an intresting lid?

[Haydon]

just thought id quickly post these, its due to fall under the hammer in june, guide price £200-300

[CMc]

That's quite interesting, I'd guess it was decorated by an American soldier to mark the occasion of Mussolini's execution. I say American because the places referenced on the helmet (Salerno, Naples, Cassino, Anzio, Rome and Florence (?) were all fought at by American troops. That and the olive drap repaint, and the style of humour in the "Benito Finito!" slogan on the front seem to suggest an American author to me.

[ian]

it looks period to me and i think worth a chance at $300 it does not ring any alarm bels at all , if anything mabe lack of chips and bangs ,but at that price at the very least you get an original m42 lid in excelent condition. cheers ian

[Jerry B]

I tend to be wary of items like this, but I will say the quality of the art work is very good and even if modern might be worth it.

Jerry

[Zeller]

I am always very suspicious with such artworks....but maybe it's just me.We have in the country good artists who scam people decorating helmets with appealing writings, etc etc.
A final consideration ... this is also a bad taste item: Mussolini was shot in the back, brought to a square where people who followed him until the day before turned against him, hit his corpse, pissed and spat on him. Then they finally hang him upside down, with his top men and his lady. Mussolini's head was 5 times bigger than normal due to the kicks he got post mortem. This is savage behaviour not something to celebrate. In those days also a Gold Medal Holder was murdered together with a priest. His name was Carlo Borsani, he lost the sight during the war and gained a Gold medal for his heroism. He never committed any war crime, but still he was taken by the partisans from his home and in front of his wife and his son, murdered and brought around in a garbage trailer. He was 28 years old. There was a trial after the war but then they gave the amnisty for such acts...

[Walkwolf]

Thought it was SALERNO Italy, not 'SALENO' ! ? !

Whoever painted it couldn't spell, which leads me to think this one
was done more recently, possibly by the same artist as the
'Red Bull' German helmet posted a week or two ago.......