Pics of my "find"

[lsmilitaria]

I have bought original high end items and small end items from vets before. Some of the low end stuff was good, some bad. I think a lot of vets were given little things like armbands and badges over the years either by friends and family as reminders of them fighting in the war.. Some might have even bought them at gunshows..."Hey, I remember seeing those black badges with helmets on them" and then buy them for a souvenir or because it invokes a memory, not knowing if it was fake or original to begin with. Thats just my take on it.

[MikeP]

Interesting theory, good as any.

This haul reminds me of the stuff I'd track down in the early 60s.
Tons of local vets I knew.
Bits and pieces or bags full..

None of them had fakes then.
A lot of things went to the trash over the years.
Friend of mine recently dug a few items at an old farm yard.

[PanzerJager1944]

A lot of things went to the trash over the years.

I remember when I was about ten years old I had a neighbor who was a tanker during the way. He told me all about the fabulous stuff he had brought back. He had a photograph of him and his buddies after the war on Halloween, all dressed in German officers uniforms he brought home. He also at one time had a Huge Nuremberg banner as well. When I asked if he still had any of it I got the reply "Nah, nobody wanted that junk, it all went to the dump", except the banner, the red material was salvaged to make a Santa Claus costume. Trust me, you have never seen a sadder face on a kid then when he told me that story.