I'm just a teenager so I don't make much money, but I want to collect East German militaria. Where would you recommend I start in working on a collection? I wouldn't mind working on something that took a long time to complete. What's available? What's really rare? What should I grab now before I can't afford it in the future? Sorry for the questions, I'm brand new and really am on uncharted waters. Thanks!
-
-
Welcome to the DDR ForumOriginally posted by IWantNorway View Post
There are many different ways of collecting DDR.
Civil,NVA,Police,Kampfgruppen etc.etc.
#1 You can start collecting Uniforms. The later open collar era Uniforms are quite easy to get and affordable.
#2 you could start collecting Medals,Badges and Award Docs. They start from as little as 1.99EUR on ebay.de to open end...
#3 you could start collecting Flags,Banners and Table Flags..
and so on and on..
All early stuff, like from the 50's to the mid 60's is getting harder and harder to obtain and off course commands a higher Price.
I started to collect nearly everything from the DDR..cheap common Medals,Table Flags etc. and it gets very confusing after a certain Time and Space also gets limited.
So I would recommend, its better to save Money,to buy one really good Piece per month instead of buying all kind of Things.
I did read a very good sentence here on the Forum that goes: Its not the quantity of a Collection, its the Quality. And I now try to stick to this.
Of Course, it all depends how you see your Collection. To be honest, I also see my Collection as a kind Investment....but not everyone does. For me, its a nice Side effect.
As said, really rare is KVP Stuff, High End Awards, Colour Piped NVA Uniforms and Visor Hats from the begining of the NVA (1956-1960) and Generals Stuff.
First, I would invest something in some good Reference Material, like the Bartels Catalouge for Medals and Badges,the Keubke Book for Uniforms and this Forum of Course
Hope this helps a little
Regards
Andreas -
Comrade V.I. Lenin, said:Originally posted by Thälmannpionier View PostWelcome to the DDR Forum
So I would recommend, its better to save Money,to buy one really good Piece per month instead of buying all kind of Things.
I did read a very good sentence here on the Forum that goes: Its not the quantity of a Collection, its the Quality.
"Quantity has a Quality all its own."
Therefore I get three of everything that I can
: One to use, one to replace the used item in case it is damaged, and one item to keep in its Virginal condition. 
Of course it helps that I am not really interested in the very expensive (more than $ 300 USD) items.
Welcome to the forum Norway.
Comment
-
i would say collect what you like , if its a more expensive piece , save up for it , i collect mainly early DDR combat unis in the Blumentarn pattern , but ive managed to get a lot of other later stuff too , i see something i like and tr to get it .Comment
-
First, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to the forum. I think you will find the members here especially friendly, helpful and knowledgable. And all, even the very long time collectors, are easy to associate with.Originally posted by IWantNorway View Post
I think you are already ahead of the collecting game, in that even though you are a teenager, you show wisdom beyond your years in that you have grasped early on, that focusing on a particular subject matter will provide a much more rewarding hobby, than buying anything and everything.
I would first recommend viewing all of the threads (from earliest to most recent) on this forum. Then when you have focused in on one or two possible areas of specific interest ( for example maybe medals and swords and daggers), I would first invest in some good books that cover that topic.
Study up on the books to learn more about the subject matter. For example, with medals you will see that there are medals and orders for just about every branch of service in the DDR. You might want to further narrow medals down to just NVA. The books will then reveal that the medals changed over the years from 56 to 89. So you might want to try to get all variations of a specific medal; or you might want to collect an example of each type of NVA medal.
You of course might find uniforms more interesting. The same logic that applies above to medals and orders, would also apply to uniforms.
I hope you stay. It will be interesting watching your progress.
All the best .....
Michael D. GALLAGHER
M60-A2 Tank Commander Cold War proverb: “You can accomplish more with a kind word and a ‘Shillelagh’ than you can with just a kind word.”Comment
-
I am also a teenager with limited money and I have only been collecting since December 2006. I mainly focus on 1970s-80s motorized rifles uniforms and gear, but collect almost anything NVA that comes my way. For instance, when looking for the usual, I recently purchased an airforce noise supression helmet very cheap. I tend to avoid medals (for now) because they require a lot of expertise, there are too many to chose from and faking is becoming an increasing problem.
Currently I am assembling all the orders of dress for a typical noncareer NCO (Unteroffizier auf Zeit) of motorized rifles in the early 1980s. This is quite cheap and easy, but time consuming and I am still not finished.
KlausComment
-
Welcome Genosse!
One good piece of advice I've taken to heart is to specialize. I collect, or try to collect, only Grenztruppen stuff to keep the costs down, but the urge to branch out is so tempting
.
Comment
-
Welcome
Hello collector friend "Iwantnorway",
A warm welcome of me in this forum also.
I am very pleased that the DDR collector area has got a new member again.
I come from Germany and collect since 1990 uniforms from the sphere DDR.
Main emphasis KVP, Grenzpolizei and NVA to 1970.
If I can help you somehow, I like to make this.
I give you information or send pictures to you with pleasure.
Please, excuse my bad English.
I use a translation program at my computer and which doesn't always work correctly.
With best regards
Lothar Werner FELDWEBEL68Comment
-
.Originally posted by IWantNorway View Post
Welcome in our DDR collectors world!!!!
Some tips!!
- Its difficult to say what to grab first.Prices go up and down.
- Buy books about medals ore uniforms
-Think about what youre interests are?medals?uniforms?stasi?vopo? etc
- Don't buy to quickly,most off the items are enough and just for a few euro.
Only a few items are extremely rare.
- If you spend money?? Do it with a lot instead off everytime a little.
example: for 10 euro you get 1 uniform,for 100 euro you get 11 ore 12 uniforms from the same dealer.And it saves lots off costs for shippment.
- ask us members!!! there's a lot off experience here!!!
Comment
-
Hello - Welcome to the DDR forum and glad you have found us. I read your post and what others have said back to you and hope they provided you with some thoughts and direction. But is the something in the DDR field that sparks your interests?
Originally posted by IWantNorway View PostSomebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express themselves as we did. Quote - Sophie Scholl - White Rose resistance groupComment
-
Yes...hi and hello and welcome...Originally posted by Ralph Pickard View Post I am with Ralph...you need to think yourself about where to start...surely, there must be a specific area that is of particular interest to you? Maybe the medals or the uniforms or the badges or flags or membership books or photos or, or, or...or pick out a certain area or organisation to collect a variety of different items for...maybe the Kampfgruppen or the Police or any of the Youth Organisations or the DSF or, or, or...or just get whatever you can and whatever you fancy and do not focus on any particular area... the choice is yours...its never too late to start and most importantly enjoy yourself ... it is meant to be hobby for fun ... Cheers, Torsten.
Comment
Comment