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I am going to say this again for all modern collectors, especially those of us who collect OEF/OIF militaria. You need to start building your collection NOW! These two wars have seen an influx of non-issued items used by soldiers who get deployed to either theatre of operations. It is going to be a nightmare in a bit when OEF/OIF militaria picks up in popularity. I'm not suggesting that it isn't a nightare now, but it will only get worse. I truly expect this area of collecting to eventually reach the same level of popularity as Vietnam is now. Document every item you buy now. Do the research and include it with the uniform, patch, headgear, webbing, etc. Print off pictures, articles, roster lists, etc. and make yourself a binder to store these copies.
That being said, you need to start building your reference library now as well. With almost every uniform I buy, I print off pictures or a brief synopsis of where that unit was deployed, what time period they were deployed, who they were engaged in fighting, and what type of uniform/equipment they would have used. The little bit of research you do now, will be invaluable in years to come.
As of right now, you can buy items from these wars relatively cheap in comparison to other areas like WW2 or Vietnam. You can build a decent collection on a small collecting budget. That is why modern collecting is popular with the younger generation and beginning collectors...it's cheap in comparison. Not to mention, you can buy several quality modern items for the same price as one mediocre item from another war.
This thread is not a slam on collectors of eras of militaria. This is just a thread that needs to be posted. Think of how much history has been lost over the years due to non-documentation by collectors, veterans, family members of vets, etc. We modern collectors are in a unique position to document and preserve history of these artifacts before it is lost to time.
That being said, you need to start building your reference library now as well. With almost every uniform I buy, I print off pictures or a brief synopsis of where that unit was deployed, what time period they were deployed, who they were engaged in fighting, and what type of uniform/equipment they would have used. The little bit of research you do now, will be invaluable in years to come.
As of right now, you can buy items from these wars relatively cheap in comparison to other areas like WW2 or Vietnam. You can build a decent collection on a small collecting budget. That is why modern collecting is popular with the younger generation and beginning collectors...it's cheap in comparison. Not to mention, you can buy several quality modern items for the same price as one mediocre item from another war.
This thread is not a slam on collectors of eras of militaria. This is just a thread that needs to be posted. Think of how much history has been lost over the years due to non-documentation by collectors, veterans, family members of vets, etc. We modern collectors are in a unique position to document and preserve history of these artifacts before it is lost to time.
