Third Reich Flags

[Klaus]

@ cactus: How much did you pay for the Kriegsflagge?

[Cactus]

$360.00 USD. I couldn't pass that up since I never see a flag like this for under 400 usually 360 was with the SH and insurance and all totalled in. usually you have 390 but then xx amount sh and whatever else so i jumped on it.

[Klaus]

Whoa! That's a lot of dead Presidents!

[Cactus]

Yea it was a big spend for me but the rate things are going it's only go to go up. Hell I could sell this and buy plane and room to Dublin later on. I am glad I went ahead with it though like they say it's only money. It is meant to be spent. As long as it is something that makes you happy why not indulge once and awhile, no? =)

[Klaus]

You are perfectly right about all your points. Thats exactly what I thought when I bought my SS Helmet. The value can only rise. Not that I would sell it.

[Cactus]

I am hoping for the value to decrease this way I can buy lots of stuff and then hope it all shoots back up. I guess we can all dream

[Klaus]

Just imagine! That would be great. But there are a lot of collectors out there. Dreaming the same dream as we are.

[Helmut Von Moltke]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I didn't see some of the collection pics here.

Peter Eire, the wound badge in the last pic is the 20 Juli wound badge, awarded to those officers wounded durign Stauffenberg's assasination attempt on Hitler. Not many were made, only for the wounded officers and a few for propaganda display. Is yours a reproduction or original?

Regards,

K

[Lancer44]

Originally Posted by Jim O

So would I...but the tag is not broken so perhaps he survived the war and later sold it or lost it. Generally, when a soldier was KIA, the tag was broken at the perforation. One part stayed on the body and the other was given to the C.O. to inform headquarters.

Nice pics, nice stuff. Thanks for posting.

Not really...
I'm in contact with explorers in Poland. They have a "code of conduct" that if they find German soldier remains with unbroken tag, they inform German agency which is responsible for exhumation and proper burial. (I forget the name of this organisation, but will find out).
When soviets advanced towards Berlin, thousands of German soldiers bodies were left behind without tags being broken. Main responsibility for burial was put on soviet burial teams and local peasants, either Polish or German.
They were working under pressure from NKVD - spring 1945 was coming fast and bodies had to be buried - they wanted to avoid problems.
In many cases graves were unmarked, No one bothered to identify...
And now with cheap metal detectors and inflated prices for any WWII memorabilia, unbroken tags sell well as "survived" fellows items.

Very bad thing... It is seriuos in Poland, but in Russia and Ukraine it may be really very bad thing. I had seen many photos of human bones and skulls, which are dug out by punks, just in their search for easy money...

L44

[Klaus]

Problem is, that you never know what you are buying. Stuff from graverobbers or the morally legal. If you could tell the difference it would be easier to say "no". But my guess is that a lot of people just don't care under what circumstances the item was found.