Pair of M1's I need opinions on

[thefight]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I put a couple of bids on the first helmet but it it ended too high. I am not even going to bother with second one.

I havent had much luck locally even the local military shop hasn't had an original wwii helmet in the few months I have been going to it. Nothing in any of the nearby antique malls or shops. I have tried flea markets and antique shows with no luck either. I have seen a number of decaled and non decaled German helmets but never an American helmet. There is one local guy I talked to who has one, he was given it from a veteran of the war so he is reluctant to sell it. I suppose it will be even more exciting when I finally find one.

Once again I appreciate the help guys.

Alec

[GIZMO8Z]

Have you tried craigslist?

If you have some free time, you might want to check local yardsales. You never know what you'll find...

[thefight]

I frequent CL all the way from Los Angeles to New York. I usually go through there 2x a day, but all the American helmets I have found on there are post wwii even though many of the titles say otherwise. I have even posted a want ad. I haven't done much yardsale hunting but I have been wanting to but I am not the early bird type maybe it is time to give it a try.

Alec

[ObKrieger]

I guess it just depends on where you live. I am a passive M1 collector. I only pick them up when I come across one for a good price, and i have obtained about 10 or so WWII era ones in the past 2 years. Maybe you just need to take a road trip. lol

[GIZMO8Z]

Where do you find your M1s? I can only find German and Japanese lids!

[ObKrieger]

Local shops and estate sales lol. Tell you what, I'll find you cheap M1's and you find me cheap Stahlhelme and we will do some trading!

The only reason I have so many M1's is because I can't find as many German helmets that I can afford. lol

[GIZMO8Z]

Local shops and estate sales lol. Tell you what, I'll find you cheap M1's and you find me cheap Stahlhelme and we will do some trading!

The only reason I have so many M1's is because I can't find as many German helmets that I can afford. lol

Done deal!

[MySonsDad]

I've been watching fixed bales on eBay pretty close, over the past several months and for some reason, they've just shot up through the roof, for a complete lid. There is one right now that has jumped over $500 with a few days left to auction. I'm no expert, might be something significant about this particular lid, but I don't see it. Plenty have been selling for $250-$350. I have however seen several fixed bale shells go for cheep, good deal if someone is looking to piece one together I guess.

[thefight]

I think the complete WWII M1s that go up to and over $500 are usually the Hawley liners. I guess they are more rare, but I have not done any research on it so I can't say for sure.

I suppose I might go the route of piecing one together, but an all original one is still higher on my list.

Alec

[MySonsDad]

With all the unscrupulous folks that sell militaria, just to make a buck, I don't think I'd belive any original lid, uniform or gear, to be all original unless I could trace back the lineage of the group. It's just too easy anymore for someone to mark on a name and service number and call it the real deal. I also wonder what the odds are on a matched shell and liner even making it through the war w/o getting seperated at some point. I'm thinking there are far fewer actual original groupings around then are listed on Ebay on any given day.....