The military collectables we sell on our website have been obtained by us in a couple of different ways. First and foremost are the items that we have purchased through government auctions over a 60-year period. Starting in 1950 many of the items we procured via auctions were from WWII and Korean War period contracts the government had entered into with various wartime manufacturers. The same thing happened during the Vietnam War in the sixties and early seventies. Since the size of the auctions lots we were awarded were often much larger than our short term needs we stockpiled the excess. We were also buying surplus from wholesalers and other successful winners of government auctions. We had developed a reputation for carrying true military surplus and actively tried to buy more whenever we could. We accomplished this in part by buying out the existing inventories of any surplus store that would be going out of business. In our 60-year tenure we probably have been involved in purchasing the remaining inventories of over 50 stores that have shuttered their doors.
As there were fewer surplus stores in our area we became one of the few sources that people could sell off their unwanted military items. This would often come about when people wanted to clear out their attics and garages of unwanted militaria that had been sitting around for years. This was a great source of where a lot of our military collectibles came from. In turn we would try to hit every garage sale and every estate sale that would be happening nearby us. We purchased many vintage items in this manner as well.
Finally, we ended up with a lot of our military collectibles by sheer luck. We often took chances and were aggressive in buying items whose value was not always evident at the time of purchase. But we were willing to take a gamble on their eventual collectable value.
Much of our current collection of military collectibles are from WWII ---not just American, but from other countries around the world that were involved in this conflict.
A few of the examples from this WWII era are as follows:
---WWII binocular cases, D-day gas mask bags, tool carriers, parachutes, haversacks, combat packs, sleeping bags, tankers goggles, mountaineering goggles, mountaineering boots, snowshoes, field jackets, shelter halves, entrenching tools, eating cutlery, combat helmets and liners, nape straps, face paint, pistol belts, medics bags and shovel handles.
A few of the examples from the Korean War Era:
--M-51 cold weather parkas, field pants, mackinaw overcoats, cold weather underwear, Ike jackets, footlockers, Korean wool field shirts and field suspenders.
A few of the examples from the Vietnam War Era:
--- Jungle shirts and pants, bandanas, first aid kits, mess kits, field jackets, M-65 cold weather pants, paratrooper helmet liners, drogue chutes, M.P. gear, magazine pouches, helmet covers, holster and pistol belts.
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