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Posted
the ironic thing about this coming up now is that on monday this week I recieved through the post a us para helmet that I bought via another forum I am on

 

Front seam swivel bail shell

Firestone liner

para A frame straps

leather chin cup

incorrect standard stap(no extensions with press studs)

identical unit markings to the one in the auction

 

 

 

but one major difference

 

 

£ 45.00 plus £5 post

 

perhaps I should enter it in the next German auction

Nigel

 

That's a bargain, well done.

Any pics?

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Posted
What was it a picture of? The most expensive postcard that i have seen was of a WW1 Ambulance which went for over £600.

 

I was collecting military ship cards. I say was as I got a cupboard full of them, but spend more time on car tinkering lately.

 

RPPC (Real Picture Post Cards) can go for big bucks as typically there is only one. The highest I have seen was a RPPC of the Titanic leaving port which was well over 10k quid. But I guess does have one reason as no Titanic cards were even sent, for obvious reasons.

 

I need to have a dig through the slush box as I know there are mil cards in there, maybe with some vehicles. Ships were easy as can normally find their history fairly quickly

Posted
What was it a picture of?

 

Soldiers of the Irish Free State posing with members of the Garda Siochana & RUC on their mutual border. All look fairly convivial, I expect some members of those two police forces had served together in the RIC pre-1922.

 

Some months back I saw a RIC helmet for £2,750.

 

There is someone on ebay selling lots of stuff as "B Specials USC" but much of it isn't, it is RUC. I asked about the size of one of the helmets & pointed out it was actually RUC. The answer came back "possible", so I still know what size it is. Someone has now told him it is a motorcyclist's helmet & was made after the USC were disbanded. So there is a lot of nonsense out there. If he had told me the size or measured it I might have bid, although I do have 6 of them already.:-D

Posted
Yup one born every minute

 

I've got the original copy of the bible signed by Jesus and God... wonder if he wants to buy that?

 

I have Adolf Hitlers other Goolie.....Honest Guv, of course it's genuine!

Do you think the German Auctioneers would be interested?.....:rofl:

Posted
Late war Westinghouse jumpliners had them fixed seperately.

All earlier ones were riveted under the webbing.

 

That is news to me - learning all the time here.

I thought all wartime production were riveted under the 'A' Frames.

 

Also interested to hear/learn more about the lot no, (I assume you refer to the heat stamp) you are the first person I heard of to figure out how to date an M1 fom that,

 

Regards Mark.

Posted (edited)
That is news to me - learning all the time here.

I thought all wartime production were riveted under the 'A' Frames.

 

Also interested to hear/learn more about the lot no, (I assume you refer to the heat stamp) you are the first person I heard of to figure out how to date an M1 fom that,

 

Regards Mark.

 

Hi Mark, thanks for the comment.

A-frames seperately riveted. I can't find it in my books yet, so may be post war. I'll do some more digging...

OK, think I got my idea from this site, although it doesn't state any dates.

http://www.101st-airborne.net/binnenframesetreenactment.htm

In the "helmets of the eto" book it says they are post war.

(Even I am learning here...).

 

About the heat stamp and dating.

I can't take credit, in 1 of the new helmet books is a chart with stamps and dates so you can estimate its built date.

 

Also by comparing original d-bales heat stamps you can get a idea of the nr.s involved.

The d-bales weren't produced anymore way before the swivel bales came, so if you have a d-bale with a nr. in say 800/900 its no good...

 

Fixed/swivel bales.

It looks like there is a transitional period. I have swivels with lower nrs. then some of my fixed ones. Guess they just took whatever manganese plate was at hand without them being in numerical order.

Also were a lot of fixed bales converted to swivels, confusing the matter even more...

 

To totally confuse you I have a helmet that started as a fixed bale, converted to a swivel bale and then to a 3-bale! (3-bale, Israely. Bales moved a bit and a 3rd bale added at the rear).

Edited by Enigma
Extra info
Posted (edited)

Thanks for the additional information, Enigma.

 

Can you clarify this business about the D bales being stainless. All my fixed bales (about 15) have stainless bales, my swivels are about 25% stainless.

 

The only D bale I have is a semi relic, and has steel bale - i assumed it was a fake/repro, because the bale was not Stainless.

 

Hopefully you will be able to help me understand a little more about the US M1 helmets I have.

 

Regards Mark.

 

P.S. Hopefully you will be able to help with the German stuff too :-D

 

1altered.jpg

Edited by mark m uk
Posted

Hi Mark

Don't know much about German helmets although I'd like to get my hands on your stash...Ashley knows german helmets I think.

I did spot a WW1 model in the heap.

 

Fixed bales were indeed stainless steel but d-bales were just steel which rusted, also confirmed by the books.Relic d-bales have rusted bales.

So yours might be ok.

What is its lot/heat nr?

Got some pics?

 

Swivels come in stainless and rusting as mentioned by you. Sometimes 1 helmet has a stainless and a steel bale.

 

Hope it helps.

Posted (edited)
The reason the helmet made so much is the 'I must have it' syndrome.

 

Of course, if you do that often enough you end up with a pile like Marks...:-D

 

Tell me about it, that's why I have about 100 WW2 US helmets...

 

(In my defense, I didn't pay silly money for them)

 

 

Here a pic of a lot of post war Dutch helmets I bought some years ago...

 

Helmen004Small-1.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by Enigma
Posted

From what i can see.......

5 M16 -M17, the helmet front left is a M16,

3 M35/40 With lufty eagles i.e. centre front ,

at least 2 armys (one with apple green {early} finish,

some may have PW[noewegian ]liners judging by the colours but could be just well used.

A close up of the chin straps would be usefull

 

Ashley

 

 

 

 

 

 

1altered.jpg

Posted

:-D..........Yep Ashley, you certainly know your stuff - Enigma wrote that you were the resident German helmet expert.

 

I'll show you mine, if you show me yours :-D

 

regards Mark.

Posted

There must have been other interested parties for the bidding to have been pushed so high, may turn out to be a sound investment if the new owner puts it back on the market some time in the future with the paperwork from the auction to add to the helmets "provenance".

 

Mick

Posted
There must have been other interested parties for the bidding to have been pushed so high, may turn out to be a sound investment if the new owner puts it back on the market some time in the future with the paperwork from the auction to add to the helmets "provenance".

 

Mick

 

A very good point - this is exactly how new levels of monitary value for all this old crap are achieved.

 

That para helmet, is no more useless than a deactivated weapon, Hitlers errant testicle, a finely restored Sherman, Eva Brauns undies, a lancaster bomber or the Ark Royal.

 

None of the above have any real value above scrap - so the amount of money that change hands for is irrelevent anyway.

 

Strange isn't it. We have all heard that rather smug reply to the eternal question of "what do you think this is worth?" People that have no idea, are not prepared to go on record with an opinion, cant resist answering in the rather obvious and well worn phrase "its worth whatever anyone is prepared to pay for it"

 

So here is the question - "what is an unoriginal us WW2 parahelmet worth?"..............and the reply could now legitemately be "about £55,000"

Posted

I should use it as a selling point for my restored WW2 helmets.

 

"real WW2 helmet, rstored and marked, 550 GBP for a steel shell and postwar liner. That's only 1% the price of a real one..."

 

So who wants one? :-D

Posted
I should use it as a selling point for my restored WW2 helmets.

 

"real WW2 helmet, rstored and marked, 550 GBP for a steel shell and postwar liner. That's only 1% the price of a real one..."

 

So who wants one? :-D

 

Yep ! 1%, Y'see the facts are the facts - statistics help sell anything.

 

Problem is 97.5% of people interviewed said they would tell lies during a survey for statistical research. :???

Posted (edited)
I may have to undercut you on that,I only want £549.99 for mine

Nigel

 

Lets start a Kartel then.:-D

 

OK, cartel then?

Or cartell?

Edited by Enigma
Apparently I made a mistake. Sorry for being tri-lingual...

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