A primal drive of humanity is collecting. Unlike other primal drives that have withered over time, it is still embedded in every person.
It is still practiced today in various forms. Private collections, in particular, play a significant role in representing cultural and historical contexts.

Content and Overview
 Collecting weapons – Legal regulations regarding weapons
o Collecting weapons systematically
o Examples of a culturally and historically significant weapon collection:
o Expert opinions for submission when applying for a weapon collection

Preservers of cultural goods are also collectors of weapons and ammunition. Collectors view weapons and ammunition primarily as technical-historical testimonies and only secondarily, in connection with their collecting activity, as objects for shooting.
Weapon and ammunition collectors cover areas such as "culture," "history," and "research." They document this through specialized articles, books, lectures, and exhibitions. In addition to weapons or ammunition, collectors are often particularly interested in the associated technical solutions and the ethical-moral circumstances documented by them.
For the collector, it is not only the collection itself that is of interest, but also the historical era it represents, the state of technology, or the political development.
 

Collecting Weapons – Legal Regulations Regarding Weapons

The general requirements for weapons and ammunition permits under §§ 4 to 8 of the Weapons Act also apply to collectors: This includes reliability, suitability, minimum age, expertise, and need.
 

The proof of need (§ 8 Weapons Act) is established when, in relation to public safety or order:
1. particularly recognized personal or economic interests, especially as ... a weapon or ammunition collector, ... and
2. the suitability and necessity of the weapons or ammunition for the requested purpose are credibly demonstrated.
For the acquisition and possession of firearms or ammunition by weapon or ammunition collectors, § 17 Weapons Act specifies:
(1) A need for the acquisition and possession of firearms or ammunition is recognized for individuals who credibly demonstrate that they need firearms or ammunition for a culturally and historically significant collection (weapon collectors, ammunition collectors); a scientifically and technically significant collection is also considered culturally and historically significant.
(2) The permit for the acquisition of firearms or ammunition is usually granted indefinitely. It may be subject to the condition that the authority is provided with a report on the inventory of firearms at certain intervals.
(3) The permit for the acquisition and possession of firearms or ammunition is also granted to an heir, legatee, or beneficiary (acquirer due to an inheritance) who continues an existing collection of the deceased in the sense of paragraph 1.

The characteristic of a collection is not fulfilled merely by the accumulation of weapons or ammunition. An indefinite, only global collection goal is also insufficient. A specific thematization and corresponding systematization are required, which creates an ordered whole from the individual pieces. 

Collecting Weapons Systematically

According to this legal provision, weapon collectors are individuals who want to establish a culturally and historically significant weapon collection or expand and complete an existing collection. 

Collection by manufacturer and weapon type, here: Semi-automatic pistols from Beretta.
Weapon collections in the sense of the legislator are a multitude of weapons that have been or are to be brought together for historical, scientific, or technical interests.

A collection must represent more than the sum of its individual components. It must be established according to an individual systematization. A collection has cultural-historical significance if it possesses "historical-cultural expressiveness," meaning it contains a non-negligible contribution to the documentation of human creation. 

The required thematization and systematization of the collection items must ensure that the gathered objects are marked as a collection. A scientifically and technically significant collection can also receive the designation "culturally and historically significant."
 

Examples of a Culturally and Historically Significant Weapon Collection:

• Long and short firearms from J.G. Landmann Hunting and Sporting Arms Manufacturing and Landmann Waffenfabrik GmbH
• Short and long firearms from Carl Walther Zella-Mehlis / Ulm (Danube)
• Long and short firearms from Mauser / Oberndorf
  Regulated long and short firearms used in German armies and police formations from 1871 to 1945
• Short and long firearms from Heckler & Koch