HAHA Im sure the fact it was 30-40 years later might kill it..

You might want to research the "Pistol-M" badge as that style of experts badge was introduced until the 1920's or later as far as I know.

Dave