While some people collect antiques for fun, others turn them into big-time businesses.

Junior Tim Gaughan has been collecting war memorabilia since he was eight years old and began selling it internationally five years ago.

Since 2010, VanDerGaughan Militaria has sold close to 1,000 authentic war antiques, ranging from the ancient Rome period up to the Vietnam War era. Gaughan said his passion for history and his family’s military background drove him to launch the website.

“My uncle was a Green Beret, my dad was in the Navy, my grandpa was in the Army, and before my family came to America in the 1800s, my family was in the Prussian military,” Gaughan said.

Gaughan said he gets his inventory from connections in Europe, various antique shops and other online outlets. Although Gaughan’s items are known for their seal of authenticity, entrepreneurship professor Alec Johnson said Gaughan proved his entrepreneurial talent in the classroom.

“Tim’s skillset (is) a skillset that I see in a lot of successful entrepreneurs—it’s not magic. He has work ethic and passion, so that’s the essential ingredient,” Johnson said. “The willingness to work hard and to sort of connect with how much fun it is when you have success—that you get to create something of your own and then see it thrive and grow.”

Junior Riley Reinhart has purchased from VanDerGaughan Militaria. He said the memorabilia doesn’t come cheap, but it holds high historical value.

“I’ve bought some antiques … some bullets from Gettysburg and a couple Civil War antiques from draft papers from Wisconsin soldiers from the Civil War era,” Reinhart said. “(It cost) $100. So, reasonable for the amount of history that they hold.”

Gaughan said some of the items might reflect the radical views of some of World War II’s leaders, but he sells the items to preserve history.

“We do have things that come from World War II and Germany that some may not consider politically correct, and this business in no way glorifies or promotes that idea or anything along those lines,” Gaughan said. “We encourage the preservation of history and the collection of military artifacts in a respectful manner.”

Alison Bengtson can be reached at Beng4632@stthomas.edu.