Hello forum.

[Daan]

hi everyone,

since i did not find a introduction page and i have 1 or 2 questions about iron crosses and badge collecting i thought id post it here. ( my apologies)

i am Daan, i am 16 years old and i come from the netherlands. since the age of 10 i have been fascinated by the second world war. I have watched lots and lots of movies and tv series about the second world war and also i liked the history lessons. I actually dicided i want to start collecting wwii peices. i have been looking around the internet for forums and sites and i think this one came out the best by far.

i am particularly interested in collecting badges/medals/crosses and maby some edged weapons. since i am completely new to collecting, i would like to ask advice.

Some of the questions i have are:

1: where do i start out, maby its better to start collecting smaller/cheaper things first and gather more information?
2: should i buy collectable's via internet or somthing else like trusted dealers?
3: Is there any book that is reccomended about badges/medals (english or dutch)
4: if you any tips please feel free to tell them to me
5: i am very iterested in how YOU guys started out, tell me your story!

again my apologies for posting this in the wrong section.

cheers,

Daan

[AndyC]

Hi Daan Welcome

I start when I was about 10 years old and back then I get my first 2nd class Iron cross and I still have that one.

There is a lot of books to buy so do a google search and you find a lot.

If you want to buy medals or other things I can recomend E-stand here on WAF.

Andy

[Tom B]

Hello Daan ! It is so nice to see new young collectors !! I would start with what you like "Best". If it's medals & badges then the Estand here & other members can help with "good" trust worthy dealers. I will give one: Hiscoll Militaria. Great reputation ! I stated collecting in 1952 as a young boy. Of course WW2 had been over just a few years, so I had Very, very much to pick from ! Eeryone here will be glad to help. READ, STUDY & feel free to ASK questions ok. Welcome ! Tom

[lordpage]

Well you came to the right place Daan,nice to know young minds are still interested in history and speaking from experience this is the best place to learn.WAF is a wealth of knowledge there are threads on pretty much everything about collecting,just use the search function and read as many of the old posts on your chosen medal or dagger as you can.You can post photo's and ask questions there are many people that will offer help. Get used to the reading alot and study photographs carefully I would start with something small like an Iron cross 2nd class(EK2) or a War merit cross(KVK2) using this forum as a guide.There is no shortcut to gain experience and would suggest that you post pic's of anything you want to buy to check it's authentic and you can always check out a dealer before you purchase on here as well,the are many good online dealers just stay away from ebay and other sites like it.There are many good books on all areas of collecting but I have been getting but with the internet. Good luck with your collecting Daan.

Jon

[Rich G]

It is wonderful to see a young collector. I had thought these days there would be none with interest in WW2.

I would also say, decide which area interests you the most and focus on that first. Don't go out buying reference books randomly because they can be very expensive and you might not find it beneficial if it does not cover your interest area.

Once you have your area try to educate yourself as much as you can it in so you are self reliant. There will be times you will be on your own and you come across an item of interest and you will have only yourself to depend on to know if that item is original and it's market value.

[Tony T-S]

As everyone says, its great to have a younger person getting interested in this area of collecting. I've only been collecting for a few years now and I'm amazed/ horrified at how easy it is to be fooled by fakes. They're getting better and better. Ebay and ioffer etc are not the place to go for period pieces. Estand here is good as its watched over by many people (looking for purchases) so fakes don't usually slip through the net. The easiest thing to do is post pictures in threads and ask people's opinions. They won't always give reasons why things are fakes within threads as that only makes things easier for fakers.

There are some very good books that are current so avoid buying older books as the science has, and keeps moving forward. The search facility here is also very good and you can find a lot of answers in the threads. Just be sure to check how old a thread is as new information has also moved the debate forward here too. Have a great time collecting.