by Kelly's Heros on Mon Dec 02, 2013 2:19 am
Yes, just like anything to be careful the learning process which I am still going through is being burnt at times. I find it is always great to establish relationships with various people to get some good deals. Yes, the German stuff lots of it is faked like cigarette boxes engraved or arm bands even metals. I got a set of armbands which where faked as I did the Ultra violet light and burn test. Both failed. Generally as a rule of thumb most German stuff was made out of cotton, and no glue backing on the badges or patches. With the UV test it is one way to see the real VS fake. The UV light doesn't shine though as much or not at all with the cotton stuff, and the thread used should be able to burn quickly. Up until the 1960's the US had used cotton clothing for uniforms so there are stuff to be faked as well still. My picture of the Red Cross Helmet is real, it is a Luftschultz helmet painted over possible some soldier fleeing some combat zone. It had blue flecks of paint underneath. The Helmet liner is gone only a strip of leather but the wool lining around the helmet was still intact. I paid $550 US for the helmet. The HJ Banner was a $290 US deal and my Luftwaffe eagle was a $90 US deal. All of these where real and verified in Calgary by an appraiser at a military gun show. The Canadian legion verified the authenticity of the Canadian Air Cadet cap and so did a few coworkers at work who had parents in the war and remembered the clothing style and stitching. My paratrooper jacket was WW2 issued originally had the King's badges and was taken off and resewed the Queens badges. Yes, buys premiums can be high, but with the right auction house and real piece up for auction it can be worth more then after the exchange and premiums. The helmet was appraised in Canada about $950 plus and my trumpet banner about $800-900 Canadian. I can also get for being a good customer at one auction house the price before the hammer price. So the Canadian stuff I got on the cheap the real McCoy!!!
Last edited by Kelly's Heros on Mon Dec 02, 2013 2:33 am; edited 2 times in total