Militaria Collecting 101

Are you new to collecting military relics? This is a good place to look for interviews with top collectors and dealers, learn about preservation and display techniques, read book reviews, see auction and show reports, and read about the history of the relics we all love.

Illustration from cover of United States Army Cap Insignia, 1902-1975, by Michael F. Tucker
Patches / Insignia

Book Review: United States Army Cap Insignia, 1902-1975, by Michael F. Tucker

Commander Ernest E. Evans, USN illustrated telling the tale of the USS Johnston
Military History

Wreckage confirmed as heroic USS Johnston (DD 557)

Cover of Tokarev Pistols. The book retails for $39.99, available from the publisher and Amazon
Book Reviews-Militaria Collecting

Book Review: The Complete Book of Tokarev Pistols

U.S. Marine Raiders pose in front of a Japanese stronghold they conquered at Cape Totkina, Bougainville in the Solomon Islands in January 1944.
Medals

A Special WWII Medal for an Extraordinary USMC Unit

stephenson's-logo-revised
Auction News

Stephenson’s Auctioneers & Appraisers

rifle_right_side
Firearms and Ordnance

Was This French Musket a "Civil War Import" or a GAR relic?

Frontline Feature

MLT SPOT FOR SALECROP
Frontline Feature

UP FRONT AND CENTER!

This Spot Reaches More than 10,000 people a day.

Girls Step Out Of Line
Military History

The United States Army Heritage and Education Center celebrates Women’s History Month

WWII-Museum-Exteroir
Museums, Clubs, Organizations

The National WWII Museum to host free, Virtual International Conference on World War II March 5 - 6

6QZUAOSJXRHYHOIDUIAROOKSTQ
Preservation and Conservation

How Many Confederate statues removed in 2020? We have the list...and you will be surprised.

1_fwoncropped
JAG File: All things History

Are You Mentoring People into Our Hobby?

Road-to-Freedom-App-Icon-(Rounded)_0
Museums, Clubs, Organizations

'Road to Freedom' tour relives the Civil War-era African American experience

Final - post sale - DNW Medals Feb 2021 - GC -1
Auction News

Korean War George Cross realizes a record £280,000 at Dix Noonan Webb sale

Sammy Davis Jr’s .357 Magnum, 1965, with holster and belt bearing the entertainer’s name. Master engraver Joseph Condon of Las Vegas expertly engraved and added gold inlays of Buffalo Head nickel, coyote, mountain lion, rattlesnake and more. Sold within estimate for $16,800.
Auction News

Milestone sets house record at January 30th auction

Model 1895 kepi originally worn Infantry Private Bert M. Bartlett, a railroad worker from Devils Lake, North Dakota. The solid brass branch insignia with a screw-post fastener on the reverse replaced the Pattern 1872 branch insignia in 1896.
Militaria Collecting 101

Military Trader Favorite Finds: 2 Pieces of Spanish-American War Headwear

The MAS-36’s unique bolt was designed to be as compact as possible. Moving the handle closer to the shooter’s firing hand allowed him to cycle the action faster and smoother.
Firearms and Ordnance

A look at the French MAS-36 bolt action rifle

mee-mobile-unit_pKHeI8jC
Museums, Clubs, Organizations

Wreaths Across America announces start of the Mobile Education Exhibit’s 2021 National Tour

This photo shared via Twitter depicts a nametape and camouflage utility uniform pattern for the new U.S. Space Force.
Military History

Space Force Members will be "Guardians"

Four Chaplains remembrance on the WAA Tip-land in Maine
Military History

Wreaths Across America Honors 'The Four Chaplains'

Morphy Auctions’ newly appointed sporting firearms specialist David Cruz, a 20-year veteran of Holland & Holland, gunmakers to royalty and heads of state.
Auction News

David Cruz joins Morphy Auctions as firearms specialist

Colt 1911 US Army pistol made in 1913, .45ACP, personal property of Maj. Gen. Julian Sommerville Hatcher, a noted firearms expert, author and technical editor of NRA’s ‘American Rifleman’ magazine. Used in WWI and WWII.
Auction News

Milestone Auctions' January 30th Premier Auction Preview

Bloody Ravine Painting
Museums, Clubs, Organizations

'Bloody Ravine,' 29-acres at the heart of Williamsburg's Civil War battlefield, now protected

50769353476_ad5cde188e_k
Military History

Female CO will command aircraft carrier for first time

USS Iowa
Museums, Clubs, Organizations

Battleship USS Iowa Museum launches Plank Owner program for first-ever surface Navy museum

U.S. And Allied Military Fighting Knives World War II, By Bill Walters (ISBN: 978-1-61850-131-8), 2018, Four Color Print Group, 2410 Frankfort Ave., Louisville, KY 40206, Self-Published. Contact: BillWalters1948@gmail.com; www.usmilitaryfightingknives.com
Book Reviews-Militaria Collecting

Book Review: WWII US and Allied Fighting Knives, Book Two

Figure 2red
Photographs and Ephemera

A lone WW1 grave marker: Who was the American WWI doughboy’s buried here?

floral-wreath-tributes-section-60red
Preservation and Conservation

Not just the Hammer of Thor, Celtic Cross, or Star of David. More than 70 choices for Veteran Tombstone Symbols

Stones River 1
Military History

Stones River Battlefield Preserved

Woodland Pic
Military History

History, Conservation & Education Join Forces to Protect Alabama Civil War Battlefield

GettyImages-1140427844teaser
JAG File: All things History

Critical Shortage Response During the WWII Battle of the Bulge.

Canadian Army
Book Reviews-Militaria Collecting

Book Review: First Canadian Army: Victory in Europe 1944-45

Wreaths
Militaria Collecting 101

Jersey Mike's Subs Makes $300,000 Challenge Grant to Wreaths Across America

2kids_2021c.jpg.a951519eac94c6eb2d3c54ad89635617
Militaria Show Reports

2021 Show of Shows Rescheduled to July 22-24

Dominos-Celebrating-the-NOIDs-25th-Birthday-with-Facebook-Game-and-Free-Pizza
JAG File: All things History

Militaria via Email? Avoid the scam

81dsEGWWOfL
Book Reviews-Militaria Collecting

2020 Best Military History Book: ‘40 Thieves on Saipan’

images
Medals

19th Air Force Commander bestows medals for Heroism

Battle Trust Trees 2
Military History

Watch the Revolutionary War come alive in new animated map

Mannequins depicting Nazi soldiers during German occupation at the Oorlogsmuseum in Ossendrecht, Netherlands, were among the  German artifacts stolen from the museum.
Militaria Collecting 101

Second Dutch Military Museum Robbed Since August 2020

U.S. Small Arms of World War II, by Bruce N. Canfield
Book Reviews-Militaria Collecting

Book Review: U.S. Small Arms of World War II, by Bruce N. Canfield

Brown 005
Preservation and Conservation

How do collectors display their military relic collections?

Women's Livesred
Book Reviews-Militaria Collecting

Book Review: Women's Lives and Clothes in WW2

Bomb Explodes
Firearms and Ordnance

WWII Bomb explodes in Poland 75 years after it was dropped

Senior Chief Damage Controlman William Merchen, a hero of the attack on the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) on Oct. 12, 2000, while moored for refueling in the Port of Aden, Yemen.  Merchen received the Meritorious Mertit Medal for his actions.
Medals

20 Years Later: US Navy Sailor Shares Experience from the Day His Ship, USS Cole, Was Attacked By Terrorists

Darrell Samuel Cole, USMC.
Military History

USS Cole was named for a WWII USMC Hero

Luft covercropped
Book Reviews-Militaria Collecting

New book on  Awards of the German WWII Luftwaffe, by Antonio Scapini

Intrepid Museum layout
Museums, Clubs, Organizations

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum now open

SHEPHERDSTOWN 1
Museums, Clubs, Organizations

Preservation Prevails in Shepherdstown

Sweepstakes GI In Ardennes
Book Reviews-Militaria Collecting

At only $20 on Amazon, new book illustrating the WWII American GI at the Battle of the Bulge is a bargain

COlor Sgt
JAG File: All things History

What kind of military relic collector are you?

Ed Bearss
Militaria Collecting 101

History & Preservation Community Mourns the Loss of Edwin Cole Bearss

Payne Receives Medaltrimmed
Medals

Sgt. Maj. Thomas P. Payne receives Medal of Honor

OVMS LOGO
Militaria Collecting 101

2021 Show of Shows is .... RESCHEUDLED

Antique 1897 Colt .32-caliber ‘New Police’ revolver with American-scroll engraving by Cuno Helfricht. Solid 99% gun with near-mint bore and action. Comes in modern Colt walnut fitted case.
Firearms and Ordnance

Milestone’s Sept. 26 Premier Firearms preview

Brigadier General Courtney Whitney, government section, Far East Command; General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command, and Major General Edward Almond (at right, pointing), Commanding General, X Corps in Korea, observe the shelling of Incheon from the USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7), 15 September 1950.
Military History

US and UN Joint Operation Remembering the Korean War Invasion of Inchon

Brown's Tavern
Museums, Clubs, Organizations

Brown's Tavern, Chattanooga landmark, celebrated

Hughes 2
Preservation and Conservation

How do you exhibit your WW1 treasures?

Silk And Steel
Museums, Clubs, Organizations

Special Exhibition “Silk and Steel: French Fashion, Women and WWI” Opens Friday, Sept. 25 at National WWI Museum and Memorial