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Dog Tags


rosieres64
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I have been wanting to purchase a few WW II army dog tags but from what I heard it is a hit or miss gamble.

Does anyone know where I can purchase authentic WW II tags? I looked on eBay but the number of tags shown

scares the heck out of me. They all cannot be real.

Any suggestions / help will be appreciated.

 

 

 

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In 1945 alone there were over 12 million Americans in service. With comings and goings during the war, I've seen estimates of about 16 million serving. Each would have had at least two, if not many more, tags during service. So there's a decent pool out there.

 

I've purchased a few off ebay and have no doubts about any I've received. One even generated a tv news spot after I loctated the vet not 5 miles from where I lived, even though I bought it online from another town. I got in touch with him and offered it back, but he was happy to see go to a local museum for a WWII exhibit, and came to see it.

 

Anyway, point being, just educate yourself as best you can on what to look for, how to date them, and what 70+ years of age should normally look like. Try to research a match in records before you buy if possible. There are newly made ones floating around, but with some practice they aren't that hard to spot. Some are made with actual WWII machinery, so there is some risk, but that's where looking for signs of wear and age come in, as well as the source (does one seller offer hundreds week after week, or just one or two now and then?). They can be artificially aged, but generally tags aren't worth the effort to properly fake unless there's high end - so be cautious of those naming highly decorated or well known people (but even those can still be found).

 

And most of all- have fun researching them. That's the best part, and why I stick to collecting identified pieces. Researching the stories is the best part of collecting!

Bryan

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My advice would be to look at dog tags here on the forum to get an idea how authentic WWII army dog tags look, how they're stamped, etc. While fake/reproduction tags exist, many of them are stamped on metal tags that have a different notch, edge or surface than the original tags used. And, as "museums" already said, millions of tags were issued during WWII, so there are many tags out there and fairly inexpensive. You can get a single NOK (next of kin) dog tag for around $15-20 or a later war tag for around $10-15. Of course it will cost more if it belonged to a highly decorated soldier, if he served in a special unit, took part in a special campaign, etc. Those are also the ones to take a closer look at as they could be a fake. So take your time and look at some dog tags to get an idea first. If you just want a WWII tag without any special background, you can surely find one for $10-20 on eBay.

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