Since the dawn of time there has been conflict and war. Cycles of death and new beginnings. An uncomfortable truth, yet fact all the same. The completion of war produces a winner and loser. The defeated are plundered, while the victors yield the spoils of war. These spoils ultimately become trophies of war, cherished not for their utility but for what they prove: “I was there and I won.”
These pieces were once intimate, private possessions, of their original owners. They held deep significance and value. They represented personal achievement and produced respect from those around them. However small in size, each piece was of something far greater: the culture of a nation. For the victors claiming them as their own, carried them across oceans, and bringing them into their home, they became tangible proof of triumph, a silent witness that turned private treasures into public declarations of triumph.
Now when we examine these today, something stirs… We seek to know more: Whose hands last held this? What did it mean to them? How did the world have to break and rearrange itself for something so small to end up here, in my city, in my time, in my possession? That curiosity is the second victory that we can claim as our own.
If you’re here, right now, reading this, you are likely holding history in your hands...
“Now I know in part”
War is human history. Look close enough and nearly everyone will find a veteran in their family tree. Someone who stood on a battlefield, carried a rifle, ran with a flag, tasted victory or defeat and came home with a wound that never quite healed. This is the reason we pause each year to remember our veterans: because their stories are our stories.
Researching our past is one of the most thrilling journeys a person can take. A single document can take you across oceans and decades—revealing an ancestor’s rank, unit, battles fought, and sometimes the very objects they carried home. Those objects, are far more than relics, they are pieces into the past.
Hold one in your hand and the questions emerge: Who wore this? Where was it made? What did it witness? In an instant you’re tracing its past: watching a master craftsman at his bench, seeing it production or distributed at the storefront, watching it bestowed on the proud owner, and watching being brought home by your ancestor.
Step back and your horizon widens. Military history redraws borders, sparks invention, and reshapes entire cultures. Through these artifacts we meet people we were never supposed to understand: their beliefs, their sense of honor, their vision of beauty and what was art to them.
And art is exactly what many of these pieces are. Every medal, dagger, insignia, or badge began as a sketch on an artist’s table. Proposals were submitted, designs refined, samples inspected and approved. Some of the finest minds in European devoted years to this work. These were not anonymous factory workers; they were celebrated artists who signed their creations with pride. Look closely and you may find their initials, their marks, their signatures of men who knew they were shaping history. Behind every piece is also a firm, each with its own story, techniques, rivalries, and innovations. Makers stamped their logos like a promise: “I made this, and I stand behind it.” Distributors, contractors, inspectors—all left traces for us to research.
These are not solely objects, but stories. Tales to family history, artistic mastery and a culture that once seemed impossibly distant. Every artifact is a lesson waiting to be learned, a work of art waiting to be appreciated, and a fragment of the human story begging to be told. When you own one, you own a piece of the past.
The history, culture, artic beauty all lead to a great understanding of the past. This is where you can hold history in your hands.
We facilitate the exchange of these war trophies from veterans and their families, to historians and collectors. Veterans’ families, have inherited these pieces and collectors wish to acquire them. If you’re here, you’ve likely inherited some artifact or family heirloom that was brought back from the war. They may be of little value to you, however, collectors from all over the world enjoy these artifacts. We provide that service, whereby we offer fair value to the current owners and put them in the hands of collectors who value their historic and aesthetic appeal. These pieces are the product we offer; the service is our knowledge and the process. These pieces all have value-weather its historical significance, condition, rarity or aesthetic appeal. Many are pieces, are piece of art, and similar to the art industry, there are those who create forgeries that attempt to pass them off as original – the real deal. Forgers, can make a piece, for a few dollars, and pass it off as an original example could yield themselves hundreds of thousands in return. They wish to pass off fakes as originals. As we guarantee the authenticity of the items we sell. This service is the result of countless hours of research and the cost of making a mistake.
Think of it like hiring a master locksmith. You don’t pay for the five minutes he spends at your door—you pay for the decades he spent learning how to open it without breaking anything.
Whether you’re a family ready to let a piece find its next home, or a collector searching for the one item that completes a story, we’re here to make the exchange honest, respectful, and rewarding.
Real history. Real expertise. Real peace of mind.
Paul, our founder, has his humble beginnings back to the 90’s as collector. Lakesidetrader Inc. officially began in 2003. We’ve been in this business for decades now. It is a family run operation and the knowledge will continue to be passed down to the next generation. Simply put, we have put in the time and the effort in this hobby. They say you need 10,000 hours at something to become an expert, well we’re well past that...
This website on its own is a display of our expertise. Take some time to look around, I am confident you will be impressed with our daily offerings “Recently Added Items” and what we have sold in the past “Gallery”. Each of these pieces has been thoroughly examined, authenticated, acquired, photographed, described and researched to address their significance, authenticity, desirability, collectability and value prior to us offering them to you. This delicate process has built us the reputation and goodwill we offer to you today. We have gained a significant following from the collecting community with thousands of daily visitors.
Additionally, Lakesidetrader has made a significant contribution to the hobby in published works. Nathan Hogle has authored “The Collector’s Guide to Hitler Youth Knives”, which has established him as the world’s foremost authority on Hitler Youth knives and daggers from World War II. Lakesidetrader has also made contributions to authoritative reference works, including: "The German Luftwaffe Radio Operator, Air Gunner and Flight Engineer Badges of World War II 1935-1945" by Talbot (2023, DAMA Publishing, ISBN: 978-1-9995369-1-6), "The Totenkopf Ring" by Scapini (2022, B&D Publishing, ISBN: 978-1-7923-3212-8), "The Spange for the Iron Cross 2. Class" by Maerz (2020, B&D Publishing, ISBN: 978-1-7923-3210-4), "The First of the Best Early & Prototype SS Daggers" by Elite Relic Militaria (2020), "The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II" by Durante (2019, ISBN: 978-0-9600753-0-0), "The Iron Cross 2. Class" by Maerz & Alt (2019, B&D Publishing, ISBN: 978-1-5323-3691-1), "The German Luftwaffe Pilot and Combined Pilot and Observer Badges of World War II 1933-1945" by Talbot (2018, DAMA Publishing, ISBN: 978-1-9995369-0-9), "The War Merit Cross 1. Class and Higher Grades" by Maerz & Stimson (2017, B&D Publishing, ISBN: 978-0-9823146-3-0), "Heeresdolche: A Reference Guide for Collectors" by Hessels & Rieske (2016) and many many more. If simply for advice, advertising or photographs, we have contributed our expertise and assistance to many.
In addition to these published works, Paul has been featured on regional TV News and in several newspapers explaining to Veteran’s families how to safely and fairly sell their military souvenirs. We have assisted with articles on military magazines (B & D Publishing and Military Trader). Paul and Nathan have worked with museums and provided expertise to professionals in the film industry. We have made contributions to military societies (OVMS), been involved in domestic military shows (TMS) and made contributions promoting the hobby as a whole. We have also been actively involved in several collector forums, including: WAF, German Combat Awards, German Daggers, War Relics.
Over the years, we have built an incredible network of connections and relationships in this hobby. At the very least, if we don’t know something, we know those who do. The people in the business have been great. It has enabled us to learn so much. There is hardly a week that goes by without us discovering something new. We have gained an incredible amount of knowledge in this hobby and continue to do so. It amazes me how much we have learned and continue to learn. We are by no means infallible and without error, however we stand behind what we sell and have know-how to back it up.
We all collect something.
As kids it was Hot Wheels lined up by color, Pokémon cards stacked by rarity, or Lego sets proudly displayed on a shelf. The impulse never leaves us; it just matures. Coins give way to watches. Baseball cards become signed jerseys. For some it’s vintage guitars, rare bottles of whiskey, or first-edition books. Whatever it is, the drive is the same: to hold a piece of something bigger than ourselves.
Military artifacts are that impulse refined to its essence. This isn’t just “stuff.” It’s the tangible evidence of history’s most extreme moments—the point where ordinary men were forced to become something extraordinary. A dagger carried through Stalingrad, a medal pinned on a chest after D-Day, a pilot’s wings that rode through flak over Berlin: these objects were there when the world hung in the balance. They carry the fingerprints, the sweat, sometimes even the blood of the men who shaped the age we live in. Collecting them is more than nostalgia. It’s reverence. It’s the adult version of a boy staring wide-eyed at a war movie and thinking, “That’s what courage looks like.” Only now you’re not just watching the film—you’re holding the actual prop that was on the battlefield while the credits were still decades away.
For many of us, these pieces represent the purest distillation of what we admire most: bravery under fire, loyalty that defies death, skill honed to a razor’s edge, and sacrifice offered without hesitation. They are reminders that when everything is stripped away, a few human qualities still matter above all else.
That’s why this hobby runs so deep. It isn’t about glorifying war. It’s about honoring the men who walked through it and came out the other side carrying these small, silent witnesses. When you add one of these artifacts to your collection, you’re not just buying metal, cloth, or enamel. You’re adopting a fragment of that courage. You’re keeping a story alive that deserves never to be forgotten. That’s why this stuff. Because some things are worth far more than the space they take up on a shelf.
