Mid-Atlantic Military Antiques (and Firearms)

Silver Spring, MD 20902

Company Memberships

Firearms and Militaria

The majority of estate sale companies do not deal in firearms or ammunition. I have a Federal Firearms License (FFL) which allows me to legally purchase firearms from estates and individuals throughout the country. I will buy your firearms and do all of the proper paperwork for your peace of mind.

I work with trusted estate sale companies and can refer you to them for the rest of your estate. Read our testimonials tab above.

I have dealt with many families that turned in thousands of dollars in old firearms because they did not know any better. In one instance, a family turned in a $5,000 pistol that was manufactured in 1908 to be melted down. The pistol was a scarce military firearm that is highly collectible.

In another instance, a widow turned over an entire safe full of her husband's old guns because she just wanted them out of the house. Her husband was a responsible gun owner and she could have made thousands of dollars from the collectors who would have bought them. They would have been transferred to my record book that I am required to keep by the ATF and the new owners would have gone through the required State Police background checks to transfer the firearms into their name. The state police would have reviewed the transfer and they would no longer be registered to the estate but to the new owner.

Old firearms that veterans brought back from war or that current retirees collected in the 1960s through 1980s are a valuable part of history appreciated by collectors. The same is true for ammunition. Old guns sometimes use hard to find ammunition that has value. One lady showed me two crates of very old ammunition that she was going to turn in and I paid her several hundred dollars for them. I sold them to collectors who needed the odd calibers. Please keep us in mind for your militaria and firearms.

It'll be sunny (we hope)! Temp 2238.

Our Testimonials

Colonel Roger H. C. Donlon, MoH, U.S. Army Special Forces (Retired): Since 1995, when Tim Frank was a Sophomore at Catholic University of America, I have watched him mature and grow into an excellent historian. His intelligence, knowledge and professionalism are hard to match. Tim has been very successful in helping me organize and sort through my military collectibles and was able to sell some of them for a price which pleased both of us. I have named him as one of the Executors in my will as both my wife and I have the utmost trust and confidence in his ability. I highly recommend Tim to anyone, but especially if you are looking for an honest, hardworking person who will assure you get the best advice possible!Roger DonlonApril 2019

I am a retired Navy captain who, after completing a 30-year active duty Navy career, ran the 93-year old nonprofit Naval Historical Foundation at the Washington Navy Yard for 17 years. I've known Tim Frank for ten years since he came to work for me in our $7M project to construct a Cold War Gallery for the National Museum of the U.S. Navy at the Navy Yard. It was during that period that I became impressed with his knowledge and expertise in identifying key artifacts for the exhibit with the kind of provenance we needed to tell a compelling story. It was clear to me that he not only had that knowledge but he also really enjoyed working with the material culture of our nation's military forces, and demonstrated the proper reverence for the items that helped define America's success on the world stage. Since that period, as Tim has moved on to more challenging jobs, we have remained in touch and I have turned to him on numerous occasions to evaluate artifacts that had come into our Foundation's possession over the decades. He has helped us decide what needed to be donated to the Navy or other repository, and what was not needed by those archives and could properly be sold to benefit the rest of our collection. In addition, he has been a consultant to whom I have vectored numerous individuals with artifacts requiring rigorous evaluation to determine their historical and monetary value.

Todd CreekmanMarch 2019

Tim was instrumental in helping our family work with the Naval Historical Foundation to get hundreds of Navy Cruise Books into the hands of the Navy and appropriately preserved. We had consulted auction companies and other vendors claiming to understand military antiques and memorabilia, but never got any good information or direction. It wasn't until we were connected with Tim that I knew we were in good hands. I appreciated his expertise and knowledge about these historical books and documents, even his insight into their realistic value. If you have any military valuables, you first need to talk to Tim.Brian BroaddusMarch 2019

I am a retired CPA living in Rockville, MD. As is common for people in the financial services/consulting industry, friends and relatives often reach out to ask about handling their financial affairs and sometimes their estate. In my case, my wife’s uncle passed away and I was his named personal representative. He had a house full of furniture, clothing, china, silverware, political memorabilia, chotskies as well as a small amount of militaria. We heard about Tim from a friend of the family and he was gracious enough to come out to the house and review the contents with us. It was a tutorial on the history of our limited military related items. However, Tim went “above and beyond” what we had hoped for by reviewing and digging through the house with us and finding items of value that we had overlooked. He was able to connect us with other dealers that were interested in other items we had to offer. We are all a little smarter and better informed thanks to Tim. Overall, it was a great experience.Peter DispenzirieMarch 2019

My husband passed away leaving me with a large collection of militaria. I was at a loss as to how to dispose of it. A friend did some research and directed me to Tim Frank. Tim came to my home, assessed the collection and gave me the best advice I could have ever received. I found Tim to be very knowledgeable, honest, and personable and he treated the collection and myself with respect. I followed Tim’s advice and am confident I did what was best for the collection and my family. I highly recommend Tim Frank to anyone needing help valuing and disposing of military artifacts.Nancy P.December 2019

I called Tim Frank, on the recommendation of a fellow Professional Organizer, to come look at items in my client’s storage unit. He came and sorted through the items with enthusiasm, respect, and knowledge. Tim was very compassionate with my client and her loved one's military memorabilia patiently explaining the value of many of the items. In the end, he offered my client a fair and reasonable price. I highly recommend Tim of Mid-Atlantic Military Antiques. Martha Blumenthal, The Organized Sort, LLC:March 2019

When my father, who ended his military career as a Brigadier General, died in 2017, he left behind boxes and boxes of memorabilia from his 31 years in the Army — his service weapons, medals, uniforms, and his many awards and photos. I first connected with Tim Frank a few days before my father’s estate sale, when I heard he might be interested in buying my Dad’s World War II Army issue pistols. He bought them both. I was thrilled when Tim offered his expertise about other items in my father’s collection that might be of value. In the end, he bought my Dad’s dress uniforms, medals, insignia, and some of his books, plaques and papers. I was so impressed not only with Tim’s encyclopedic knowledge about military history — he even had done research about my father’s Army career, so he could tell me what to look for — but I was also pleased at how much respect he showed for my Dad’s service and keepsakes. It gives me great comfort to know that these items will be cared for by a knowledgeable historian who will record their significance, rather than just being packed away in a box again for future generations to puzzle over. Jill K.April 2019

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