Uniform Price and Rarity

[otlichnik]

Soviet Uniform Price Guide

No such guide exists. However, many experienced collectors and dealers have a “gut feel” for the value based on long experience. Is it possible to put this information in writing?? We can try perhaps. First a look at the things that affect price.

The key determinants of price are:

Age

Age is probably the biggest single determinate of value. It is almost always true that the older the uniform, the more valuable it is. Older uniforms are much rarer. M69 uniforms are the least valuable ones. There is beginning to be a distinction among these as well. As more people are aware of the modern copies then ones which are truly USSR-era will be worth more, and ones genuinely dated to the 1970s will be worth a bit more still. Next up the chain come the post-war, but pre-M69, uniforms. The M58 officer service and parade uniforms are hard to tell from the M69 ones and the market is not really developed enough to give these a good price. M55 officer parade uniforms are increasingly sought after. Used only in the 1955 to 1958/59 era they are beautiful, truly cold-war era, uniforms. Despite selling the six different M55 uniforms I once owned I still think they are among the most beautiful Soviet uniform ever.

The famous M43 family of uniforms have two value ranges. Most common are M43 uniforms from post-war era or from an indeterminate date. It is very important to remember that M43 uniforms were used very late. The M43 enlisted service and field, and officer field gymnastiorka was used until 1969 and did not disappear until the early 70s!! Officer’s M43 service kitel tunics were used until 1958 and their M43 parade tuzhurka until 1955. Even general’s M43 items were used until 1954. Early M43 uniforms are worth more. Unfortunately it is hard to tell the date of many M43 items. Clue range from the new M47 general’s buttons, the crop-topped M47 officer shoulder boards to fabric, button construction and hat peak. Very, very few M43 uniform items are dated. Those that have WWII dates command much higher prices. Usually items can only be divided into early (1943 to 1950-ish) and late (1950-ish to 1969).

Pre-war items are of course the most expensive. M35 and M40 items were all replaced in 1943 making them truly wartime (or earlier) items.


Rank

Generally, the higher the rank the higher the value. However, this really only works in rank families. In other words, while a general’s uniform is worth more than an officer’s uniform, a major’s is not really worth more than a captain’s. That said, there is usually not much difference between enlisted and officer uniforms. There are in fact probably more officer uniforms available than enlisted. Officer’s had more uniforms each, they usually served for a much longer period and their uniforms could often be bought in military voentorg stores as opposed to enlisted stuff which is mostly issue. The big jump is to general’s uniforms and, at the top, marshals uniforms. However, when dealing with the modern copies there is no reason for marshal’s uniforms to cost more. They are all made in whatever quantities are needed. But for genuine issued uniforms there is a huge gap. In the 1980s there were roughly 1000 Soviet generals. There were likely more during WWII. The total number of MSU’s ever is roughly two dozen! (I have a full list of MSUs somewhere but can’t find it right now.)

Branch

The branch or arm of service of the uniform affects the price – sometimes by a huge amount. This is due to two things – the actual rarity of the branch and the “coolness” factor among collectors. The “coolest” branches include those popular among any militaria collectors: tank/armour, airborne/paratrooper, state security, submariner and to a lesser extent air force and navy. These items demand higher prices even if they are not really rare. (Or, in some cases even if they don’t actually exist - for example, there is no/no regular uniform - the sole exception are some minor bits of work clothing - unique to the submarine force. They use stuff from the regular naval inventory. ) So, it is a reality that a tanker item will always demand higher prices than a medical item despite the fact that medical service stuff is roughly 10 times rarer than tanker stuff!! Rare, but bargain priced stuff includes medical railroad, engineers, and signals. Naval uniforms are also undervalued in some cases. Cavalry and actual state security branch stuff are high on both the rarity and “coolness” scales.

Style

By style I mean parade, service, field, summer service, etc. The service uniform is the baseline uniform for price. Much field gear is worth less than service uniforms. There are lots available, even of M43 gymnastiorkas dating from the end of their use in 1969. There are some exceptions though. Genuine WWII era (as opposed to the masses of post-war M43 model stuff) field uniforms are worth quite a bit – often more than service uniforms from the same era. Strangely enough, when I was a collector of M69 uniforms (in the 1988 to 1995 era or so) the hardest uniform to find was an enlisted man’s service tunic (the kitel form which does up to the neck with a flop-down collar and coloured collar tabs). I found an air force one but never an army one! Parade uniforms are usually more expensive. They are fancier and more sought after. They are a bit rarer too. This is especially true in the 50s and earlier. The M45 generals victory parade uniform (the only true victory parade uniforms as the ones for officers and enlisted are actually M43 parade uniforms) and M35 and M43 generals uniforms are certainly the most valuable uniforms you can find.

Completeness

Obviously, a hat-tunic-pants set is worth more than a tunic alone. The tunic is the “heart” of a uniform. What is the ratio? My rough guess – and others please jump in – is that a tri-set is worth maybe 150% of a tunic. Maybe a full set (add in belt, boots, etc) is worth 200% of a tunic alone. That said, hats are often popular without the tunic. However, as there are many more hats than uniforms on the market the interest in hats does not drive up the value too much. Sometimes though hats are very rare. The M55 KGB officer parade hat is very sought after these days and seems LESS common than the tunic! Remember that most belts and boots and other accoutrements are rarely ever very expensive themselves. It is nice to get them in a set but don’t pay large extra amounts for them. Again there are exceptions such as M43 general’s parade belts (used only till 1947) which can be $400-500 each.

Condition

Condition is not a great determinate of the uniform price. In general, the better the condition the better the value, however, with rare, and especially war-era field uniforms poor quality uniforms still have good value. The strangest thing about condition is that with M69 era uniforms slightly poor quality may translate into HIGHER prices. Considering that ALL possible M69 era uniform are made for sale today in Ukraine (and possibly other places) more and more collectors are becoming suspicious of them. Thus, for a growing number of collectors, proof of aging and wear shows that a uniform was actually issued and used and USSR era and therefore can demand a higher price. The most dramatic example is with the M69 Marshal of the Soviet Union uniform. The modern copies sell for as low as $400 up to $1200. However, a genuine 1970s-80s one with high quality materials and signs of genuine wear would easily fetch over $2000! The same is true of the enlisted or officer M69 gymnastiorka. A late 1960s un-issued one is worth about $25-40. One with WWII material and wear is worth at least 10 times more!

Size

Generally, the larger the uniform, the better the price. Especially since Soviet uniforms tend to be smaller than other Western ones (except for general’s who were not known for their sveltness). However, like “condition” discussed above this is not always a big determinate. In fact, it is more important for lower end items – which many people like to wear – than with higher end ones. Believe me, no one says “that is nice 1954 parade tunic for a known general, or 1930s NKVD tunic etc. but I won’t buy it because it is small”.

It should be obvious from this list that establishing a comprehensive price guide for Soviet uniforms would be much harder than for orders, medals or badges. Still this is the place to begin to post such information for anyone who wants to take a stab at it.

Personally I think we CAN begin to do a uniform rarity guide using the McDaniel and Schmitt R1 to R5 scale and their definitions regarding market availability (though of course the issue of manufacturing quantity does not apply directly). I will post some examples here soon.

Shawn

[Tal Inbar]

EXCELLENT WORK!

Thanks!

On the other hand, I might start collecting uniforms....

Tal

[DougD]

"Pre-war items are of course the most expensive."

I disagree with this little part; the most expensive uniforms are still wartime; like a bell curve, pre war is well priced, wartime high, then a major drop after the war.


I think the basic guide Shawn has posted is a good start, but uniforms are a different animal than medals / orders. You can make a guage based on previous sales, but the next example to come along might not be the same. Its alot like award groups; very difficult to make a real guide.

DD