Collecting militaria is fun, exciting, and always educational. The vast number of collectors is still on the rise. What to collect depends on personal interest and what finances are available to you. You can collect items such as patches and buttons that only cost a few dollars - or swords, daggers and guns that can run into thousands of dollars. Certain wars and conflicts are more desirable than others and items from some are harder to find than others. As with anything collectible, price reflects rarity and condition.

The best suggestion I can give to anyone starting out in this field is to educate yourself and to buy quality from the start. Quality items retain their value and "stuff" is just stuff. You may have to wait a little longer and pay a little more, but you won't regret it later. I know how hard it is to resist something you have never seen before, so Spend Wisely. Most of us can not afford to have thousands of dollars tied up in one piece, so our collecting field is limited to what we can afford.

Choose wisely in picking your field. Pick a topic that interests you and fits your budget. Collectors usually collect from one particular era and then one particular item such as buttons, belt buckles, or bayonets. Other collectors collect by nationality, for example Third Reich German. I know that it is neat to find different things, but if you do not stay focused on your collection, you end up having an accumulation and not a collection.

Reproductions and fakes run rampant in the military field. Some are obvious - and others are so good that even the best of the best can be fooled.

One thing to bear in mind is that no one person can possibly know every- thing, no matter how long they have been in this field. There is no one single way to tell reproductions and fakes from real items. My best advice is education. Reproduction items are not necessarily meant to deceive collectors. Reproductions are made for reenact- ments and as commemorative items. Fakes on the other hand are purposely made to deceive collectors. Repro- ductions and fakes are not pleasant things to have to deal with, but they do exist.

First suggestion is to know who you are buying from and will they guarantee the item to be authentic. Most reputable military dealers will stand behind what they sell. It is suggested that if you do buy a piece and question the authenticity, talk to the person you bought it from before you discredit their reputation. Have more than one knowledgeable person look at it before you make a final decision. Like I said-not everyone knows every- thing, and if they think they do, they are probably not your most reliable source.

Second suggestion, and most important, educate yourself in your field. Quality reference books are your best source. Reference books are expensive but worth their weight in gold to serious collectors. By reference books I do not mean general line price guides that range from advertising to zebra figurines; they have their place, but not in the research field.

Be prepared to spend some money. Good books are not cheap, treat them as part of your collection. There are also several good military price guides on the market and these are generally a lot cheaper than the reference books.

There is a catch to the price guides. You need the reference books to know what it is you're looking for, unless you're lucky enough to stumble across a photo in the price guide. Price guides generally list the item by its name and give a brief description of the item. So without the reference books, you could spend a lot of time reading descrip- tions. When using any price guide read the fine print in the beginning of the book. The fine print is there for a reason, not just to make the book longer. Price guides vary so much from one to the other there is no standard- ized system. The fine print will tell you how to use the book, condition and grading systems vary but should also tell how the listed prices were established. Some price guides are more realistic than others, the prices in the military field are changing constantly, but you can usually find a comparable range from the price guides.

Keeping an inventory from the start is important. Buy a spiral bound note- book and keep a record of what you bought, where you bought it, who you bought it from and how much you paid. I know this probably seems silly if you are just starting out, but once your collection starts to grow it is hard to remember each piece. Inventorying a large collection is a monotonous job that is extremely time consuming. The big reason for doing this is for insurance purposes in the future. Most insurance companies will add a fine arts rider to your policy; however, you have to furnish an inventory of your collection. When you have three or four thousand pieces, it is not easy if you have not kept a record. Premiums vary from company to company, some collecting organizations offer policies also, so shop around.

Care and treatment of your collection is extremely important. Some of the reference books give details on how to clean, preserve and care for your collection.

Number one rule, if you do not know how to clean something, do not experiment. There are knowledgeable people out there who will gladly give you advice. You can totally destroy the value of something by cleaning it the wrong way. Moisture, moths, fire and smoke are some of the biggest enemies for military collectibles. For example, if you collect uniforms, do not run them through the washing machine. Take the time and spend the money to have them dry cleaned; do not store dirty ones with clean ones. Storing uniforms can also be a difficult task, uniforms are best stored in cedar. You will need to learn what is the best care and treatment for what you are collecting.

Where to find quality military items can sometimes be a challenge. There are shows and auctions that are just military related. However, some of the best places to find military items are general shows, auctions, antique shops and flea markets.

There are a few rules of collecting etiquette that should be observe. It never ceases to amaze me that people at events do not follow these simple rules.

Most should be commonsense to anyone, however, even some very advanced collectors do not always observe the rules.

The following points may save you from dealing with a disgruntled dealer or collector:
1) You should always ask before touching. I know it seems irresistible to pick things up, but do what I make my kids do, KEEP YOUR HANDS IN YOUR POCKETS.

2) Edged weapons have a handle for a reason, the reason being to handle it. It is one of my biggest pet peeves with people, that they have a tendency to reach for the blade first. There are two problems with this. The blade of any edged weapon should be handled as little as possible. It may not be obvious to the human eye for sometime, however, the oils and dirt from your hand react with the composition of the blade, and if not properly cleaned each time it was handled, over time corrosion will start to show. Besides, finger prints look so tacky on nice shiny blades.

The most common sense reason not to touch an edged weapon by the blade is the fact that these blades probably are sharp. Pay attention when you are handling items. Shows, auctions and shops are hopefully busy and someone could very easily bump into you. When handing an edged weapon from one person to another, always pass it by the handle offering the base of the handle to the person you are passing to and keep the sharp part of the blade pointed in a direction away from both of you.
3) This is a big rule, so pay attention. Treat every firearm with respect and treat every firearm as if it is loaded. If you do not know how to safely check a firearm do not touch it. Never dry fire a firearm, it is not good for the gun, do not pretend to be a cowboy. Never point a firearm toward anyone or into a crowd. Don't laugh; I have seen this done. I am very comfortable with firearms and handling them, however, I do not like having one pointed at me, loaded or not.

4) Never belittle someone's merchan- dise or collection. As Shakespeare said: "The better part of valor is discretion." It is unfortunate, however, it has been my experience that people who degrade items, generally do so out of a lack of knowledge, or pure jealousy - they do not have something as nice, or they are trying to force inexperience- ed dealers to lower their prices.

5) Bear in mind that the military field of collecting is a very tight knit group. A bad reputation is like the plague, it spreads quickly.

6) This rule is for anyone who has children or takes children to shows, auctions, shops or to see anyone's collection. Children are very fascinated with military items. It is my experience that collectors, dealers, and parents should take the time to show, teach and educate children, not only about the item's history, but also the rules of safe handling. Children should always be supervised by a competent adult, especially near edged weapons and firearms.

Let children learn safety from the start. Do not try and shelter them, it only increases their fascination. That's how accidents happen. I do not wish to debate the firearm issue with anyone. I have my opinion and you are entitled to have yours. I am simply trying to say that knowledge is power and ignorance is dangerous.

There is a lot to learn here and it is my hope that this information will be helpful to you. I am an imperfect person living in an imperfect world, so if anything I state as fact is not correct, feel free to let me know, but have the proof ready when you speak or write to me. If there is something you would like to learn more about that is related to the military field, drop me a note. Please address questions or comments to: Marie Brown, PO. Box 216, W. Ossipee, N.H. 03890

About the author: Marie Brown is the owner of Chicken Coop Antiques at Effingham Falls on Route 153 North in Effingham, NH. Her shop is open daily from 10am to 4pm and carries a full line of antiques.