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ID'd D-Day Normandy US Navy Officer's 1911 Colt Pistol & Belt Rig


warpath
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Pretty poor regard for the history of these items IMO. All the items belong to one guy and have been together for over 70 years, only to be split at the end, in the pursuit of profit I can only assume. I just don't understand how groups like this can be split. I truly hope there's a serious buyer out there who can keep these items together.

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Pretty poor regard for the history of these items IMO. All the items belong to one guy and have been together for over 70 years, only to be split at the end, in the pursuit of profit I can only assume. I just don't understand how groups like this can be split. I truly hope there's a serious buyer out there who can keep these items together.

Whoa there, Buckeroo. Get off your high horse before you fall off and hurt yourself. Your opinion is neither well thought out nor is it objective. In fact, your assumption is naive in the extreme and fails to consider the many circumstances that surround owners and their artifacts eventual disposition. Anyone who buys, sells, trades, hoards or gives artifacts away legally has the right to do with the objects as they please. Being judgemental and impugning other collectors' practices is nothing more than a failure to consider all sides of the situation. In a perfect world all groupings would remain intact and kept together forever. This is not that world.

 

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Whoa there, Buckeroo. Get off your high horse before you fall off and hurt yourself. Your opinion is neither well thought out nor is it objective. In fact, your assumption is naive in the extreme and fails to consider the many circumstances that surround owners and their artifacts eventual disposition. Anyone who buys, sells, trades, hoards or gives artifacts away legally has the right to do with the objects as they please. Being judgemental and impugning other collectors' practices is nothing more than a failure to consider all sides of the situation. In a perfect world all groupings would remain intact and kept together forever. This is not that world.

 

No high horse here buddy, Just an honest observation. The truth is that the eventual disposition of these items should be parallel to how they arrived to their current owner, not eventually split up to make a buck. Anyone who is in this hobby for the right reasons would never split up such a grouping. Now I do understand that you run a business, but as a historian first and collector second, it should be fairly obvious that the history of this group staying together should far outweigh the dollar value. To say that I am impugning your collecting practices is a stretch. It is extremely evident that you are splitting this up for reasons other than the history. It's a shame because that does nothing for preservation.

 

And in regards to your perfect world comment, those who truly cared about the history of the group would do what they could to not separate the items, perfect circumstances or not. As recently seen in the helmet collecting community, the almighty dollar seems to outweigh common logic, morals, and history in general that we try so hard to preserve.

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It's really a fickle bedfellow, as they say. On one hand, if there was no applied value to these artifacts of history, dealers wouldn't post ads, consign pickers, or scout auctions, estate sales, and swap meets in search of them. The result would be far less of these items would surface, and instead end up the trash - as much of it sadly does. The consequence, however, is that these items become subject to the basic rules of free market trade. Specifically, sellers are going to position their items for maximum profit - which is their right, absent how anyone else may feel about it. In an example like we have at-hand, if this group wasn't valuable, we maybe would have never seen it. The same principle that likely brought it to light, dictates that it's generally worth more parted out. We as collectors encourage this behavior, so I don't think we can conveniently distance ourselves from it. We are the buyers, and one half of the commerce equation. We're in this together.

 

No high horse here buddy, Just an honest observation. The truth is that the eventual disposition of these items should be parallel to how they arrived to their current owner, not eventually split up to make a buck. Anyone who is in this hobby for the right reasons would never split up such a grouping. Now I do understand that you run a business, but as a historian first and collector second, it should be fairly obvious that the history of this group staying together should far outweigh the dollar value. To say that I am impugning your collecting practices is a stretch. It is extremely evident that you are splitting this up for reasons other than the history. It's a shame because that does nothing for preservation.

 

And in regards to your perfect world comment, those who truly cared about the history of the group would do what they could to not separate the items, perfect circumstances or not. As recently seen in the helmet collecting community, the almighty dollar seems to outweigh common logic, morals, and history in general that we try so hard to preserve.

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  • 2 months later...

For the stone throwers,the almighty dollar, euro, pound, yen or whatever currency is traded is not always the reason to separate a grouping, especially when the original group is not intact to begin with. Some folks in this great world of ours are prevented from owning firearms in their home country. In this case the grouping I have can not be preserved intact for that specific reason. The pistol set will be offered separately since the next helmet owner can not legally purchase the firearm. It is not a perfect world and groupings can not always remain together for a myriad of reasons.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is one of those posts that people will read in ten years and say to themselves "wow, I can't believe that someone separated those items." To each their own though.

 

 

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"For the stone throwers,the almighty dollar, euro, pound, yen or whatever currency is traded is not always the reason to separate a grouping, especially when the original group is not intact to begin with."

 

 

Using a sports analogy for forums, people may or may not realize they had the opportunity to play in the game and didn't even bother to get on the field. They stayed in the stands, either idly watched the game, made comments that had no impact on the outcome of the game or left the game seeking entertainment elsewhere. Players play, commentators comment, spectators spectate and on rare occasions someone actually steps up to the plate and takes a swing a the ball. Many people end up wondering "what if I had played" then spend wasted time on regrets at staying in the stands watching others in the game.

 

There is nothing wrong with being a spectator or a commentator, but if you won't play then don't judge the players. It is poor sportsmanship.

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There is nothing wrong with making a comment on the disposition whether you are a "player" or not. Everyone is entitled to an opinion about how they feel about separating a group ( whether obtained that way or acquired later), it is still a group to one individual. It does appear that money won out over preserving history or it would have stayed together.

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I see no issue with splitting items up. If I were a firearm guy I would love to have the pistol in my collection. I may or may not have an interest in the helmet or gear. As a gear guy, I would love the belt rig but not the helmet. And the same if I were a helmet guy. I would assume all three parts of this will have the history preserved by the next owner. And if we dig even deeper into it, just what is a "group"? Is it two items that are from the same person, twelve, twenty? I understand those that don't like the idea of items of one person being divided up into lots but think of it this way. If no body ever split any "group" up, just how much can you afford to buy and then store properly. Remember you must keep it all if you are of this mindset. The many pairs of socks, underwear, shirts, I think you see what I am getting at. It is just stuff. But if an individual feels that strongly then buy the whole lot and store it even though most of it may very well never see the light of day, then buy it.

Just my 2 cents

Bob

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My concern here revolves around just how connected the gear is. There is quite literally period paperwork and historic photos that show the objects together. It's not like a canteen with no markings or even a shirt that has a patch, stuff that doesn't have much accountability. The items authenticate each other, and while the carbine stayed with the family, these two staying together shows in my opinion that they are more likely to be real. People are making fake capture papers, and I'm willing to bet that 95% of painted helmets are fake as well. These two items as they are (were?) are more desirable to me as shown, and now the helmet is word of mouth real. The pistol is a worn pistol with web gear and what looks to be a photocopied capture document. They are both still desirable, and both valuable, and both authentic in my opinion, but show me the same pieces without a connection between them and my gut reaction might have been different. I have two or three small groups that are historically significant in mind, and all of them fall into "stuff" if they are pulled apart. Here is a book, here is an Xmas card, here is a photo album, here is a flag, whatever. At the end of the day, they are your items, and the beauty of America is that you can do pretty much whatever you want to them. I respect that right, even if I disagree with the outcome, and I hope that you see this for what it is, a philosophical disagreement, and not a personal attack. Thank you.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Where are these items offered for sale?

The documented Colt 1911 pistol set will be offered in my store or at auction if it hasn't sold within a few weeks.

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