Bannerman Auctions LLC

Francis Bannerman VI was a revolutionary figure who essentially founded the Army surplus industry, selling everything from Civil War buttons to cannons through his influential catalogs. For over a century, his firm and its dedicated customers were the primary force responsible for preserving the vast majority of U.S. Civil War artifacts now housed in modern collections and museums. This groundbreaking business created and served the collector demand that ultimately ensured this historical equipment survived. While Bannerman Auctions holds no formal affiliation with the original company, they are profoundly inspired by this grand tradition, aiming to follow in the footsteps of such giants by linking commerce with historical preservation. The modern iteration, Bannerman Auctions, emerged from a friendship forged on the set of Antiques Roadshow between military specialist Jeff Shrader and appraiser James Supp. Recognizing the growing need for market transparency and competitive pricing, Shrader (owner of Advance Guard Militaria) partnered with Supp to transition his successful retail operation into an auction platform. Their shared mission was to create an auction house that would allow large, valuable collections to realize their true worth through competitive bidding, drawing on Shrader's expertise in militaria and Supp's institutional knowledge of auction excellence. Together, they founded a boutique firm committed to both price transparency and the unwavering preservation of historical integrity.