16 WW2 Stuart tanks imported into the UK

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

This cache of Stuart tanks was not a secret to those in the know, as are other caches. Yet, it takes several entrepeneurs (Mike worked with Joop Staman on this deal) working together to finance, buy, ship and sell caches of WW2 material like this and make them available to collectors. Of course these are shrewd businessmen, otherwise they would no embark on such an adventure and not go bankrupt! But it´s up to the collector to decide whether they get a good deal out of buying them. It´s mostly up to private enterprise to secure these historic artefacts. And yes, sadly sometimes they are worth more as scrap than collectibles. But if it´s up to the military, every old tank would get shot up on the range!

Hanno has a point... whether we consider these deals as "deals" or not is irrelevant - either the vehicles are available or they're not. Perhaps ever. If someone chooses to invest a fortune of his own resources in sourcing, transporting and shipping them into one location, who are we to argue? They may otherwise have ended up as fodder for the scrappie - and god knows that old steel is worth enough!

The day of cheap anything (let alone armour) has passed... it's now up to the collectors to define how much something is worth. Either you want it or you don't... but don't bitch too much, because one day there won't be any more left!!!! Yeah, that's a scary thought...