If you come across that much authentic WWII German regalia where you are located, and it is being sold for cheap, I would suggest buying it all up as you can sell them for a small fortune. My guess, however, is that most of the items you are seeing are reproductions or fakes made up to sell to the unsuspecting. These items are being faked around the world, and have been since the end of WWII, to sell for a profit. This is especially the case in Eastern European countries (Latvia for example).
Authentic items, however can be sold for high dollar amounts, and not just in North America, but around the world. I know of a lot of collectors outside the US who pay thousands of dollars for single items. The items shown in the storage locker, while most likely as fake as the rest of the show is, were an SS visor cap and uniform. If authentic, an SS visor cap can fetch anywhere from $5,000-$20,000 and uniforms can sell anywhere from $5,000-$30,000, depending on condition, maker and provenance. While this seems crazy, this is what these items sell for.
Even Iron Crosses can sell for anywhere from $100 (Iron Cross 2nd class) to $10,000 (Knight’s Cross). If you don’t believe me, I would suggest doing a Google search for Bill Shea Militaria. He is one of the most well respected militaria dealers. Browse through the items on his website and you’ll see what they are selling for.
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palindromious
13 years ago
I can purchase a first class medal for about 40-50 dollars btw (and it is real).
Quite interesting. Thank you for the info. I would never ever resell those items though. It gives me a bad taste in my mouth.
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