3 Artifacts You Need to Invest In Right Now.
Artifacts and relics that are proven to increase in value every year. Invest now and watch your money grow.
“market APPRECIATION has increased by 18% or more”
Within the past decade the market for artifacts and relics has exploded. While the artifacts market has a long and proven track record, some of histories greatest and most influence leaders were collectors of the past. More than 2,000 years ago, the infamous Julius Caesar himself was an avid collector of artifacts. Today, the current market and community of collectors is booming and the market appreciation has increased by 18% or more in some areas just within the past 3 years.
But where do I start? What items should I collect and invest in? Don’t worry we have you covered. Our team at Premier Relics has handled, researched and dealt with thousands of artifact and relics from as far back to prehistoric dinosaur fossils, ancient relics, and items from the World Wars. These are 3 proven and affordable artifacts that have a track record for increasing in their value each year and are becoming more and more harder to find.
Mrs Carol Conover, a NASIC employee, donated this flag to the NASIC history office years ago. It belonged to her father-in-law who brought it home from the Pacific after WWII. It is now back in the hands of the original owner's (Eihachi Yamaguchi) family.
WWII Pacific Theater Japanese ‘Good Luck Flag’
In moderate to good condition.
These Good Luck Flags, known as yosegaki hinomaru (寄せ書き日の丸) in the Japanese language, was a traditional gift for Japanese servicemen deployed during the military campaigns of the Empire of Japan, though most notably during World War II. The flag given to a soldier was a national flag signed by friends and family, often with short messages wishing the soldier victory, safety, and good luck.
During WWII in the Pacific Theater, these flags were some of the most sought after bring back items soldier’s, sailors, and pilots wanted to obtain and send home. These were usually taken off captured or killed Japanese soldiers. They were so sought after that even during the war in the Pacific soldiers would make fake Japanese flags and pass them off to unsuspecting navy sailors for money, packs of cigarets, and other goods.
The flags that did make it back to the states are becoming harder and harder to come by each passing year. While few pop up every now and again, finding quality WWII Japanese bring back flags is getting increasingly difficult. While there are more specific variations of the yosegaki hinomaru, the more rare types to look for are ones with ‘kanji’ or Japanese characters and writing surround the red dot center, or Japanese pilot flags. We predict that these flags will be one of the most sought after WWII artifacts in the years to come and is surely to increase in value.
25th Infantry Division soldier Milton Cook spraying tree line with M60 fire during Operation Cedar Falls in 1967. Cook died in Vietnam in 1968.
2. Vietnam War Helmets
With early war camo cover, intact liner and chinstrap.
The M-1 helmet has easily become one of the most iconic symbols of the military thanks to popular culture and movies. While post WWII helmet liners saw an upgrade in the internal webbing, some of the outer steel pots were reissued and used following WWII and saw action in the Korean War as well as Vietnam.
Because so many pieces were mixed and matched during all 3 wars and reissued following the Vietnam war, it is becoming more difficult to find period correct M-1 steel pot helmet with a correct Vietnam era liner and camo helmet cover. Helmets of this time that have all 3 are highly sought after by collectors. Following the Vietnam war adjustments were made to the chinstraps and helmet camo covers and are not as sought after as most collectors want every part of the helmet to be period correct.
While late war Vietnam helmets are still very collectible, early and middle war Vietnam helmet coverings ranging anywhere from 1962-1968 are the most collectable and more valuable (the earlier the better). A Vietnam Era helmet also increases its value dramatically if the name of the soldier or his unit and division are written somewhere on the outside camo cover or the inside liner of the helmet. These tend to be located on the inside of the webbing or leather sweatband. Because of how recent the Vietnam war was the value of these helmets is cheaper now than many WWI or WWII helmets. As the years pass, they are becoming more and more sought after by collectors. We predict years from now Vietnam helmets will more than double or triple their initial investment value.
Ernest Hemingway looking at a map with a soldier during World War II, circa 1944.
3. Combat Infantry, Air, and Naval Maps
If it features a famous location of a battle even better.
Want to know a secret? One of the most slept on artifacts currently being collected is maps. Maps were one of the most influential and critical pieces carried by an infantry soldier into battle, used to navigate bombers to their targets, or traverse naval ships through a harbor. Maps from any era, but especially WWI and WWII are going to explode in value within the next few decades.
Maps are one of the most fragile items carried into battle and combat. Wether they were carried in the map case of an advancing A.E.F. soldier over the trenches or a bomber pilot flying over Normandy, many paper maps, especially ones in fair or good condition did not survive. Many were torn and destroyed from use or waterlogged from rain and water. Many map marked RESTRICTED or CONFIDENTIAL didn’t survive either as they were thrown away and destroyed as not to end up in enemy hands if captured. You want to invest in maps that have a famous city or battle location in them. These maps tend to cost more initially but have a higher upswing down the road as there will be less and less that still exist as time goes by.
We predict World War I as well as World War II maps will be one of the artifacts that has the most appreciation and market growth within the next few decades. Not only do we think the market value will increase dramatically, but the rarity of maps that can be dated to a specific battle will soon be the most prized relics of a collectors collection. Invest and pay a little more for a quality map now and see your invest explode in value down the road the longer you hold onto it.