Moral Compass Needed

[BedsnHerts]

First a bit of background: I dabble in a bit of re-enacting between different nations and different time periods. I especially like collecting "pocket litter" - money, train tickets, matchboxes, that sort of guff, as they are generally inexpensive to buy and can be fun to research.

I have cobbled together a small collection of pre-WW2 British currency. The coins are plentiful and fairly cheap, the 10 shilling and £1 treasury notes are rarer but still affordable. The white Bank of England notes on the other hand are jaw-droppingly expensive, ranging from £400 to £4000 depending on rarity. An exception are the Operation Bernhard forgeries, which can often be bought for under £100. On the one hand these are a bit more affordable and a lot more interesting than a real note, on the other hand they are the product of KZ misery, brutality and murder.

So is trading in these items "icky"? Is buying one any more morally defensible than buying a human skin lampshade?

Answers on a postcard please...

[wolfsangel]

Personally I don't see it as any more or less 'icky' than any other german wartime made item. The guys producing the reproductions were spared a lot of suffering compared to the main work camps or say rocket motor assembly lines, and were aware of what their fate would have been once the project had been completed.

I take the view that I can't change the past so buying original items isn't funding modern slavery or misery of oppressed workers, and therefore not a problem to me.

[Stigroadie]

People seem happy to pay a premium for BNZ marked K98?
Bank notes are one of the few items ebay allows to be sold with a visible swastika. Perhaps money is less evil in some way?
I dont think you have much to worry about. 99% of the population dont care and will happily shop in Primark.

[grenmartens]

...., buying original items isn't funding modern slavery or misery of oppressed workers, and therefore not a problem to me.

Unlike buying a pair of 'Nike' trainers!

[BedsnHerts]

...., buying original items isn't funding modern slavery or misery of oppressed workers, and therefore not a problem to me.

Unlike buying a pair of 'Nike' trainers!

Yes I suppose we're all already guilty of cashing in on some unsavoury "business" practices. Does that make it better or worse though?

[BedsnHerts]

and now, for amusement, I'll pose the same question on Pozzi