MILITARIA: Military, War Relics

Bosleys UK (Britain- military medal auctioneers)

Czernys (Italian site- fine arms, armour and militaria)

Herman Historica (antique arms and armor)

JC Bruce Voyles (knives)

Militaria Star (German military medals, swords, daggers)

Military Relics (war medals & souvenirs)

Militaria 321 (The World's Biggest Militaria Auction House)

If you are a collector of military memorabilia, the internet has opened a whole new world of sources to add items to your collection. Prior to the internet, news traveled at the speed of print. Today with world wide web you can access goods for sale at the speed of light without any sort of geographical limitations.

Before you start collecting, pick an era or timeframe that you would like to specialize in / collect from. Become an expert in your field, and see what is being offered in today's marketplace. Read every military book you can get your hands on, join collectors groups and lastly use the internet as your main source of collecting information for your hobby. Become a smart collector; avoid being taken by the unscrupulous.

We suggest you start out small, such as collecting pins, metals and patches from your preferred era or genre. As you gain more experience and if your finances are stable, move on to collecting larger and more expensive items such as helmets, uniforms and even weapons if you have the desire to collect them. If you are new to collecting military memorabilia, we suggest you start locally in your hometown. You would be surprised how many collectors there are in your local community. Many collectors trade, barter and sell their pieces all the time. They look to add new items and sell items that are not in favor anymore. You have an opportunity to network and connect with individuals through local classifieds, yard sales, word-of-mouth, and even your local veterans organizations. Additionally, if you happen to live near an active military installation, you will find many retired veterans living nearby. They are your greatest source of war memorabilia that they might be interested in parting with. You just might get lucky and run into a retiree from the armed forces that thinks it's time to clean out the closet.

Another area where you can add to your collection is from auction websites that specialize in military goods. Shown above are several partner websites that specialize in such items. A lot of these websites carry memorabilia from many different wars. This is where being an expert in specific era would help you pick the right pieces for your collection and avoid paying too high a price for any particular item. Certainly in the US, Civil War memorabilia is in high demand. Hence, these types of items command very high prices. Additionally, military memorabilia from the Indian wars from the post-Civil War era also command very high prices. If you are in Europe, German World War II items from The Third Reich are very popular due to their scarcity. A lot of the German military goods were destroyed after World War II, but a significant number were saved and many Yanks & Brits also brought back German war souvenirs. Many of these World War II military souvenirs have have paperwork and photos associated with them. These documents provide a history of where these goods came from, who owned them, who used them. This rich history adds to the value of the item you are collecting. Sometimes the story behind the antique is much more interesting than the item itself.

And that is the beauty of collecting military memorabilia, you have a window to the past that could be shared future generations.Collecting military antiques is excellent way of learning about history through periods of man's greatest challenges. As a general one said, “War is Hell” and the only legacy that we have, is to not to repeat the past and learn from it. Collecting military antiques is an excellent way of passing on this legacy to future generations.