Average Militaria

a personal catalogue for my collection militaria, antiques, and memorabilia 🇺🇸 / 🇧🇷

[average-militaria]

blog intro

hello. my name is average.

a secret passion of mine is militaria collecting, which is a stark contrast from my other hobbies lol. i've always wanted to talk to other collectors and get more involved in the community. so here i am.

i consider myself an amateur. that's cause i don't collect only from a certain time period or certain region (yet), instead i go more off the base of "wow that's super cool, i should add it to the collection". the big theme of my interests though is ww1, ww2, and the cold war (i know its basic dont yell at me).

my posts have relatively the same structure. i usually introduce the item first. then i tell the story of how i came to own this item. finally, i deep dive into any research i did + information i found on the item.

i do my own research when it comes to identifying my items and what i write in this blog, so i can't guarentee that its correct. if anyone identifies any items or has any corrections, let me know. i always love learning more

this blog serves as a digital catalogue/personal archive for my collection, and a way for me to share my love for the hobby with all of you. my collection features militaria, but also other memorabilia and antiques, so those will be posted as well.

here is the master list of all the historical non-fiction and reference books in my collection.

i post about my art and writing over here (again, stark contrast with my other hobbies)

i reblog things over here

(updates to this blog are slow as i dont have access to my full collection at all times. i am at uni and didnt want to risk damage by taking it with me. i still love to post but just when i able.)

[average-militaria]

happy memorial day everyone. i thought today would be a good time to keep up with posting my newer items. this is the second uniform piece which i've added to my collection. this is a US Air Force ABU (airman battle uniform). this jacket features USAF digital tiger stripe camo and an Master Sergeant (E-7) Chevron patch. the label on the inside says this uniform was made by PROPPER uniforms.

this jacket was gifted to me by the same friend who got me my US Army BDU, coming with a fun story. she took a vacation abroad to france (important later), and found this jacket in an antique store. i'm so grateful to her, but i told her jokingly to stop getting me these. i feel bad that she's spending her money on me haha.

my research on this ABU revealed a few things. if used in combat, i dated it to being from 2007-2010, but if not, i dated it from 2007-2021. the chevron patch, as i said earlier, belongs to the E-7 rank, Master Sergeant. they are senior NCOs and need about 17+ of service to reach this rank. in addition, this style of uniform was used by the air force from 2007 until it was phased out in 2021. specifically, it was used in deployments to afghanistan and iran.

to elaborate on that, i have strong reason to believe this uniform did see combat in one of those regions. as this uniform was originally bought in france, there is strong implication that this uniform was involved in afghanistan, as france deployed troops to help the US in this war. that explains how it ended up in france in the first place. maybe it was traded by some troops? or a us solider ended up moving to france? i don't know, and cannot confidently confirm my theory. i do know the connotations and war crimes committed by the us military in this region. i do not support this.

my last note is that this uniform has a small detail which i adore, a pencil pocket on the left forearm :)

[average-militaria]

i always forget to post, but i have lots of new items to show. i felt these were too little to have their own posts too lol. i got these all from a friend from my birthday. shoutout to him for these little things, they made my day. i've been missing my collection while i'm at uni.

here is a lightning round. from left to right.

garden state parkway token: these were used from the 1950s to the early 2000s as toll payment on the garden state parkway.

franc: 1 franc, with a mint date of 1942! the front says "french state", and the back says "work, family, country".

10 years service medal: this is from the 1950s. it could be earned by members of the US armed forces reserve (national guard) if they did 10 years of honorable/satisfactory service, within a 12 year period, in any reserve component of the us armed forced reserve.

usmc ega buttons: these came in a set. i have eight manufactured by Conn. Waterbury Button Co, and 2 manufactured by C&C Metal Products Corp. they depict the eagle, globe and anchor. they are for enlisted men/officers to wear on formal coats and dress blues. i haven't been able to date them yet.

[average-militaria]

there are some new items on the roster for the first time in a bit, so we are back on a roll. this is a coin purse made from a woodland camo US military uniform.

one of my close friends gave me this for my birthday, which just recently happened. it is made from the same camo pattern as my US Army BDU, which the same friend gave to me. because of the nature of this item (which i will explain in a second), i cannot actually 100% identify when this uniform was made, what it was used for, the time of use, etc. this coin purse was made by a boutique near my university, which makes bags from unconventional and unique materials to support women recovering from addiction. according to the card this also came with, it was made by two ladies named Lynne and Mary, in honor of their friend Wanda. Shoutout to Lynne, Mary and Wanda.

the item is made from the front of a US military uniform, in the woodland camo pattern. this could date the uniform anywhere from 1981 to the mid-2000s. the front pocket has two buttons underneath. i think that was a cute feature to include because it is functional, and works as an extra pocket on the bag.

[average-militaria]

i've been procrastinating on this post for a little bit, but there is one of the bigger items in my collection. this is a vintage leather suitcase. when i am far from home, i keep my collection packed away and stored in this.

there isn't too much of a special story with this one. i found it at a goodwill for seven bucks, and i bought it. this was, though, one of the first pieces in my collection which i did genuine restoration work on. using leather glue i fixed some parts of the outside leather.

i've has some trouble identifying the exact model of this suitcase, but there are some key details i noted. i dated this to around the 1960s. Beneath the lock of the suitcase are custom cold initials, GLR. On the inside, there is a sticker guaranteeing that the case is made of genuine leather, from the Tanner's Council of America. the closest match i could find to this suitcase model was a Travelair Brown Patent Leather Suitcase.

when i bought this, it didn't come with a key for the lock, so i hope this thing doesn't decide to lock me out of my collection one day ;P

[average-militaria]

happy late holidays and also happy new year, no matter what you are celebrating. here is another fun piece in my collection, which i love dearly. this is a White House Historical Association Christmas Ornament, specifically from 2011.

this ornament belonged to my late neighbor who passed away. she gave this to my family, and my parents let me hold on to it.

the ornament features an image of President Theodore Roosevelt and his family around a Christmas tree on one side. on the other is an image of Santa Claus sneaking around in front of the White House.

happy holidays.

[average-militaria]

a quick and light post, some larger souvenir coins and medallions i consider part of the collection.

the first is a NJ 1787-1999 Crossroads of the Revolution coin. yes, coin. it is a large scale recreation of the 1999 NJ state quarter. my friend's dad gave this to me at a garage sale. he also gave me an uncirculated mint set from 2000, which you can see here.

the second is a coin from the Louvre, Paris. take a wild guess where i got that one from.

the third is a coin from Washington DC. again, take a wild guess where i got this from.

[average-militaria]

diving back into some more memorabilia. this is a wooden plaque featuring art by Frederick Elmiger. it is called Continental Army Private.

i found this plaque at my local goodwill. i wanted to hang it on my wall, but it has a fabric plaque instead of a metal one like modern frames/plaques do, so i decided against it.

my research dates this item (or at least, the art) to around the 1970s. the plaque itself actually comes in a set of four, but i only own this one.

[average-militaria]

here is another interesting item. i keep this inside my collecting binder, where i keep maps and pamphlets from sites and things like that. this is a 2000 United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set.

this is a cute story for me personally. my best friend's dad sells coins and does other coin collection work on the side. when i went to pick them up to hang out one day, there were having a garage sale. their dad waved me over and quickly asked me about my interest in history. in the end, he gave me these for free. he also gave me an interesting souvenir coin, which you can see here.

the red and blue sets both have the same coins inside, but i uploaded both in case anyone was curious. the blue set is labelled from philadelphia, and the red for denver.

the coins featured:

Massachusetts Quarter (Reverse: Bay Statue Minute Man)

Maryland Quarter (Reverse: State House Dome)

South Carolina Quarter (Reverse: Palmetto Palm, Carolina Wren, Yellow Jessamine)

New Hampshire Quarter (Reverse: Old Man of the Mountain)

Virginia Quarter (Reverse: Jamestown Quadricentennial)

Cent (Reverse: Lincoln memorial)

Nickel (Reverse: Monticello)

Dime (Reverse: Torch, Olive Branch, Oak Branch)

Half-Dollar (Reverse: Heraldic Eagle)

Dollar (Reverse: Eagle in flight)

[average-militaria]

content warning: nazi imagery. proceed with caution.

the item is under the keep reading section.

i am hesitant to post this item. if this gets taken down or whatever the tumblr equivalent of that is, i will leave it down. it is part of my collection, though, so fairly, i think it should be featured in my catalogue, otherwise it would not be a true catalogue. i will leave a disclaimer.

i would like to state that i am very staunchly anti-nazi and anti-fascist. i see a lot of.... interesting posts under the ww2 tag on this site so i wanted to make that clear. the only reason i feel comfortable owning this item is because it is a reproduction, NOT an original. i do also hold the view that to keep history from repeating itself, it must not be erased. rather, we must recognize patterns/imagery and learn lessons from them. a lot of nazi memorabillia was justifiably destroyed after the war, so much so that even a reproduction is difficult to come by. knowing this, i took the rare opportunity and added it to the collection. history should be preserved for future generations to learn from our mistakes. i do not support or endorse any view held by the nazi party, or any fascist for that matter.

moving on to the item itself.

i found this item at a local antique shop for cheap. it is a reproduction, and i made sure of this when i spoke to the man selling it. something of this nature would be used by a ww2 combat reenactor or a historical reenactor.

beneath the keep reading section is a Reproduction Gestapo Warrant Disc. based on my research i identified it as a 1937-1945 type model. this disc, unlike the name suggests, was actually used for identification purposes by the infamous Gestapo. it was like a modern "badge number", kept on the person of the agent with a specific ID number on the back. the number on the back of this disc is #0812. an original of this item would have been made in nickel/silver.

see the item under here.

[average-militaria]

this is less militaria/memorabilia and more antique related, but as i said in my blog intro, this is a catalogue for my whole collection, which does include antiques along with the main military theme. so here we are. probably one of the most unique thing i own. say hello to my Autoharp.

this lovely instrument was given to me by my aunt. her old house was an antiquer's dream, but she needed to sell it due to old age/upkeep. this item was the one item that (somehow) trickled down into my possession. i don't know how to play it yet, but i think learning how could be manageable. i was able to do some repairs to the wooden case, but the instrument itself is out of tune. i have yet to find a place that can tune it, and i am too afraid of damaging it to do it myself.

i don't have a lot of information on this just because there isn't much to say by nature. this specific autoharp is a Type A (Model 73) oscar schmidt. i dated the year of its origin to around 1969.

[average-militaria]

absolutely elated to add this to my collection: this is the first uniform piece i've ever owned! this is a US Army BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) belonging to a member of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Thunderbird.

this was gifted to my by one of my friends as an early christmas present, which was beyond a happy moment for me. i am still shocked she was able to get this for me. she found this at a flea market. there was a seller there offering this amongst a table of other militaria. i am keeping this hanging in my closet currently, as its at least twice my size and im not sure how to properly fold it yet. i want to wear it one day, since this is a pretty outdated uniform (clearly), but i don't know what counts as stolen valor and what doesn't so i will be wary.

i was actually able to find a lot of information on this particular style of jacket, as well as the brigade it belonged to. based on my research, i am dating this as coming from anytime between 1981 to ~2000. according to my friend, the seller told her the jacket was authentic. until i learn otherwise, i will be taking her word for this.

the style of jacket itself is called a Battle Dress Uniform (BDU). it was the standard combat uniform of the US armed forces from October 1981 to the mid-2000s. in the army specifically, where the patch on the front identifies it from, BDU's were used from 1981 to 2008.

the red and yellow bird patch on the sleeve identifies this jacket as belonging to a member of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Thunderbird). Thunderbird was created in 1968, succeeding the 45th Infantry Division, and is still active today. it is part of the Oklahoma Army National Guard, which at the time of this jacket's use, (i believe) was headquartered in Edmond, OK. Today it is hq'ed in Norman, OK. at the time of this jacket's use, Thunderbird was primarily assigned to training duties for active duty army units (they did this from 1968-1994). they did notably participate in the september 1987 REFORGER (Certain Strike) exercise in West Germany.

[average-militaria]

Historical Non-Fic & Reference Books in my collection

This list will be updated periodically and as I gain new books.

Historical Non-Fic:

Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation - George Washington

The Prince - Niccolò Machiavelli

The Art of War - Sun Tzu

The Constitution of the United States of America with the Declaration of Independence

Common Sense - Thomas Paine

Histoire de France Cours Moyen - E. Lavisse

The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels

The US Constitution and Other Writings

The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri

Two scroll replicas, one of the Declaration of Independence and another of the Bill of Rights

The United Nations Charter

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (printed in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, & Spanish)

Reference Books:

The WWI Aviator's Pocket Manual - Chris McNab

20th Century Military Uniforms - Chris McNab

Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg: New Edition (Tricentennial Publication 1699 - 1999)

[average-militaria]

this is the second of my two pins bought at the same flea market. the other one is here. this is also one of the earlier pieces of my collection, a Soviet Victory Day pin.

this, along with another soviet pin, was one of my earlier pieces in my collection. i found it walking around a flea market with my family. at the stand, i was sold this pin for 2 dollars, and another for the same price. this was certainly the gateway drug into getting my hands on more soviet pins. i was tempted to put this pin onto my banner with all the other pins, but i decided against it because i wanted to keep authenticity.

though i was not able to date when this badge came from, i know it is a commemorative badge for Victory Day (the day the soviets defeated the Nazis). the cyrillic script translates to "May 9" and "Homeland Warrior".

[average-militaria]

this is the first of two pins i got together at a flear market. the other one is here. today i am showing you this east german pin from the Brigade of Social Labor (as i translated it from a german listing of the pin), marked with the years 1971 - 1973.

this, along with another soviet pin, was one of my earlier pieces in my collection. i found it walking around a flea market with my family. at the stand, i was sold this pin for 2 dollars, and another for the same price. it was a pretty solid find, especially in the beginning of my collecting journey. to this day sometimes i pull out this pin simply to look at it. i love the gold colors and the designs.

my research has led me to concluding that this is a wreathed award badge pin, belonging to the DDR (East Germany). It comes from the Brigades of Socialist Work. It is dated with two years, 1971 and 1973.

[average-militaria]

i always have an interesting story on how i get many pieces in my collection, which i actually didn't notice before. but it's fun to think about in retrospect. today's post is one of the things i keep on display in my room for people to see, a small piece of the berlin wall.

i was at a new years party, and a family-friend overheard me talking about my collection and my love for history. lo and behold, twenty minutes later, family-friend came back with a piece. i thought he was just showing me, but he actually gave it to me to keep. the story goes that supposedly, he visted Berlin in 1989, and when he returned home, took a piece of the wall with him. the piece i own is only a small flake of his piece. i'm not sure if its authentic, or how accurate that story is, but i trust him and keep the piece anyway. it definetly feels like concrete.

in the picture here i included the front and the back. the top one seems to be the inside, and the bottom on the outside. right now it is inside of an elastic film display case.

[average-militaria]

this piece in my collection is very sentimental to me, the one that started it all. the first piece of my collection: a prop and wings by US Meyer Inc., NY.

i was very anxiously walking around town when i stepped into an antique shop, about on the verge of a panic attack. they tend to be quiet and have a lot of interesting things, which i enjoy. i started walking around to cool down and ended up at their surplus and military displays, and this caught my eye. it was definitely a life-changing moment. clearly, i caved and bought them.

like i mentioned, this is a prop and wings, created by US Meyer Inc., NY. from my own research, these were from WW2, and would either be given to the US Army Aviation or the US Air force. there's two in the box and the back is a butterfly clutch. i'm not sure if these are reproductions or not.