Hello all,    I am attempting to help a fellow antique collector return a trunk he acquired at an auction to the original owner's family. Robert G. Rogers seems to have been a civilian doctor drafted into the military during WWII, and it looks like he worked at a base near San Antonio. I do a little family history research here and there, but haven't ever done anything military related.    The wonderful world of the internet tells me that he lived in San Antonio before and after the war, but I've struggled to find a trace of him. Apparently he was also an amateur ham radio operator whose call sign was W5IMP.    7423 must have been his laundry number as it is stamped in most of the garments. I'm hoping a birth date or death date would help me track down an obituary so I would have a starting point for finding descendants.    Any help is greatly appreciated.    Thank you very much. 

Found this on ebay and just wanted some opinions on what this might be.  It has military parts and certification stickers from the 60s and 70s but the antenna isn't hooked up and the labels on the front are not something that would be on a piece of military equipment I would imagine.  So did army engineer or radio op build this as a joke or maybe a vet built this for his kids?  The one name on the 1970s tag is I. M. Ready which I thought was funny.  I haven't tested this yet.  I'm sure it needs new batteries and some solder joints aren't connected.  I just wanted to get some opinions.  Thanks

A Baseball game in which a baseball team composed of U.S. Marines played against a Japanese team in Saga City, Japan. Date given is the very off season date of Nov. 4, 1945, We're assuming these guys on the other team were recently released POWs who were in the garrison of Japan and surrendered, can't really say captured, cause captured implies combat, and we all know there were no combat actions by the U.S. and or British British Commonwealth against the Japanese, military or militia.   Photos BTW are genuine period color ones.

Some nice items, keep up the good work.

Hi Ken,   I know what you mean about the radiator felt; there is currently only one person accurately reproducing this coarse felt of horse/pig hair sewn on strips of burlap, but most of the jeep parts vendors sell strips of under-carpet which is completely wrong in colour and texture.   This is some of his work (pic from TJ Zackman):     TJ also made my factory-type hood stencils and I purchased a set of his radiator felt for the slat grille at the same time, but this will be one of the last things that we will put on the jeep, I guess.       😆   I did save the WWII photo of the engine compartment as it clearly shows an original battery, which will come in handy for my current side-quest.    

Out here in Colorado, many such rifles made it out west and have surfaced at estate sales and auctions over years. They typically don't bring much. The biggest drawback is the "French" style lock, as I have found them typically a harder sale. They are regarded as wall hangers and decorative items unless it was made or incorporates sought after maker marked parts: barrel, lock, decorative inlays. This would be a typical plains rifle that made its way west in many a pioneer's wagon. Good game getter that filled the kettle of many hungry settlers. Un-fortunately they are pretty common. They sell at gun-shows if not too badly worn or damaged in $250-350 and don't move quickly. When I and my father used to set up at the CGCA Gun Show in Denver we always typically had 4-5 such rifles and typically would sell them to antique dealers or interior decorators to bedeck the mantel places of wealthy mountain cabin owners. I don't think any of them brought more than $250. We still have 4 or 5 hanging around. Rifles that have verifiable fur trade history, produced by Hawken of St. Louis or have exceptional workmanship with symbolic inlay will bring or even a Western retailer stamp on the lock or barrel will bring 4-5 figures and even more if it, say, belonged to Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, etc. I've even seen Civil War martial arms fall in value in the last ten years. Winchester and Colts hold their value however they have not gone up in as many years. 

Dependent sons???

Hello! I just joined yesterday. So I’ve been collecting since I was 18 and really have been getting into the hobby for a while now. I collect mostly radios/phones and rations. That is my niche.I’m about to upgrade to a much better display in about a week. I just wanted to show off my collection and passion as a young collector. 

My 2 cents worth.  Defiitely not Greek, almost all of those Ive seen had a very dark black parkerized finish and the stock were saturated with cosmoline.  Nor do I believe it was rebuilt as most of the parts appear to have the original finish intact,  again the chances are they would have been replaced or refinished with Parkerizing.  I'm not even sure the stock is a replacement, it was common for soldiers to "bone" the surface to make it look better and in the process the inspector marks were lost.   Congrats on a nice rifle.   

I'll give it a shot at answering this since no one else has yet. There's SO much to consider when evaluating the price of rifle such as yours, but here's just some things to think about.  Your rifle may be in slightly less condition than fair, I'm just not sure.  If you really want to know you might be better off getting an opinion on a firearms forum.  That said,  An authentic Kentucky Tiger Maple Rifle (American Longrifle) in fair condition, converted from flintlock to percussion, generally has a market value ranging from $800 to $1,500. The percussion conversion is very common for 19th-century models and does not inherently hurt the value, however, the exact value of your antique piece depends on several critical factors like: Maker & Provenance: Rifles signed by known gunsmiths (e.g., Leman, Golcher, or regional Pennsylvania/Virginia makers) fetch a premium.  Also visible stamps are taken into consideration.   Wood Quality & Artistry: Highly figured tiger maple (curly maple) with ornate brass patchboxes, silver inlays, or carved stocks will drive the price toward the higher end.   Caliber:  Can make a difference in valuation. "Fair" condition generally implies a dark bore, heavy patina, and some handling wear, but all major original components should be intact without major amateur wood repairs.