Hello everyone! My name is Marni and I am from Michigan in the United States.I recently acquired a pretty amazing collection of WW2 memorabilia from a US Navy HA2c who served aboard the USS and Arundel during World War II, including a very detailed handwritten journal, detailing, combat, casualties, a soldier, murdering another soldier and his sentencing, etc., beginning February 1944 through December 1944.       I also have letters to and from his parents and his pregnant wife, photographs of him in and out of uniform, a photo album his wife created for him while he was deployed with photographs of their newborn baby and all three of them together with him in uniform, a graded test that he took to advance from HA2c to HA1c, ration cards made out to both his parents, his father, Dr. James Tully Snider Sr’s original WW1 draft card, a letter that James Tully Snyder Jr. wrote to his “Grandpapa” when he was in first or second grade, as well as his report cards throughout primary school, including his high school diploma, official press release photos with the military stamp on them, radio press news from a board the ship, his thank you letter from President Harry S. Truman and much more. I’m looking to find out the worth of this collection.  I am including a few photos of what I have. Any help is much appreciated!

All good, brother, and great to hear from you.    I could not agree more.  COAs are as good as the character of the issuer - which really brings the necessity of a COA into question in the first place.  If someone is going to do right or wrong, a piece of paper won't change that - unless it's a subpoena or similar.   Language has to be very specific to be enforceable, and even then, it's expensive to force someone do the right thing.       

Have a chance to purchase, dated 1942. Just the brass. How rare are these and what’s a fair price?    how hard will it be to find a projectile? 

Blacksmith I tried to like your comment but apparently I'm out at 1 Like. 100% truth. I'd put Confederate belt plates and buckles with 3R awards. I'm not sure how anyone can collect them in confidence. Dealer guarantees, cert's of authenticity? I'll pass

I happen to have both of these ovals, plus another that has a distinctly maroon center.    I have a note on my purple one indicating the 221st Med Co.     I have no id on the maroon center one.   Has the purple one been found with vets of the 307th ?  There must have been a change made to explain such a fiffence.   Does anyone have any conclusive evidence of what has been found in the hands of veterans for identification for these ovals ?   Appreciate any assistance here.  Cheers !

Very nice job.  The spot where the stickers are would have been the pilot's name and helmet inspection date.   Best regards.   Jim

My point was there are U stamped magazines that were not for the US government.   These are very common and have been made very recently.   So AI is half right, which is better than average for this type of inquiry.

That is fine. I was a huge Star Trek fan back in the 1960's and 70's.   Great model.

You are correct about Aresta. The new catalog will include about 200 Class E pieces.

For the survivability of the hobby, I wish it ended at Civil War Confederate and WWII German.  It extends to anything worth money, that a dark actor thinks they can bamboozle somebody on.     Hucksterism is alive and thriving in Vietnam militaria, WWII squadron patches, luxury watches, darn near everything.     As soon as something becomes collectable / in demand, two things generally happen:  Sellers start swinging for the fences on price, and fakes start infiltrating.  Fear of getting burnt and being ‘priced out’ signal the end of the road.