Welcome to the addiction, for that is what it will be.
You are starting at a difficult time to begin collecting and be ready for that. Better than the 1970s and 1980s, for sure, but not as sweet as the 1990s.
Focus, as you have been told, is important. When I started out, back when Moses had zits, I was advised to:
1- Buy books and journal subscriptions, learn as much as you can before you buy your first medal.
2- Buy more books. Never stop. Bookcases are easier and cheaper than medal cases. (Some people will tell you all the knowledge is online. Some people will also tell you the earth is flat. Seek serious research, not random unsupported pretentious opinions.)
3- Be aware that common items (whatever they may be these dark days) will always be around, but the scarcer items are just that: Scarce. Buy one good item rather than six common things. (Depending on the working "budget". What a silly word!)
4- Buy only from reliable sources and dealers. This is far more important and difficult now than it was when I started, for the emergence of e$cam and the sorts of sharks it encourages wasn't an issue then. The forum marketplace is a good place to look as there is some sort of ethical code in place.
5- Fakes have become a problem. For Soviet stuff, they're a major problem. Be aware and be educated, but do not become obsessed or paranoid (this is very easy to do -- look at some of the posts here). Try to handle (grope) as many good items as you can and you'll develop the "feel" for what is good and what isn't. Gatherings like the OMSA convention are delightful places to do this (and not as filled with irrelevant unreconstructed Nazis as will be the case with some of the more generic "militaria" shows).
6- Never spend more than you can afford to do without. This will be a MAJOR problem as the addiction grows, but food and shelter are more important than medals. Really.
7- You will be tempted to stray and be ready to do that. While you should focus, don't lose your magpie instincts and be teased away by shiney things. When you're not near the medals you love, love the medals you're near (as the song almost put it).
8- Get the things you can research researched and the materials translated (if you don't know Russian). This isn't as easy to do as it once was, but it will allow you to see your collection as history, as relics of people who are otherwise lost to memory, rather than just as sparkly "things".
9- Have fun. Have fun. Have fun.
10- Never be afraid to ask questions. The only stupid question is the one you never dare to ask. Some may snarl and snap, ignore them. But others will answer politely and seriously.
Ten commandments? Hardly. Ten random thoughts. Maybe just my ten tugriks worth.
You are starting at a difficult time to begin collecting and be ready for that. Better than the 1970s and 1980s, for sure, but not as sweet as the 1990s.
Focus, as you have been told, is important. When I started out, back when Moses had zits, I was advised to:
1- Buy books and journal subscriptions, learn as much as you can before you buy your first medal.
2- Buy more books. Never stop. Bookcases are easier and cheaper than medal cases. (Some people will tell you all the knowledge is online. Some people will also tell you the earth is flat. Seek serious research, not random unsupported pretentious opinions.)
3- Be aware that common items (whatever they may be these dark days) will always be around, but the scarcer items are just that: Scarce. Buy one good item rather than six common things. (Depending on the working "budget". What a silly word!)
4- Buy only from reliable sources and dealers. This is far more important and difficult now than it was when I started, for the emergence of e$cam and the sorts of sharks it encourages wasn't an issue then. The forum marketplace is a good place to look as there is some sort of ethical code in place.
5- Fakes have become a problem. For Soviet stuff, they're a major problem. Be aware and be educated, but do not become obsessed or paranoid (this is very easy to do -- look at some of the posts here). Try to handle (grope) as many good items as you can and you'll develop the "feel" for what is good and what isn't. Gatherings like the OMSA convention are delightful places to do this (and not as filled with irrelevant unreconstructed Nazis as will be the case with some of the more generic "militaria" shows).
6- Never spend more than you can afford to do without. This will be a MAJOR problem as the addiction grows, but food and shelter are more important than medals. Really.
7- You will be tempted to stray and be ready to do that. While you should focus, don't lose your magpie instincts and be teased away by shiney things. When you're not near the medals you love, love the medals you're near (as the song almost put it).
8- Get the things you can research researched and the materials translated (if you don't know Russian). This isn't as easy to do as it once was, but it will allow you to see your collection as history, as relics of people who are otherwise lost to memory, rather than just as sparkly "things".
9- Have fun. Have fun. Have fun.
10- Never be afraid to ask questions. The only stupid question is the one you never dare to ask. Some may snarl and snap, ignore them. But others will answer politely and seriously.
Ten commandments? Hardly. Ten random thoughts. Maybe just my ten tugriks worth.
