Selling Military Memorabilia From an Estate: What You Can Sell, What You Shouldn't, and Where It Goes

Medals and Decorations: Read This Before Listing Them

Federal law is stricter about military medals than most families expect. Under 18 U.S.C. 704(a), whoever knowingly sells, attempts to sell, advertises for sale, trades, barters or exchanges for anything of value any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the U.S. armed forces, any service medal or badge awarded to members of those forces, or the ribbon, button or rosette of one, 'except when authorized under regulations made pursuant to law,' can be fined or imprisoned for up to six months. Subsection (c) raises the penalty to up to one year for a Medal of Honor, and subsection (d) does the same for the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, Silver Star, Purple Heart and combat badges. Militaria does change hands in the collector market, and how this statute applies to a particular inherited medal is a legal question we can't answer for you. Practically: don't put medals out on the estate-sale tables, never try to sell a Medal of Honor, and talk with the estate's attorney before any medal is offered for sale. eBay's Government items policy separately lists 'government-issued medals and certificates for medals' among items not allowed on its site.

Better Homes for Medals Than a Sale

• Family first. Medals are usually the items relatives most want, and they are hard to split fairly once they leave the house. Our guide to dividing heirlooms covers how families handle it
• Replacement sets. According to the National Archives, the military services generally issue replacement medals to the veteran at no cost, and next of kin can request them, with process and cost varying by branch. That can let more than one family member have a set
• Museums and historical societies. Local and regimental museums sometimes accept medals with the veteran's story attached. Call first; many have collecting policies and can't take everything
• Keep the group together. If the medals stay in the family or go to a museum, keep them with the citation, photos and discharge papers so the story travels with them

Service Records and Papers: Keep Them

The veteran's DD-214 (discharge papers) and other service records are documents, not sale items. Families need them for burial benefits, survivor benefits and replacement medal requests. Put them with the will, deeds and other estate papers. If the DD-214 can't be found, the National Personnel Records Center handles requests for military personnel files. Letters home, diaries, unit photos and orders are a different matter: they can carry real historical interest. The Library of Congress Veterans History Project collects first-person accounts and some original materials from U.S. veterans; check its submission guidelines before sending anything.

Uniforms, Insignia and Patches

Uniforms, hats, patches, rating badges and unit insignia from past wars turn up in many estates and are part of what collectors call militaria. On eBay, the Government items policy says government uniforms and accessories are not allowed unless they are vintage or collectible pieces that are at least 10 years old, no longer in use, and don't look like a current uniform. A World War II or Korea-era uniform usually meets that test; a recent uniform usually doesn't. Condition matters to collectors: leave moth damage, stains and tags as they are rather than cleaning or altering them, and keep the uniform with any name tapes or laundry marks that tie it to the veteran.

Bayonets, Swords and Knives

Edged weapons such as bayonets, fighting knives, machetes and dress swords are common in veterans' estates and are traded among collectors. They are weapons, though, and New Jersey has its own laws on weapons. Ask the estate sale company up front whether it handles edged weapons, how it displays them (most use a locked case), and whether it sells them at the sale or refers them to a militaria dealer or auction house. Don't leave them out where children can reach them during setup or the sale.

War Souvenirs and Captured Items

Many World War II veterans brought home helmets, flags, bayonets, insignia and other items from the other side. These can have collector interest, but they need the same safety check as anything else (a helmet is fine; a 'deactivated' shell or grenade needs to be confirmed inert by police, not by a relative). Some items, such as Nazi-era insignia, are legal to own in the United States but are emotionally charged and limited on some online platforms. Handle them privately and through a specialist rather than on the sale tables, and check each marketplace's rules before anything is listed.

Where Military Items From an Estate Usually Go

• Kept by the family: medals, the flag from a military funeral, photographs, letters and service papers usually stay in the family
• Estate sale: common uniforms, field gear, footlockers, books and non-weapon memorabilia can sell at a well-run estate sale. Weapons and medals usually should not go on the open tables
• Militaria dealer: for a mixed collection, a dealer can sort what has collector interest. Ask for an itemized written offer, not one number for the lot
• Specialist auction house: worth it for documented groups, rare insignia, edged weapons or historically significant items with provenance
• Donation: museums, historical societies and the Veterans History Project for papers and stories. Our donation tax deduction guide explains what an estate can and can't deduct

Questions to Ask an Estate Sale Company

• Do you handle military items, and do you bring in a militaria dealer or send them to auction?
• Will you keep medals, papers and photographs aside for the family instead of pricing them?
• How do you secure edged weapons and anything that looks like ammunition during setup and the sale?
• If a dealer makes an offer through you, is your commission taken from it? Put the answer in the contract
• What happens to military items that don't sell? See what happens to unsold items after an estate sale

Red Flags

• A buyer who shows up after an obituary asking specifically about 'war stuff' or medals
• Anyone offering to take a suspected grenade or shell away 'to check it'
• A single cash offer for the whole footlocker before anything has been looked at
• Pressure to split up a medal group or separate medals from their papers
• A company that wants to price medals for the sale tables without asking the family. Our scams guide covers more of these