Fake M34 SS Blackie being sold by eMedals

[DougB]

Doug,

Thank you for the comments. As I mentioned, we are adamant not to sell fakes and to respect the collecting community. I will personally review the items you have mentioned. I do know the sources of many of these helmets, some of them being Canadian veterans local to our offices. Nonetheless, I will indeed give a second review and take appropriate action for both the seller and the buyer. Please feel free to contact me directly using my email address posted in the "About Us" section of our website. I will always listen to fellow collectors, because as we know, collecting militaria is a community experience.

Best,
Michael

Hi Michael,

The ones I mentioned the helmet may have been brought back by a veteran of some sort however there is no doubt they have been postwar altered to add either/or/and but not limited to; wire, camo paint, Croatian or tricolour decals or some/all of the above.

The best OFFENCE a dealer has to take money from a buyer is the vet bring back card, followed by the famous collector who owned it before, followed by the tried and true, "Its in a book so it must be real".

The M34 SS that was listed on your site is a classic example of this. It was also a "vet bring back", owned by many famous collectors before, and published in a book.

It doesn't matter where something came from or who owned it, what matters is if it is real.

Therefore the best DEFENCE a collector has to ensure his collection stays real at all times is diligent homework and careful critical analysis, not abdicating to the vet bring back faux provenance published in a book Joe Schmoe collector owned it so because of all these things---it must be real--- garbage that pervades collecting German helmets.

Once the darkened glasses of vet bring back, famous collectors, book published so it must be real commentary is removed collectors can then see clearly what is in front of them.

I sincerely hope that future listings will show all authentic items and buyers who purchased fake helmets are contacted for refunds as per your website's guarantee.

I will be pleased to post any fakes listed for the community to view, that are not for rapid correction.

Cheers!

Doug

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

I notice that many of the helmets in question on emedals have now been removed from the site , I guess it should at least be commended that Michael has taken quick action , lets hope that his "staff" quickly learn to spot the obvious fake as this sort of thing is no good for business or the collector who is sold a duffer! Leon.

[MD Helmets]

Leon and I must have been looking at the site at the same time. I was unable to find any of the bad helmets Doug referred to. That is a good thing, but I hope it's not a temporary thing. They have much homework to do on German helmets.

[schalburg]

Contrary to some of you in this forum have this SS helmet opened my eyes .
What apparently happened is :

1. A "unique" M34 SS helmet is bought, owned and sold by one of the most prominent person in this forum.

2. Same helmet is on two sides of the " Bible" of the SS helmets.

3. Same helmet is for sale by a rather famous militaria dealers . The helmet is described in their ad with: "An Extremely Rare Black M34 SS Helmet - This saught after Black SS helmet has been known as a " textbook "example of this type . It has appeared in the book ... "

4. Same helmet shows up in this forum in a post of number 1 .... ? where it is described as a forgery.

5. Same helmet removed by number 3 along with an apology in this forum.

6. No. 1 continues to criticize number 3 for their fake helmets.

7. No. 3 removes these helmets from his website .....

We could probably go on like this indefinitely - but the question I ask myself : who in the world can you trust when it comes to these SS helmets ?

It has often been written in this forum that it is knowledge that is the key to find a genuine SS helmet. This knowledge is said to be in this forum where you get to learn from the experienced collectors which decals are genuine but also which books you should have in order to acquire this knowledge. But how can I get this knowledge when the experienced collectors and dealers selling counterfeits and shows them in the books as 100% authentic?

Is it time to start questioning the prevailing truth of the helmets that are genuine or not, and try to find new persons and sources to gain the knowledge necessary to find a genuine SS helmet?

[Adrian Stevenson]

No one has all the answers.

ALL books contain mistakes and errors.

Knowledge evolves and new information comes to light all the time.

This thread I think is good as no one has tired to hide their mistakes and the right thing has been done by all parties.

Cheers, Ade.

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

Hi , I think you will find that Doug who originally owned this helmet many years ago and Kelly who wrote this particular book also many years ago , have been friends and experts for a long time. New found knowledge in this area on both parties has over the years led to a re-evaluation on this type of decal , that was considered correct 30 or 40 years ago. When studying the "standard" factory decals of the war years there are huge reserves of genuine decals to compare and learn from , but these early ones are much fewer in numbers. It is simply a lot of years of hard work and study by Doug and Kelly which has brought the truth into the light. As with anything though ,you are quite correct to question any item yourself and draw your own conclusions , I for one conclude that this is a faked SS helmet and appreciate that the likes of Doug and Kelly are decent enough to admit to past mistakes and pass on the best information available to the rest of us. Leon.

[schalburg]

3 years is not many years ago for me - and it worries me because the edition of Hicks book I have is an updated version, printed in 2010 ........

[Adrian Stevenson]

A book is virtually out of date as soon as it is printed. A sad fact of life.

Forums do allow new info to come to light quicker and mistakes can be corrected.

Cheers, Ade.

[Schwerpunkt]

Contrary to some of you in this forum have this SS helmet opened my eyes .
What apparently happened is :

1. A "unique" M34 SS helmet is bought, owned and sold by one of the most prominent person in this forum.

2. Same helmet is on two sides of the " Bible" of the SS helmets.

3. Same helmet is for sale by a rather famous militaria dealers . The helmet is described in their ad with: "An Extremely Rare Black M34 SS Helmet - This saught after Black SS helmet has been known as a " textbook "example of this type . It has appeared in the book ... "

4. Same helmet shows up in this forum in a post of number 1 .... ? where it is described as a forgery.

5. Same helmet removed by number 3 along with an apology in this forum.

6. No. 1 continues to criticize number 3 for their fake helmets.

7. No. 3 removes these helmets from his website .....

We could probably go on like this indefinitely - but the question I ask myself : who in the world can you trust when it comes to these SS helmets ?

It has often been written in this forum that it is knowledge that is the key to find a genuine SS helmet. This knowledge is said to be in this forum where you get to learn from the experienced collectors which decals are genuine but also which books you should have in order to acquire this knowledge. But how can I get this knowledge when the experienced collectors and dealers selling counterfeits and shows them in the books as 100% authentic?

Is it time to start questioning the prevailing truth of the helmets that are genuine or not, and try to find new persons and sources to gain the knowledge necessary to find a genuine SS helmet?

Being part of the community and being active in that community will get you all the answers you need , in this particular case Doug did his own homework and with the use of new techniques he was able to recognize this as a fake. The new technique being advanced digital magnification.
There's a lot to learn about helmets and the information is out there , the only thing required is that you invest your time in it and your money. You won't get anywhere with just reading topics and not getting a feel for original helmets. It's a process that takes a lot of time but you everyone with common sense can become an expert.
A very important part of this process is being able to recognize where the pit traps are , what are the helmet we know little of as a community. Avoid those till you can make your own case for or against them. And never trust just one person or book , never.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Sound advice.