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$53 for this photo?


Eric Queen
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Not that it's not a nice photo, but the hammer price took me by surprise. I don't really see anything special about it.

fdah.JPG

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That seems a lot to me as well. I would say about $60 tops for the one with the soldier wearing the helmet and about 30 at most for the other one, but that's just my opinion.

 

-Dave

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And on the subject of seahorses............

 

I bought this one a couple weeks go which I thought was pretty nice (36th Combat Engineer Regiment, PH recipient, 8x10 colorized) for 10 bucks. I was the only bidder.

 

Never know with the Bay I guess.........

36 Combat Eng. Rgt. x.jpg

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Two guys really wanted it and placed what they thought were "nobody will beat me a this amount" bids. If you're a military portrait collector and come across one you really like, you have to be prepared to step up. And, in the big scheme of things, is a measly $53 really all that crazy for a military collectable??? Can $53 get you a common-as-dirt- WW2 101st A/B Div patch????

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Eric,

 

Not sure why it went for $53 either, but I've been building a strong following for WWII and WWI portrait photos. Certain collectors are just looking to build a varied collection. In this case, I identified the veteran and will be passing that info along to the new owner.

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This picture is interesting. It shows a young man in a uniform that although is not particularly sought after such as airborne or sf units, it is still very rare in my opinion. Looking at his ribbons, I assume he participated at d-day (I am Assuming).



Perhaps the bidder has possession of his uniform and can identify this picture with said uniform.



Perhaps the bidder has a uniform similar to the one in the pic and thought he could sell it for a markup by pretending the photo came with the uniform.



Perhaps the bidder appreciates that a veteran sergeant could not care less on how to wear the uniform with a popped collar.

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Screamingeagles101

I don't understand what makes a small pic cost so much money. The one with the guy with the helmet is a nice pic, but IMO is only worth a couple of dollars ? Am I missing something ?

I have abunch of ww2 period pics. Are they worth as much as these ?

 

For $109 I can buy a complete ww2 helmet ...

 

I'm not saying the pic is not worth anything, but what makes them worth som much ?

 

Thanks & best regards.

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Manchu Warrior

The soldier with the helmet looks like possibly a D-Day Combat Engineer. I think that would be something that would get a premium price.

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As a photo collector, nothing out of line on those prices.

 

I would have happily paid $109 for the painted helmet image and added it to my collection of "Painted helmets I trust" images.

 

As my grandmom used to say, " 'To each, his own,' said the lady as she kissed the cow."

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Thanks for the responses. Please don't misunderstand me. I am in no way bad mouthing the photo, the person who bought it or the seller (Brennan is a great seller who I have known a long time). It just seemed far more than what I have seen similar photos sell for (the one I just bought as an example) so thought I would ask if there were something about it I missed (in hopes of learning something). I certainly understand that photos can bring big dollars. I paid more than 10 times this for a single photo just last week.

 

eBay is always interesting. Thanks again.

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Justification. I actually was contemplating the $53 image but I could not justify (besides I already have a representative of this image it would only be a moderate upgrade) - where as I did justify $53 on the 116th Observation Squadron image. How to justify: the last A2 patch image I bought was under priced so in my mind I could bid more for the 116th image. The helmet image was tempting but in my justification process the image was not clear enough. Now Eric's 36th Engineer image there is justification written all over him: how to justify? I did not buy the $53 dollar image, I do not have that unit in my collection (very big factor), pleasing to the eye and it goes on and I would most likely overpay in many people's minds - boils down to the disease of collecting.

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Two guys really wanted it and placed what they thought were "nobody will beat me a this amount" bids. If you're a military portrait collector and come across one you really like, you have to be prepared to step up. And, in the big scheme of things, is a measly $53 really all that crazy for a military collectable??? Can $53 get you a common-as-dirt- WW2 101st A/B Div patch????

I have to concur. USMC portraits regularly reach $50+ if they're wearing patched uniforms, ribbons, named, etc. Pre-WWII often reach 40-50 for a standard private with no insignia. And WWI and earlier? Hundreds. I've seen many USMC portraits reach $400+, and have been guilty of paying over $350 for one myself...but I considered it a good deal for a Civil War USMC portrait!!

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I have sold a lot of military photos over the years and neither price surprises me: these are great theater-made images - shot in studios but with great details in the overseas uniforms. Normally you see posed portraits taken stateside (almost always before they went overseas) or you see grainy shots of GI's in the field or the common small snapshots showing guys hanging around a rear area camp or playing tourist in London or Paris.

 

These portraits though have depth of detail in them and in the helmet photo certainly the soldier's eyes seem to tell us he has been to war and it was hell.

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$109 for this one. I guess because of the painted helmet.

Not only that but First time I have seen the sea horse on a field jacket like that. I would have paid that for this one.

 

Mike

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  • 3 weeks later...

Eric,

 

Not sure why it went for $53 either, but I've been building a strong following for WWII and WWI portrait photos. Certain collectors are just looking to build a varied collection. In this case, I identified the veteran and will be passing that info along to the new owner.

ah! so got that?

You my friend, I blame directly for my inability to buy ANYTHING related to the AFS at a moderate price any more.

hrumph.

I wish I'd bought more when portraits were going for @$1.

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Airborne-Hunter

ah! so got that?

You my friend, I blame directly for my inability to buy ANYTHING related to the AFS at a moderate price any more.

hrumph.

I wish I'd bought more when portraits were going for @$1.

 

This is a free market and if the market supports the price then there you have it. To be honest both look like D-Day participants and the helmet in the photo is phenomenal. But what we have here speaks to the bigger economy of photography. High end collectors are branching out for both affordability and variability. Some of the guys I know say a lot of the ultra high end is somewhat "boring" or very "symmetric" in the sense that a lot is very similar. They also say they want pieces more relate-able that they can show. But what do I know. Best ABN

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Yeah, I understand and agree. I'm just teasing my archaeologist friend here a little...he keeps getting all the 26YD portraits I want. Well, he and mr. Fife.

I got this for 5 cents back in the day....

post-4995-0-35982500-1425251269.jpg

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I deal in antique photographs (most military related) and the prices are not surprising. I find a lot more Civil War image collectors branching out to the LESS EXPENSIVE WW1 and WW2 images.

 

As mentioned by others, take a look at early USMC images OR ANY CONFEDERATE IMAGES if you really want to see some high prices!

 

Scott

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