Prices

[Johnny Peppers]

The movie that really started the ball rolling as to outrageous prices for WWII militaria was "Saving Private Ryan". The movie did very good in using the correct clothing and equipment, with the exception of the sniper rifle, and it apparently set everyone on fire to own a piece of history. Many pieces of equipment jumped in price 4 to 6 times what it had been selling for prior the SPR. For a while too much money was chasing too few original pieces. It really didn't matter what the equipment was, someone would buy it. One item in particular was a type of folding screwdriver that had been made since Civil War days. The dealers were getting $3 and $4 for the WWII version, but some of them sold as high as $25 on ebay. Everyone got to digging out equipment and putting it on ebay, and the prices have leveled out and in some cases actually come back down some. It really didn't matter what the equipment was, someone would buy it