So I come back from a meeting to find....

[SScollector]

Insignia are fake!

[Doug Kenwright]

i was in Latvia and Lithuania about a year ago.the amount of real German items they have there is STAGGERING.However,you,the North American collector will never see it. they will just send you the fakes, the junk,the obvious nightmares we have become so accustomed to.not a lot of collectors there,but the ones that do have huge collections,everything from tinnies to tanks.they know all the prices, quote members of this forum,and make a killing selling crap to the uninitiated.they have original dies for buckles,belts,badges,bolts of original camo cloth,etc. etc.if you play your cards right,and let them know that you won't fall for the bullsh*t, they will play. the only ones you have to be physically wary of are the gypsys and the ones who are tied to Russian organised crime(and that would be most of the grave robbers etc.)

[Doug Kenwright]

i was in Latvia and Lithuania about a year ago.the amount of real German items they have there is STAGGERING.However,you,the North American collector will never see it. they will just send you the fakes, the junk,the obvious nightmares we have become so accustomed to.not a lot of collectors there,but the ones that do have huge collections,everything from tinnies to tanks.they know all the prices, quote members of this forum,and make a killing selling crap to the uninitiated.they have original dies for buckles,belts,badges,bolts of original camo cloth,etc. etc.if you play your cards right,and let them know that you won't fall for the bullsh*t, they will play. the only ones you have to be physically wary of are the gypsys and the ones who are tied to Russian organised crime(and that would be most of the grave robbers etc.)

oh, as an aside...i was offered a beautiful house in Latvia.9 rooms, all mod cons etc..great price. only problem was...it was built on top of the site where they had buried 4 tons of teller and s-mines in the late forties. took a pass on that one..!!

[Scott A. Hess]

I dont have any sympathy.respect or admiration for the Russians..Latvians..Lithuainians or ANYONE selling items to decieve..that ispassing them off as real when they know better..I dont care how big their collections of real items are..or how much they pay..they are counterfiters..crooks pure and simple. and I will not do business with them.

[Donald Abenheim]

Mass halten

I dont have any sympathy.respect or admiration for the Russians..Latvians..Lithuainians or ANYONE selling items to decieve..that ispassing them off as real when they know better..I dont care how big their collections of real items are..or how much they pay..they are counterfiters..crooks pure and simple. and I will not do business with them.

Be that as it may, there was a time when some of the chief crooks in faking NS material were in the Golden State, just as the porno industry got its start here, too. No one national group deserves to be singled out, since the faking of Nazi material is concentrated in North America, Europe, and Asia. I do not know about Africa, but they have their own problems without having to take on this one, too. I would love to see old line Russian collections of authentic material, which surely exist, since I know our Russian colleagues to take militaria very seriously.