Cold War militaria for sale

Collecting Cold War militaria

From 1947 to 1991, Europe lived through forty years of confrontation without a general war. The Atlantic Alliance on one side and the Warsaw Pact on the other maintained and re-equipped, without interruption, conscript armies numbering millions of men. For the collector, the period has a direct consequence: equipment was produced in considerable quantities and, for the most part, never saw combat. That is what makes the Cold War more affordable than the two world wars, and why it is often a first collection.

What circulates today

The opening of the Eastern bloc after 1989 poured entire stocks, still in their crates, onto the Western market. Uniforms, field equipment, gas masks, helmets, headgear and unit documents circulate in abundance today, alongside Western equipment struck off as issue changed, from the French model 1951 helmet to American items replaced in the 1980s.

Reading markings, avoiding traps

The first reflex with a piece from this period is to look for markings. Eastern bloc production is almost always marked, but each country has its own code: the USSR and Poland usually stamp the full year next to the factory mark, Czechoslovakia two crossed swords followed by the last two digits of the year, while East Germany used a year letter from 1968, which is confusing when you are looking for figures. These marks are found inside the headgear, under a flap or on the back of a strap. Western issue equipment frequently carries, from the 1960s, a thirteen-digit NATO stock number that identifies the item precisely.

Two traps to know. Wear says nothing about age: a large share of what is sold is new old stock, never worn, and an immaculate object is not therefore recent. And the most sought-after pieces, insignia and headgear first, are widely reproduced. Our guide to spotting fake militaria details the checks to make before buying. For regulated items, deactivated weapons included, see the guide to selling militaria legally in France.