My pre-WW2 Polish wz.31

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi Cenowski,

Look no further than the auction sale post just ahead of your post, sold last September. If I recall correctly this one was located outside Poland. There was also the ‘fake’ one discussed in another thread here (refinished original shell) that sold several days back for about $900.

As you know, auctions are difficult to predict, especially for the rarer items, but it’s a safe bet that a god original example with better than 80% salamandra and original liner and chin strap is likely to see $900 on the lower end.

Question for you: do you know the approximate current market value for a wz.31/50 in perfect unissued condition with the post war pattern liner?

Regards,
Tony

[Cenowski]

Answer: No idea, but will i end up crying when you tell me i will never be able to afford one?

I found a possible Wz.31 somewhere, however its not for auction its through a dealer, maybe when the time comes i will post up some pics to see if it is a valid Wz.31 or not.....

[A.J. Zawadzki]

I don’t think the wz.31/50’s price is up there yet, although there was one up for sale this past week for a Buy It Now of $1200. No surprise that it remained unsold. They are scarce, but not quite as valuable as the pre-war wz.31 for obvious reasons.

Looking forward to seeing pics of the wz.31 you found.

Regards,
Tony

[Cenowski]

I cant verify its authenticity however from my limited knowledge on it, it at least looks original and has the Salamandra look overall with no smoothed out patches. Little concerned that there is no pics of the inside factory markers.







Unfortunately i do not have the funds to buy any Wz.31 right now without my wife to be giving me a money lecture, the closest i have ever been to one is wearing someone elses at the Muzeum Obrony Wybrzeża (MOW) in the Hel peninsula

[Christopher B]

POLAND POLISH ARMY HELMET WZ31 FROM 1939 SALAMANDRA VERY RARE

hi

I was looking for the salamander ludwikow helmet for a long time and found one on the ebay
please let me know if is worth it ?

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi Christopher,

The helmet itself appears entirely genuine and complete, save the liner drawstring. For this price I'd expect one with less paint loss. Overall though, a decent surviving example.

Regards,
Tony

[fct2006]

Hello all,

In an effort to reach the minimum 15 posts to remove that “watermark” obscuring the complete viewing of photos on this site, and partially due to boredom on a Friday night . . . here are a few pics of my current wz.31 Polish helmet. I’ve owned several wz.31’s over the years in a slow upgrade progression until acquisition of this fine example a couple of years ago....

......This helmet was brought to the US by a returning GI who picked it up in Germany in ’45. It evidently resided in Germany as a souvenir of the September ’39 campaign. This one has survived in near perfect condition and appears as though it was picked up off the battlefield last week. Never altered or disassembled, original unmolested wz.31’s such as this one are few and far between. It was made in the Huta Ludwikow factory in Kielce and bears the ink stamp LUDWIKOW 49 36. 49 denotes the lot number with 36 indicating the 1936 year of manufacture.

Regards,
Tony

Hello Tony,
Outstanding the condition of this helmet, congratulations.
I'm also trying to find one of this for my collection, it will close my chapter of the most important WW2 helmets.
Not easy to find but I'm sure one day I'll be lucky.
Regards.
Filipe

[fct2006]

Hello Christopher,
Very nice helmet, you bought it ?
I was following this one on Allegro where it got sold for more then 600,00 euros.
I sent a message to the seller asking if he usually had this type of helmets for sale, and in answer he offered me this one for 800,00 euros, something that was surprising because it was sold ??? I asked that and didn't accept to buy.
Big surprised I find it on sale on ebay only 1 or 2 days later.
It seems the buyer on Allegro was related to the seller....
If you bought you did good, it's very nice original and complete.
Regards.
Filipe

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi Filipe, thank you. It’s scary to think that almost eight years has slipped by since I posted those photos.

Be extra careful when looking over allegro listed helmets. Many have been messed with in one way or another. Honest wz.31’s are in short supply, but remain patient and you will find a good one for your collection. And be sure to post photos here for review and comment before buying. We’re here to help.

Cheers,
Tony

[fct2006]

Hello again Tony,
Thanks for the kind words and always very usefull help and opinion.
I'm new on this forum but already several members gave me precious opinions and help.
You are 100% correct, we must stay allert because I have indeed seen a lot of fake and very messed WZ.31 helmets on Allegro, but I think I already know the "basics" to protect myself from a bad buy, anyway I'll always post here photos of what I may find, I like to receive more opinions like yours and this way make a safe buy without later regreats.
And nothing better then post now some photos of another WZ.31 helmet that showed up.
Honestly speaking I have several doubts, with the liner, the chinstrap, and the paint, they are diferent of what is used to see in this helmets dated 1937.
What do you think ?
If you have some time please see this post I have here at the Forum :

https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/world...helmet-592170/

I own this helmet that "screams" Polish, but til today neither me or any other forum members couldn't find exactly what this is, maybe a prototype ?
Best regards and thanks.

Filipe