Thanks for the comment Nikki! I couldn't agree more! The stories of how us collectors get some of our items are sometimes just as good as the stories of the items themselves!

Thanks for the comment Mike. Although I do not agree and I never intend to sell this item in my lifetime thus profiting off of this lucky find of mine, everyone is entitled to their own opinion! I hope to see you in the comments in the future!

Thanks for the comment philheath!! Yikes on that price!!!! I'm sorry you guys down there have to deal with that!! Fortunately, as I described in the video, they're reasonably priced here in the US. Best of luck to you as well with your country's new restrictions. I was sad to hear that they succeeded in passing that legislation.

Thanks for the comment angloaust! Steel helmets like this one were developed only to protect the head from injury! Steel helmets were never intended to stop bullets. However, some bullet proof gear did appear before Korea in the form of steel body plates and additional armor plating to attach to steel helmets! These can be seen in usage by the Germans in both world wars and later the Soviets in WW2.

Thanks for the comment Hawker_Tempest! I thought it was quite an interesting medal as well! Every military award has its own interesting history to it! Hence why I'm starting this new series looking at different military medals and awards!

@@warhistorygeek6013no worries, Looking forward to see more then.

Thanks for the comment spangy! The luger is definitely one of the most beautiful examples I have ever had the privilege of viewing let alone handling! I appreciate you pointing out that those parts are not luger parts! I had missed this detail when making the video but since publishing I have now found that those parts belong to an MG-42! As for the brown loop I have seen mixed answers on this but I do agree with you that I believe it is a replacement. The bandage was definitely interesting to me as well! I can't say I've seen that before until this example. I appreciate the kind words and I hope to see you in the comments in the future!

Thanks for the comment carpet! I'm glad that the video was helpful to you! I would say that compared to what options the collecting community had before, the price is great for what you're getting!

Thanks for the comment nebeln. I apologize that you find my content so disturbing. However, this channel and collection is a hobby for me that I quite enjoy both doing and talking about. So the goal is not a huge amount of professional nor is it to cater to people watching my videos. Although I very much appreciate every single person who watches and supports my content, I do these videos for myself and to share my collection with the community and hopefully contribute something for people to learn from. Even if not a single person watched my content I would still be doing them because I simply enjoy it. So I will most likely not be changing my content style for the time being. So please feel free to stick around and maybe speed up the video you're watching or if you must leave us, you're of course welcome to that as well. I hope to see you in the comments in the future!

Thanks for the comment billpotter! Sounds like a cool 22. box you've got there!

Thanks for the comment jazztheglass! I will have to consider this in the future!

Thanks for the comment enricohildebrandt! Make sure to stay away from the fakes! They're everywhere unfortunately!

Thanks for the comment Robert Robinson! I appreciate the kind words and I feel very lucky to have this in my collection!

Thanks for the comment Richard Skinner! I appreciate the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed the video! It really is a shame there are so many fake things out there but my goal on this channel is to help collectors the best I can to navigate our hobby full of landmines. I hope to see you in the comments in the future!

Thanks for the comment user-ke8if6ri9r! As I explained in the video, this example was recovered without the blast shield which means that it was either an early example that was issued before the blast shields were issued or the shield was lost in combat or due to deterioration.

@@warhistorygeek6013 I was at the Auto

I was at the Auto and Technical Museum in Sinnsheim, Germany many years ago. On one visit there were some German men hanging out in the Panzer tank area. They had been together during the war. I am American. I asked if I could buy them a beer and talk about their experience with the tanks during the war. It surprised them. I told them about my father being a lifer for the US Army. You fight for the men you are with. You fight the for survival. Slogans and politics go away. We had an enjoyable afternoon talking about their experiences as tank men. I love talking to veterans. You can read books and watch films but listening to people that were there at the event is the best way to really learn.

@@user-ke8if6ri9r Thanks for sharing! It sounds like you have an incredible experience! I couldn't agree more with your analysis as well. It's truly a shame that in about 10 years essentially everyone who served in WW2 will likely have passed away.

@@warhistorygeek6013 When I was 18 I got a job at a giant steel fabrication company. I got assigned to help these two older guys that sprayed coatings on the finished products. They were way out at the end of the property. They had a shed for a place to have lunch,etc...I noticed a lot of Marine trinkets in their place. I asked about their service. They had both gone through all the vacation spots in the Pacific during WWII. One was a local Indian that became a Wind talker. These were people that spoke the Navajo language and transmitted messages for the Marines. Unbreakable code based on a language very few people knew. This Wind talker was past being out in front. He was surprised a young man was interested in this kind of thing. I said "You guys were in the hurricane. You came through some of the worst fighting in the war. I would like to hear your stories". The other veteran said "I'm the real combat Marine here. My friend was in the rear with the gear. He drank coffee and talked on the radio. I went out doing all the killing". These guys had some incredible experiences. The local Indian also knew Ira Hayes. Didn't like him. Scared kids and dogs. After the war elders met the returning soldiers. Took them out into the wilderness. Let them become human beings again. They lived the old ways. They had been killing for years. Couldn't be around women and children. I wish this kind of thing had been done for all veterans.

A common problem in this hobby is many collectors are quick to state that something is not genuine without any explanation. I have had this dagger reviewed by about a dozen very experienced collectors that I trust very much. This dagger has been viewed by likely hundreds of not thousands of people with at least some experience in dagger collecting. You are the first and only person I have come across who has claimed it is not genuine. Please at least for my benefit explain your reasoning as to why this example is not genuine.

It is original

Thanks for the comment jakubfabisiak! I hear what you're saying but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter to me too much. I have heard it pronounced either way before and in fact, at least in my experience, I've heard major collectors pronounce it the way I chose to pronounce it more often than the way you provided. But I appreciate the comment nonetheless!

@@warhistorygeek6013 well it is a german town, known for making knives, just as Sheffield is in the UK, or Tidioute in the US.

Thanks for the comment bobhart! I appreciate the kind words and I am glad that you enjoyed and found my video helpful!! These are quite rare ammo boxes these days and it sounds like you got an amazing deal! Modifications to these boxes, as you described, are quite common with these boxes as they entered the surplus market during and after WW1 so don't feel too bad. It's incredible that these boxes are even still around after over 100 years!! Once again I'm very glad that my video was useful to you and I hope to see you in the comments in the future!

Thanks for the comment David Frame! I will add that to the list!

Thanks for the comment Mark. However I will have to disagree. The research done prior to this video being filmed and since this video was uploaded is proving to be quite conclusive on the fact that this helmet was in fact used in the 9th SS Panzer Division. Make sure to stay tuned for a new video on this topic this year!

Thanks for the comment RustySurplus! I certainly enjoyed the opportunity to showcase this truly amazing collection of items and I appreciate the sub!!

@@warhistorygeek6013 You know i just got 2 bring backs from ww2 a 1940 Lugar and a P38 from an estate sale. Gonna make a video on it soon.

Thanks for the comment lillrasmus! I will keep that in mind for some of my future videos!

Thanks for the comment seppehens! After my friend got these badges in hand and having more time to authenticate them there was a couple of badges that we thought were fakes that we found out were actually original. I believe that one was included in those so great eye!

Thanks for the comment kawythowy! I'm sorry to hear that I was too convincing in regards to whether or not you should get one of these haha! I can attest that you will not be disappointed however! I hope you enjoy!

Thanks for the comment WW2Enthusiasts! In theory I believe you likely could put an original MG34 top cover on the denix model. However, I have yet to see that and I also wouldn't recommend it personally because I think you may have to do significant modifications to an original part to make it work. If you're looking to make the top cover open and close, just replace the catch at the end of the cover with an original spring loaded part. I have seen this done before and if done correctly it is very effective at making the top cover functional.

Thanks for the comment RG-2112! I'm glad you enjoyed!

@@warhistorygeek6013 I just received the Stg 44. Nice company, the original 11lbs.😌

@@RG-2112 You're a lucky man! The Denix STG-44 has been on my list for a while now! I'm hoping to get my hands on one this year for a review! I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for the comment Hawker! I totally agree! The early East German stuff is some of my favorite stuff.

Thanks for the comment Sep! I appreciate the kind words and the input on the boots! I am not well experienced with german boots however my only concern with your analysis is that these boots came to me straight out of the veteran's WW2 footlocker after being there since he was overseas. Based on my research he did serve post war in the army reserves but he died very young and his footlocker essentially hadn't been touched since the war. The sole of the boots are flat leather soles with no hobnails.

Thanks for the comment CMC! Thanks for clarifying that for me! As I said in the video, I am by no means well experienced with M1's and I have struggled to find a detailed list of heat stamps attached to production dates.

Thanks for the comment RJ! Thanks for the kind words and I couldn't agree more that the Chernobyl disaster is a very interesting event to study!

Thanks for the comment Grace! I'm glad you enjoyed! Make sure to stay tuned for more videos in the future!

Thanks for the comment rjnovak! I'm glad to hear it!!!

Thanks for the comment Paddy! You're completely right that the Germans were and are bad and should only be remembered as such. However many collectors including myself still enjoy collecting artifacts from that regime for a number of reasons. One of the largest factors, in my personal opinion, is that we (mankind) are often fascinated by the unbelievably heinous deeds committed by our fellow man. Hence why so many are intrigued by topics such as serial killers or North Korea, or in the case of collectors of military history the Nazi era German military. I'm actually working on a video discussing this subject so stay tuned for that!

Thanks for the comment and the kind words prank_name! It sounds like this is a very very interesting find that may provide a lot more valuable context to the story of these canteens! In my research I have never seen or heard of a black ethocel canteen which leads me to believe that after being buried in the ground for a long period of time the material discolored to a black color. However, this is just a hypothesis on my part since I have never heard of an example of these canteens being found in relic condition off of a battlefield! Unfortunately, with just the top half I don't believe we will be able to get much more information about your example however I will do everything I can to find something for you! Please reach out to me at [email protected] with some pictures so I can take a look at your find!

@@warhistorygeek6013 Just send it over

Thanks for the comment Timothy! I appreciate the kind words! My conclusion was also that this was put together by the vet.

Thanks for the comment Hawker! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and good to see you in the comments again!

Thanks for the comment paulysiguenza! I will start with recommending that you do not remove the liner from your M33, especially if it is an original model and not an M33/47 as depicted in my video, because once done it is very difficult to replace. The liner assembly is held into the shell by the vent hole rings attached to the shell. If you would like to remove the liner assembly you must pry up the prongs holding on all three vent rings and remove the vent rings and then the liner will separate from the shell. I hope this helps!

Thanks for the comment WFO! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and it was my pleasure making it for you to watch! Cool to hear that you have one in mint condition!

Thanks for the comment persekarva! It is currently on my to do list haha. Although I would prefer an original M56 before I get my hands on an M56/76. Whichever comes first I suppose.

Thanks for the comment Hawker! The stasi insignia was some of my favorite items as well from this episode!