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    ... to keep a group together?

    In the past I have gone more than the extra mile, often buying up junk that noone can use, just to keep al the parts together...

    Now i have a dilema... I have a group with a guys Fieled Grey jacket and 2 of his blue prewar ones....

    Would I be a bad guy if I got rid of a blue one? Basically it is double in the group....

     

    I am a bit torn in two over this....

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    Chris,

    Definitely a dilemma if you have had the thought. Some would not even have this idea cross their mind. If you are agonizing, it probably means you want to do it.

    Say you had a document group and it included two identical award documents. Would you consider one redundant and pass it along for another collector to enjoy.....or would you say, it's part of the historical package and after all, easy to store.

    How similar are the tunics? Same rank? If they are different in some meaningful way, that would be a concern. How much money do you have tied up in the tunics? That could make a difference. Storage for larger items is also a factor.

    Groups often have duplicate items, but they are usually smaller things and not worth a whole lot.

    In the end, if you can afford to buy the group, then you can probably afford to keep it together. Whether you will or not is an individual choice. I'm glad I don't have to make it.

    Chip

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    If you let something from a group go, and later regret it and want it back, it might not happen. If the new owner sells it, the owner after that might say no, ending your chances of re-uniting everything. There's also the matter of what happens if you want to sell or trade it for something else, and the ethical thing is to tell the person you split the group up. He may think you're a (fill in the blank) for doing so.

    Perhaps the only time I'd part with one item from a group, would be to get another item that belonged to another group I had and was added something to it that really belonged there.

    Whatever the decision, accept it and don't look back with any regrets.

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    Is it named? If not did it come directly from the family or from a collector who may have added the extra blue tunic for whatever reason?

    As to how far I'd go, in the past I've bought named groups being sold separately just to keep them together, effectively paying more than the grouping was worth. If there was no way of knowing if an item belonged to the group and the tunic is double anyway, I probably wouldn't lose sleep over letting it go. If it definitely belongs there well, I'd flip a coin but whatever you end up doing, you're not as bad a bloke as some might think.

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    • 2 weeks later...

    Ive paid to keep a group together, and Iam lucky the collector who bought the other pieces was of like mind and in a selling mood, (he is a member here actually).  The group is still scattered, however the really relevant pieces are with me.  Its a paper and photo group and a bit of a different beast compared to uniforms.

    Some sound advice given already, so I'll refrain from repeating whats been said.  Just sharing a fairly recent story  

     

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    Hi,

    its a tough question... the group has one Feldgraue jacket and 2 blue ones, one private, one issue.

    Its the age old problem... I too go to extreme lengths to get groups together... but where is the limit?

    I have small WW1 document groups which have 2 binders of poastwar documents up to and including insurance, menues, kids birth certificates etc... I can never bring myself to just "dump the junk"... so the Tunic is a difficult question indeed.

    It all boils down to people not selling and just trading... There is a guy who has a piece I really need/want... but it is not for sale... and the only thing I have which he wants is the Jacket.

    I will probably end up keeping it as the trade is rather shakey... but it does raise an interesting question for me for the future...

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    I've a problem too, I only wanted the ditty box and the little parts tin for my mg. Do you think these have always been together and should I keep all the odds and ends? I like the wooden box English Navy had one very similar.

    Eric

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    I have small WW1 document groups which have 2 binders of poastwar documents up to and including insurance, menues, kids birth certificates etc... I can never bring myself to just "dump the junk"... so the Tunic is a difficult question indeed.

    ​Ha, I too have something similar, ok not 2 binders full of postwar docs but a MN sailor's book together with 1960s/70s insurance docs and it stays together. I suppose it all depends how desperate you are for the item offered for trade.

    Eric, I bet you keep that little lot together. It's pointless trying to fight it :)

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    That was one problem the shipping cost to US was pretty much the same as the box, anyway I put everything back together if memory serves this was in the bottom of the tin, under the book I've no idea what it is?

    Eric

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    Edited by Hoss
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