$5000 Airborne Medal Grouping on eBay!!!

[tom2001]

Okay, I thought I've seen it all, but this one just takes the cake!! Here's three links out of a few l0ts one seller posted. The entire grouping was a nice posthumous SS/BS/PH group to a 505th PIR guy KIA at Market Garden.

eBay item 6534685719 (Ends May-31-05 18:15:00 PDT) - WWII Medal Bronze Star in Box with Bars and Pins

eBay item 6534684077 (Ends May-31-05 18:30:00 PDT) - WWII Medal Silver Star in Box

eBay item 6534680038 (Ends May-31-05 19:30:00 PDT) - WWII Medal Purple Heart with Documentation

Check out the seller's other closed auctions for more belonging to the group.

Now I firmly believe that the seller should be put up against a wall and shot for breaking up this historic grouping, but what do you do with 2 guys with more money than brains who bid this group up? Personally, once the 1st named medal was won, I believe others should have dropped out. But nooooooo!!! One bidder has to bid everything up out of spite!!

I'd hate to see what would have happened if this was a 101st AB D-Day KIA grouping!!

[emaier3]

Tom,


You are correct. These guys are idiots all around! I just cannot believe what people will do with more money then brains. I'm really at a loss for words.

Ed

[kastauffer]

I can think of many more medal groups I have seen in recent days for much less than $5000 that I would rather have!!! The lack of original paperwork and documentation with this group keeps it out of the " exceptional" category in my opinion. His 1st Purple Heart award from 1943 seems to be missing as well ( it would be numbered too ) . I wish I had kept all of the Airborne Purple Hearts I have sold over the years and sold them now instead! If prices of AB PH's keep going up like this I think we will see some collectors begin to sell some on Ebay to cash in their chips!

Kurt

[Jim Mooney]

Hmmm.... I just couldn't believe the price of this group...I looked at this grouping... the BS and SS had good age n the engravings... but the PH I just wasnt happy with. TBH it looks like the PH may have been added to bump this group up.

[NTZ]

I only have one word to describe these prices, “insane”.

[Ben]

Kurt,

I still have that fantastic Beamsley grouping that came through you! Those were the days!
I was able to add onto it through the son. I'm still as happy as a pig in mud with it. Wonder what this stuff would go for now.

It is a shame that the Tuttle group was broken up like this although I suspect that both buyers will be in contact with each other soon and one or the other wil bleed even more.

I can think of many more medal groups I have seen in recent days for much less than $5000 that I would rather have!!! The lack of original paperwork and documentation with this group keeps it out of the " exceptional" category in my opinion. His 1st Purple Heart award from 1943 seems to be missing as well ( it would be numbered too ) . I wish I had kept all of the Airborne Purple Hearts I have sold over the years and sold them now instead! If prices of AB PH's keep going up like this I think we will see some collectors begin to sell some on Ebay to cash in their chips!

Kurt

[Stravers]

I dont understand why Airborne is so special? Because of the movies?

Becauese there were soo much other units that did important things for the war to! It is sick to break up a grouping! They only think about money!

I am thinking what happend if they made movie's from normal units, such as medical or something? Was the Airborne or Ranger stuff then cheap now?

[J Melvin]

Strange, the high bidder on the bronze star and purple heart didn't even cast a bid on the silver star of the group.

[vicjoy1945]

I can think of many more medal groups I have seen in recent days for much less than $5000 that I would rather have!!! The lack of original paperwork and documentation with this group keeps it out of the " exceptional" category in my opinion. His 1st Purple Heart award from 1943 seems to be missing as well ( it would be numbered too ) . I wish I had kept all of the Airborne Purple Hearts I have sold over the years and sold them now instead! If prices of AB PH's keep going up like this I think we will see some collectors begin to sell some on Ebay to cash in their chips!

Kurt

Hey Kurt !!

I couldn't agree more !!!

I have a number of airborne posthumous Purple Hearts including several D-Day KIA's...one to a KIA 506th paratrooper who was killed when Lt. Dick Winters and his men took the guns at Brecourt Manor. I may have to seriously think about selling some of them considering the complete idiots that are out there !! I'm not a "airborne" collector per se but I do have quite a few AB PHs. I knew that this group would go "stupid" and that there was a very good chance that it would be broken up. What a shame !! Its completely contrary to why we collect in the first place !!!

Vic

.

[StevenO]

Vic, I really like your expression This group would go "stupid" I think it says all. With all the money that is in the militaria marked today I think a lot of people are taking their money and investing it into whatever sounds good and has some fancy numbers like 506 etc instead of puting it into the .coms like they do usually. And all this specualtion is driving all the prices through the roof.

.[/QUOTE]

[Ron Weinand]

US Named Items

I think the investment fever has reached militaria. When interest rates and the stock market don't produce, collectibles come alive and we are here. Coins, especially quarters and nickels, show the same results as this para grouping and are currently hot. Some collectors are complaining about Bill Shea's prices, but maybe he is just ahead of the curve. Current movies and TV series are contributing to the interest.
Any named or id grouping from WWII appears to be commanding prices well above market and I see no end in sight right now. Unless the economy turns around, the foreign buyers are driving the market up.
Currently, Tom Johnson and I are selling many of the daggers we have bought together in the last year in Russia and Europe. As the Euro makes inroads against the dollar, the inventory is going overseas. Its a seller's market right now and, unless the economy changes, I don't see any end in sight.
Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria

I spoke with the high bidder on the Silver Star and he's turned over the 'win' to the high bidder on the PH/BS.

[NavyFCO]

I spoke with the high bidder on the Silver Star and he's turned over the 'win' to the high bidder on the PH/BS.

That's pretty darn nice of him. I won't bid on split groups on eBay as there will invariably be one person who won't sell a piece of the group that they win, even though often the piece is meaningless without the other items (it's happened several times now!) So, the fact that he kept the group together is kudos to him!

Dave

[kastauffer]

I spoke with the high bidder on the Silver Star and he's turned over the 'win' to the high bidder on the PH/BS.

If I were him I think I would as well !! Thats an awful large amount of $$ to have tied up in 1 medal from a broken group. I'm sure the seller is quite happy he split up the group based on the results ( history preservation be damned ). The problem is other ebay dealers see the trend and will follow suit. I know of a few respected militaria dealers in the past who have broken up medal groups as well , especially early campaign groups ( Andrew has never done that ! )

Kurt

[GLM]

I think the investment fever has reached militaria. When interest rates and the stock market don't produce, collectibles come alive and we are here. Coins, especially quarters and nickels, show the same results as this para grouping and are currently hot. Some collectors are complaining about Bill Shea's prices, but maybe he is just ahead of the curve. Current movies and TV series are contributing to the interest.
Any named or id grouping from WWII appears to be commanding prices well above market and I see no end in sight right now. Unless the economy turns around, the foreign buyers are driving the market up.
Currently, Tom Johnson and I are selling many of the daggers we have bought together in the last year in Russia and Europe. As the Euro makes inroads against the dollar, the inventory is going overseas. Its a seller's market right now and, unless the economy changes, I don't see any end in sight.
Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria

This isn't the first time this has happened. I remember in the 1980's when the Japanese Yen was very strong against the U.S. Dollar and we of middle class means couldn't compete for the painted A2 jackets that were very popular with the collectors in Japan. I remember bidding on Manion's what I thought were outrageous prices, like $700.-$900. for a jacket, only to see them all finish in the $1500.-$2000.+ range. With the Yen weakened since then, I really haven't seen any decline in A2 prices, so what we all consider outrageous prices on named and documented medal groups might be here to stay? It really angers me and gives me heartburn to see these groups broken up by sellers for more money in the pocket, so I am very pleased to see this group stay together.

Gary