Bill Shea's WWII Memorabilia Blog RSS

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PART ONE Back in 2009 I was on The Board of Directors for The Wilson History and Research Center located in Little Rock, Arkansas. Its founder, Robert J. Wilson Jr., who has now passed away, had a lofty goal to collect as many pieces of military headgear from the 20th Century as he could. He was a great guy and accumulated a huge number of interesting pieces of headgear from all over the globe. All military headgear including spike helmets, steel helmets, visor caps, side caps, tschakos, berets etc...were to be included in this collection. All makes...

Part 7 FINAL    Military Trader: And finally, the question we all want to ask the experienced veteran collectors, such as yourself, “How will Third Reich collecting change over the next ten years?” Bill Shea: I do believe the internet will continue to play a vital role in spreading the word and keeping collectors informed and networked. Periodicals like Military Trader still serve an important purpose to those of us who still enjoy having something in hand. The feel of turning those pages and having something to read on the “throne” still works. I have two main concerns about the future. One...

Part 6...      Military Trader: We all have our story about the “one that got away.” Tell us about the one item that slipped through your fingers and can still keep you awake at night. Bill Shea: It’s a treasure trove of extremely rare medals and badges that was taken from a castle in Austria called Schloss Klessheim. This was where the Germans had stored cases of rare decorations including Knight’s Crosses, Eagle Orders, German Crosses with diamonds etc. The list goes on and on. There was enough stuff there to last a thousand years. US soldiers stumbled on this place....

Part 5...         Military Trader: Our readers love stories about collectors’ “Favorite Finds.” Tell us about what you consider one of your favorite finds during the past 30 years.                  Bill Shea: I have been extremely fortunate to have uncovered many rare and exotic souvenirs over the past six decades. Hundreds of these stories will appear in my upcoming book. I’ve selected one to share with your readers. It’s called, “STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN…Treasure Trove of Adolf Hitler Silverware Right Out Of His Kitchen.”     Some collectors say “don’t buy the story,...

PART 4...     Back in the Fall of 2014, Bill was interviewed by Military Trader Magazine, and asked several questions pertaining to the health of the Third Reich Market.  We plan to post many of these interview questions as Bill provides some great pointers, as well as some amazing stories.  The following is what was included in this interview...      Although Bill offers a wide range of military relics, he is best-known for his expertise on WWII militaria. With more than 50 years’ experience (now 60 years) in buying, selling, trading and collecting, he has a very good sense of...