Sell to Us · Military & Wartime
Sell military memorabilia to buyers who understand what it meant.
Free visit · cash offers · no obligation
California Vintage Buyers buys military memorabilia in Orange County: uniforms, flight jackets, patches, photographs, footlockers and souvenirs from every era, the World Wars especially. Free house call, cash on the spot, and the history handled with respect. Medals are a legal question we explain honestly rather than a purchase. Call (949) 449-1255.
A veteran’s footlocker is not clutter. The uniforms, medals, patches, photographs, and souvenirs a service member kept are the record of a chapter most families only partly know. When the time comes to part with these things, they deserve buyers who know what they are looking at and treat the history with respect.
We buy military items from every era, the World Wars especially, across Orange County and Southern California. We will sit with you, go through the footlocker properly, explain what things are, and pay fairly for what we can give a second life with collectors who preserve this history.
Wartime items we buy
Uniforms & flight jackets
WWII A-2 and G-1 leather jackets, dress uniforms, HBT fatigues, and boots.
Text us a photo Send us a photoInsignia & medals
Patches, wings, sweetheart jewelry, decorations, and named groupings.
Text us a photo Send us a photoField gear
Helmets, web gear, footlockers, trench art, and personal kit.
Text us a photo Send us a photoPaper & photos
Photo albums, letters, documents, maps, and unit histories.
Text us a photo Send us a photoBring-backs
Souvenirs brought home from both theaters, evaluated knowledgeably and legally.
Text us a photo Send us a photoA county full of service stories
Orange County’s generation of veterans, many who served out of El Toro and Tustin’s air stations or settled here after the war, left footlockers, garages, and dens full of carefully kept history. We have handled groupings from pilots, sailors, Marines, and the families of those who never spoke much about it. Whether it is one flight jacket or an entire den, call us before anything is donated or separated; groupings are worth more, and mean more, kept together.

Why It Matters
The difference between ordinary and valuable is in the details: a stitch, a hallmark, a date code. Knowing them is our entire job.
From the Shop
How to Tell Real Military Jackets: Talon and Conmar Zippers, Souvenir Jackets, Mitchell Camo
Read the transcript
Hi guys, today we're talking about military stuff, right? Check this out. Very cool. 1940s Air Force jacket. Gotta love this right here. Man, the things that this thing has experienced, right? So, very special. You're going to look for Talon zipper. Does it say Talon? Sometimes it says Conmar. Two different brands from the, say, 30s to the 60s. Talon or Conmar, you're looking at probably something legitimate military. There was many reproductions of military jackets. There's many things that look like bomber jackets and leather stuff that is just a cool repro. Something just to wear and enjoy, but not from the actual military. This is a great example. So, also you can always tell kind of, if you see a contract number or a stock number or a specification, certain kind of number with a bunch of things. Matter of fact, 1944. Sometimes if you learn how to read these, you get really in the weeds on it. But sometimes there's a year in this patch right here, if it's a real one. I digress. All right. What else do we have here? Military. Yes, believe it or not, this is military. This is called a souvenir jacket, right? So, the GIs, Rick, thank you for your service. The GIs, after their time in whatever country that they were in, bought often an embroidered on the back souvenir jacket. Started in Japan. We've had tons of these jackets. I love these jackets. Many I've sold that actually fit me because I'm a huge guy. I regret selling them. I wish I kept one or two. But in Japan, they call them sukajan. But anyways, souvenir jackets. You're a GI. You do your time overseas and there's these little shops downtown, you know, just let's say you're on leave or you're enjoying some time off from the base. You're walking around and all these people would be trying to sell you a souvenir jacket. Satin, chain stitch embroidery, dragons, lions, tigers. Sometimes it said like where you served or certain different things. From Greenland to Alaska to Guam, all over the place. These things were everywhere. And so, these are awesome. These are considered a military jacket. We love these. We pay good money for these. Just depends on nation, size, all that stuff. So, if you see an old jacket, especially they're always going to say, not always, a lot of them say the year. This was like obviously Vietnam era when we did some stuff over in Thailand. Very cool. Just a fun jacket. Now, a third category of military would be like camo, right? This is a super cool camo. What's so cool about it? It was never deployed. It was never actually used. It's a rare print. It's called Mitchell camo. You know it by the grape leaf. Personally, my favorite of all the American military camos that have ever been created, this one's my favorite. That and like Desert Storm chocolate chip. It's more than just a cookie, my friends. All right. So, what do we have here? New old stock, early 60s. They made this like Cuban Missile Crisis era. They were planning on doing something in the woods where they grow grapes apparently, but they never got deployed. A lot of these are sitting in back stock in military warehouses. All that to say, if you're looking at any kind of military heirloom clothing, it could be leather jackets. It could say G1 on it, A2, these different numbers on the tag I showed you earlier. It could be camo. It could be all kinds of different stuff. Pants, just olive green colored pants. We buy all that stuff. We'll help you kind of discern what you have too. Sometimes when old timers pass away, they have a lot of this stuff. And we've boughten it by the truckload before and paid a lot of money. So, if you have any questions or are coming across old military stuff, we buy more than just clothing, but we especially buy the clothing because this is just awesome. So, our number is 949-449-1255. Give us a call.
How it works
Call or text photos.
A real conversation about what you have, no pressure to sell.
We come to you.
We look at everything, at your pace. We know what we're seeing.
Cash offer, same visit.
A fair price on the spot, or a full estate sale run for you.
Common questions
Should I split the medals from the rest?
Please don’t. A named grouping, medals, photos, papers, and uniform together, is worth more historically and financially than the pieces sold separately. Bring us the whole footlocker as it is.
Do you buy weapons?
We do not buy firearms. Edged weapons, deactivated items, and militaria are evaluated case by case, lawfully. We are glad to point you to licensed specialists for anything outside what we handle.
What is my relative’s WWII jacket worth?
Painted A-2 flight jackets, named examples, and rare units can reach into the thousands; honest wear rarely hurts and often helps. Condition questions are exactly why we look in person before any number is discussed.
Is it legal to sell military items?
For uniforms, patches, insignia, and field gear, yes, and the belief otherwise costs families money. Medals are the exception: federal law at 18 U.S.C. 704 restricts trading in United States decorations, and the Medal of Honor can never be bought or sold. We explain that line plainly and we do not offer to buy US decorations.
Should I keep the grouping together?
Yes, and it is one of the few places where doing nothing adds real money. Uniform, insignia, photographs, logbooks, discharge papers, and letters from the same man are worth meaningfully more as a documented group than the same objects sold apart. Attribution to a named serviceman is the strongest multiplier in militaria.
Do you buy foreign and reproduction militaria?
Foreign yes, and it is often undervalued by generalist buyers. Reproductions we will identify honestly and tell you so, because a great deal of what circulates as wartime material was made for reenactors or the film trade. Knowing which is which before you sell protects you either way.
Who buys military medals near me?
Be careful with that search. Federal law at 18 U.S.C. 704 restricts trading in United States military decorations, and the Medal of Honor can never be bought or sold, so treat any buyer quoting freely on US medals with caution. We do not offer to buy US decorations; we explain what the law allows, at no charge, and the rest of the grouping, uniform, patches, photographs, and papers, has an entirely lawful market. Many families conclude the medals belong with the family or a museum.
Know what it’s worth before you sell.
Our field guides explain how the market actually prices these things. No fishing, no hype: real ranges and the details that move them.
One call. We’ll take it
from there.
(949) 449-12555.0 on Google · Free visit, no obligation · Cash the same visit
Mon-Sat 6 am-8 pm · Sun 8 am-5 pm
A real person answers seven days a week, weekends included. Photos sent today are usually answered the same day.
Or send your photos online Photos on your phone? Text them to (949) 449-1255
Also from California Vintage Buyers
- Grandpa’s uniform deserves a real answer, not a donation bin.→
- Sell vintage clothing in Orange County.→
- Estate buyers for Orange County. Call us first, while everything is still in the house.→
- Sell vintage Levi’s to people who know what they’re holding.→
- Fender was born down the road. Sell your guitar to people who never forgot that.→
- Inherited a Case knife collection? We buy it whole, from any state.→