Recently I was involved in the purchase of two quite scarce medals. These were supposedly WW2 German productions for a specialized unit, costing around 400 and 500 USD each. These were recieved from a, in my book, respected and well known dealer in Militaria.

Payment sent, and items recieved.

After a quick inspection, however, the more expensive item out of the two seemed quite off - details that any medal manufacturer would shun were present, soft details on parts which should be extremely sharp. It was likewise confirmed to be a after-war production by several experts in the area - amongst myself.

Thusly, a sendback was arranged, but not after quite a bit of turning down offers for a exchange, rebates and other manners of coercion from the seller in question - keep in mind, this was a 500 USD medal. Though, eventually the seller, after having recieved copies of other experts, concluding the item in question was indeed a fake, was he reluctant to take it back.

After about half an hour when I recieved my payment back on said medal, a alternative account of the seller started harassing me on several forums, demanding to know why I thought the medal in question was a fake, and whether I had any knowledge in the area.

All in all, it ended well, at least so far. But please, please! If you collect militaria, and especially German World War 2 militaria and associated items, make sure you KNOW your seller, don't buy the history - buy the item. Should anyone of you have any questions regarding German WW2 militaria or associated Government groupings, feel free to contact me and I will do my best to voice my opinion on them, don't be scammed like I almost was.

History is never a crime - But lying, fabricating the truth, attempting to scam and threatening IS!