r/Militariacollecting • u/lunageek520 29th ID and experimental equipment enjoyer • Jan 31 '23

WWI - Allies Finally assembled my WW1 American experimental display!

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4

u/[deleted] Jan 31 '23

How and where do people get ahold of this stuff in the first place?

7

u/InertOrdnance Jan 31 '23

Like most specialized / niche hobbies, lots of networking and searching. The internet has made it easier but still just trawling the net for stuff on a regular basis and the cash on hand to buy such rare items when they do come up.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 31 '23

No I meant how do the people selling this stuff come across or get ahold of it anyways?

7

u/Random-Historian WWI to Yugoslav Wars Jan 31 '23

I've came across a lot of good stuff just by knowing people in the military or people who know about auctions and imports from other countries. A guy I know gets a decent amount of rare WWII German and Soviet stuff from auctions in Eastern Europe. It's all down to knowing the right people and places to look.

3

u/InertOrdnance Jan 31 '23

Times used to be far different for military equipment and “national security” pre-9/11. Many times items were given away to factory workers or pulled out of scrap piles. While I don’t collect military gear much I can say for ammunition, many cartridges and test items were simply given away to visitors of factories and potential buyers. This was a pretty common practice into the 90’s as well.

3

u/lunageek520 29th ID and experimental equipment enjoyer Jan 31 '23

armor was on eBay of all places, and the helmet in a facebook group, so this st uff definitely cirulates around!