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Show Of Shows 2019 Thoughts & Photos


CNY Militaria
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CNY Militaria

I know those who cannot attend the show are eager to see some images of the show, so here are some I took today. I will take more tomorrow. For anyone else who wishes to post their photos, thoughts on the show, this can be the place to do so.

 

 

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Thoughts? I was sitting at my table today when I suddenly thought.....this show is just as neat today as it was back in 1995.

Then I thought......whoa! I’ve spent way too much money. Then after my 200th customer said, “I’m gonna look around then I will come back and I will probably buy this piece”.....I thought, dang....if I hear that one more time! Then I remember one time thinking....man that guy has a really horrible toupee on his head! I thought, just really goofy looking! Then after I drank a cup of coffee and several sodas I thought.....I need to go to the bathroom. Then suddenly 5 o’clock came around and I thought, time to go to the hotel. Well that about covers my main thoughts. Except I keep thinking about those guys wearing those really cheap rugs.

Ronnie

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Then suddenly 5 o’clock came around and I thought, time to go to the hotel. Well that about covers my main thoughts. Except I keep thinking about those guys wearing those really cheap rugs.

Ronnie

 

Maybe it was a reproduction.... :P:lol:

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I was able to go Thursday, couldn't get all around in 5 hours. Found a few things. Always look forward to this event. Talked to my buddy Don Jenkins (VN MOH awardee) a bit. The story behind the story is always interesting. About 8-10 years ago, he told my daughter a bit about that day. She was about 13-14 years old. He and the Battalion Commander had "words" a bit prior to this battle about a transgression of Jenkins's. The Battalion Commander was flying over and observing the fight at least part of the time and as I recall, Jenkins was on the radio a bit and the Battalion Commander heard and was impressed with his actions. I don't recall Jenkins saying he was visible to the BC, but the BC was behind the award. Not bad considering Jenkins was ready to have a fist fight with him and the BC was wanting to Court Marshall him a few hours prior! Don's brother was present when he was telling my daughter about the event, and he told us later he had never heard that much of the story before.

I didn't see Ron Rosser (Korea MOH Awardee), but have heard him speak and bought him some refreshments once. If you read about the Vikings, the term berserker comes up. Rosser, that day, fit the description! Again, as I recall him telling the story, the Battalion Commander was on a hillside, observing the battle and saw Rosser in this fight. He though he was "dead" several times as he was swarmed with Chinese. But was able to kill several in Hand to Hand! I asked Rosser and he said he had an M-1 carbine, he went back several times and got more ammo, even carrying 50 round boxes and reloading mags during the fight. A lot of enemy got sent to their maker by Rosser that day!

BKW

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Is it just me or are all the pictures sideways?

 

Same for me. Just click on the pictures and they will be correct.

 

More pictures please!!

 

Thanks, Al

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Thanks for posting the pics. Curious as to your impressions as to how busy the show was and if you saw younger people interested? What was talk about the prices of items for sale;basically were prices same or down, etc. Any impression on where the interest was down in certain areas of collecting or what was hot? Thanks for any feedback.

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I was there on Friday and thought it was well attended. I noticed a lot more older collectors on scooters which the organizers may have to account for when planning the width of the aisles for future shows.

 

Also I was there past 4 p.m. and was pleased to see that the majority of the dealers were still at their booths and not heading out for dinner.

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Thoughts? I was sitting at my table today when I suddenly thought.....this show is just as neat today as it was back in 1995.

Then I thought......whoa! Ive spent way too much money. Then after my 200th customer said, Im gonna look around then I will come back and I will probably buy this piece.....I thought, dang....if I hear that one more time! Then I remember one time thinking....man that guy has a really horrible toupee on his head! I thought, just really goofy looking! Then after I drank a cup of coffee and several sodas I thought.....I need to go to the bathroom. Then suddenly 5 oclock came around and I thought, time to go to the hotel. Well that about covers my main thoughts. Except I keep thinking about those guys wearing those really cheap rugs.

Ronnie

Ha! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. My laugh of the day!

Mikie

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We are sitting in the motel home since the ole home town appears to be flooded. 98 roads impassable including ours.

Will try tomorrow.

We had a great show with about everything sold. Lots of old friends from Britain, Wales and France. More later...

Steve

Knoxville, tn

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CNY -

 

Thank you very much for the photos - I know it is not the easiest thing to do when you are attending a show or the first thing on your mind but for those of us who can't be there it is a real treat just to be able to see a few things.

 

Good hunting!

Best,

 

Bill K.

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CNY Militaria

Thanks for posting the pics. Curious as to your impressions as to how busy the show was and if you saw younger people interested? What was talk about the prices of items for sale;basically were prices same or down, etc. Any impression on where the interest was down in certain areas of collecting or what was hot? Thanks for any feedback.

Now that we are on the way home from the show, here are my post-show thoughts and opinions.

 

Based on my impressions, attendance was way up from what I remember in past years. A number of times the aisles were packed and I had to squeeze through. The lines to get in the door each day were quite long, and there were few lulls where no one was at or passing my table. I spoke with a number of other dealers who agreed with this. There were several other shows going on at the KEC this weekend that may have helped SOS attendance a bit.

 

I felt that there was more US material than in past years and as a result only made it through the show entirely roughly twice, compared to previous times where I could do several more times. There were fewer non-US tables to just skip by. This morning at breakfast some German collectors asked me if I believed there was more US represented at the show because they felt they had to skip more US tables to get to what they were looking for.

 

Similar to other shows, items priced well sold and those that werent didnt. As expected, a number of dealers had the same items/prices that I recall from years prior that sit on the tables and gather dust. US groupings from WWII, ETO painted A-2 jackets, and medals seemed to do well. There were a LOT of WWII US uniforms at the show and most dealers couldnt give away common ones. I saw many Ike jackets with ribbons, patches, collar brass, etc sit unsold on the last day for $30-45. On the flip side, I noticed a number of really nice, but similar AAF uniforms with bullion that were priced through the roof and remained unsold at the end. One dealer at 2:00 PM on the last day remarked to me that he was confused as to why he didnt sell anything during the show. He had some truly top shelf US groups, but they were priced roughly 2.5 times full retail value.

 

There were quite a few tables that had nice items but no prices in sight. On three occasions (once to me and twice to friends), and with three different dealers, when asked a price on an item, the response given was Its expensive or Do you have any money? At some of these tables, the dealer was gone and the table helper either had no idea on the price or was unable to contact the seller.

 

The dealers that did well were apparent as the inventory on their table continuously changed and eventually shrank, and were clearly there to negotiate and sell things.

 

The attendees of the show are indeed getting older and more immobile, but I also saw a huge influx of young (15-30s) collectors walking the show as either a member of one day attendee. Some told me they had never been to the SOS before and would absolutely be back next year.

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Thanks for the excellent report and review of the show. Glad that attendance was good. Regretted having to cancel due to health issues last minute but plan on coming back next year.

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ww2guymandude

This was my first SOS and DEFINITELY not my last. As soon as I walked through the doors I felt rather overwhelmed and awkward simply by the sheer volume of everything, but after walking around and talking to some buyers and sellers it became one of my favorite events I have ever been to! Had never been to a militaria show prior to this, so I thought prices were going to be much higher than they actually were too. Got multiple pieces that I am beyond excited to have... can’t wait until SOS next year.

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Would be interesting know whether the SOS's new TR rules created dealer table cancelations. Thus allowing for more dealers selling US militaria to fill the gaps?

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I'm a long time German collector (WWI and WWII, and mostly paper) and have only been collecting US stuff for 2 or 3 years. And, this was my 5th SOS. I have to agree with the post above, there is far more US stuff than ever before - I think it could be argued that US stuff comprised more than 50% of this show. With that said, the the SOS is becoming even more enjoyable for me. There are still interesting German items available but a ton of great US things to sort through and learn about.

 

And, the attendance on Friday seemed to be the best ever - pretty impressive given how bad the weather was the day before the show throughout much of the country (we had a hell of time going there, with our flight cancelled twice).

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There were quite a few tables that had nice items but no prices in sight. On three occasions (once to me and twice to friends), and with three different dealers, when asked a price on an item, the response given was Its expensive or Do you have any money? At some of these tables, the dealer was gone and the table helper either had no idea on the price or was unable to contact the seller.

 

This is what I find bothers me the most about shows. I mean, how many times can you ask someone how much is this or how much is that? Like you said, a lot of times when you ask they either dont know or you get a useless response like the ones you described. I usually will just by pass these tables or take a quick glance just to see if they have anything specific that I am looking for. I hope though that that isnt the norm at the SOS and that more often than not there are prices posted.

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Would be interesting know whether the SOS's new TR rules created dealer table cancelations. Thus allowing for more dealers selling US militaria to fill the gaps?

This is a very good point and Im sure is a factor. The volume of US stuff will surely help combat the terrible press the SOS has gotten recently. There were still tons of Germna fakes there, but the OVMS administration did a great job moving the show forward.

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Having attended every SOS since the old Drawbridge it is hard for me to say if this show was busier than others. It would be somewhat subjective as I am normally not paying that close of attention. I would think that most collectors are focused on their search. I also sell as well as collect. From a selling perspective it was good. I keep my prices realistic and things move. There is so much stuff I never get to cranked up if either the seller has not priced his items or is way too high on his price that is because there is always much more around the corner. The vast amount of items and diversity is a bit overwhelming. I do believe that the overt display of Nazi iconography was toned down considerably from shows past. I go to the show as much for comradery as I do for the collecting. Spend a fair amount of time laughing and joking with friends. It is always a good time and is hard to believe it has came and went already. If you have ever thought or wanted to go to the show my advice is “do it” you will not regret it.

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