UBB.threads Forums General Interest Community Center Presentation Questions

Hey Guys & Gals,

I have been asked to present to an association of Auctioneers at their convention this new year on the topic of militaria collecting.

I have a pretty good outline of what I am going to cover; historic value of groupings, importance pf paperwork, the SVA, Fakes & reproductions, etc.

but what do you think I should say ( or shouldn't say!) to a room full of auctioneers?

Any thoughts?

I will try and record my presentation and post it afterward.

Thanks!
Jerry

Jerry,

Ask if they normally auction this type of stuff and do they really care if a pin or badge is authentic or not? Only if it might be worth big bucks? Some might find our treasures beneath contempt.. heh.. I'm just wondering how much homework these fellas do on average?

I'm sure you'll well-field any questions they might have and do a great job representing us.

Have fun with this, best!

Bill

You might tackle the subject of anti-Nazi material bias? Or not. How PCism overtook Ebay.

I agree probably the main subject could be the Nazi TABOO in the general population and how it is part of history that is remembered through the regalia. For many years collectors of TR where excluded as bonified collectors

Good points. That is something I hadn't thought of. several of the auction houses I frequent have no problem with hanging up flags and such. But I know of one estate buyer that literally "Throws out" any Nazi items she finds.

I just bought a significient horde of "Nasty Nazi Stuff" from the handlers of an estate.
They purportedly didn't want the hassle of trying to sell it or finding an auction house that would do so. The real bottom line was they didn't want their name connected to the items.
Jim

I would explain that many people collect militaria including German items from WWII because so much of it was brought home by GI's. These were proud and hard earned souvenirs. Then,

- That collecting WWII German militaria does not imply admiration of the politics of the makers.

- That much of the TR militaria is well-made and expensive and will put money in their pockets

- Avoid descriptions that use "nazi", "SS death squad", etc. "WWII GI Souvenir Dagger" does the job. This is true of any item. A "kitchen knife" is better that "a tool to dismember recently slaughtered animals".

- Mention GDC. Lots of info here, plus they can sell stuff for a small fee.

Dave

I've quit explaning as either someone understands or they don't. I'll just acquire the items and find them an appreciative home. This is part of a recent find as I was sorting through it.
Jim

No Doubt the person in this estate was a collector of some sort,..

IMO An Accumulator more than a collector. The Jap edged weapons and some of the medals* and badges are post war. The German daggers and Luger snail** drums as well as many other items are period.
* How about these for "Oh My God"!!
** Then on the other hand are these excellent snail drums.

Jim

Jimbo ,,that black jack is sweet!!

G:
There's actually 3 blackjacks in this haul!! There was so much stuff I had a problem laying it out for pictures. Unfortunately none of the blackjacks are SS marked or exhibit evidence of being made in rubber molds!!
Jim

Jim, if you can present some photos of the saps/blackjacks, we might be able to find examples of the models in period catalogs. Those catalog models were the ones used by the police and security police. They were not marked in any way other than manufacturers markings.

Joe:
I'll take some pictures in the next couple of days and post them. Every time I dig around in this pile of stuff I turn up something new.
Here's an example:
I tossed this miniature Luger aside to look at later thinking it was a trinket. I subsequentially discovered it was fully operational. A miniature firearms expert I was put in contact with informed me it was created years ago by a jeweler/miniature maker in the Los Angeles area and it's made from solid gold.
Jim

Well it brightened up here today so I took some pictures of the three blackjacks(saps). The smallest one in not marked at all.
The one that's difficult to read is marked Bucheimer Denver.
Jim