American M1917. Just curious

**Alejovich** · 08-23-2018, 06:27 PM

I bought this helmet some 5 years ago on ebay at the beginning of my ever amateur collectioning period.
But this is not actually the issue.

The helmet is an American M1917 with correct heat stamps, etc. I like it. My only Brodie type shell by now.

What I sometimes question.. It is practically in mint condition, or better to say unissued. Well, there are surely signs of having years behind. Like slight scuff marks, small rust stains, the felt pad of the liner is bitten by bugs or time, I do not know. But it looks really unused.
Could it be true? Or may it be rather a product of somebody's hands?

I mean I know that M917 were produced at the end of the war and might never see the battles. But anyway I somehow cannot mentally match 1917 and unissued condition.

**aef1917** · 08-28-2018, 05:04 PM

It's still got bits of the packing paper stuck to the liner, so I'd say it's an unissued original helmet. If I were a betting man, I'd say the lot number was somewhere above 200.

**gel65** · 08-29-2018, 03:36 AM

Nice solid example, usually a majority of the time the leather chin straps are busted on these helmets

**Ethan** · 09-01-2018, 07:06 PM

Very nice example!
I would be very very excited if I could get my hands on a m1917 that is in that good of condition!
I don't have an M1917, I plan on starting to hunt for one soon, but I have other things on my ever growing list of militaria I want to purchase.

**Alejovich** · 09-03-2018, 11:11 AM

You are right, the lot number is ZC 281

**azshot** · 09-23-2018, 07:28 PM

I was told the sand paint was done during WWI by US forces in the field in Europe, to refurbish helmets. It looks like a sand in paint to me, but hard to tell.