M16 Austrian Stahlhelm - Need help confirming and pricing

[MCulver]

Hey all, I came across this Stahlhelm about a year ago and initially identified it as German, but now am starting to believe it may be Austrian due to the rivet placement and cloth chinstrap, as you can see the liner is in remarkable condition, with one of the cotton pad pouches still perfectly intact. I work in a US Army Museum so I've been preserving the leather as best I can, but verifying and pricing it has not been easy. Any input? Thanks in advance. Stahlhelm.zip

Sorry about the .zip format, the photos were too high res to fit.

[MAP]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry, I'm not one to open Zip files. Is there no way to reduce the res to fit?

In the meantime here is a link with an Austrian M16. You can see the cloth chinstrap on it.

New ww1 Austrian/German helmet

Now a question for our experts here? What is the official name of the Austrian helmet, M16 or M17? I see them called both.

Merry Christmas,

Michael

[MCulver]

Hey Map, thanks for the link. I've changed them into .gifs so the forum will let me post them but it reduced quality a little.

[MAP]

Thanks. Let's wait for some of the more qualified people to opine. Have you looked for any stamping on the inside? Underneath the chinstrap lugs near the skirt (maker mark / size) or on the dome (heat stamps)?

Regards,

Michael

[MCulver]

The only marking visible is a very faint "54" on the top of the dome. I would assume a size marker.

[MAP]

Austrian helmets are often found without stamps. I would think the 54 is not the size but the "heat lot" code. There should be a letter in front of it. These helmets generally came in sizes 64 and 66 (German versions sizes 60 to 68)

Here is a link I've used a few year ago when researching my WWII Austrian M17 Transitional. (BTW, my helmet does not have a maker mark either).

Halfway down it gives a list of makers and rolling mills (for the Heat Lot)

Alexander And Sons Restorations:

Encourage you to be patient. I'm sure others with more experience than me will be around soon.

Regards,

Michael

[Rossi]

Welcome to the Forum MCulver!

[MAP]

I noticed that this is posted in the wrong forum.

Should be here:

https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/imper...ustro-hungary/

Maybe the Mods can move it. Might get a better response.

No worries.

Michael

[MAP]

It's late and don't want to wrap any more Xmas gifts...so I'm back here for one last post.

I can't really tell from the pictures, but what is the color of the helmet? Green or a more brownish color. Austrian helmets were brown.

But from what little I can see from the pictures (sorry) this is an Austrian M17 helmet given the chin strap, what I assume to be brownish paint, the steel liner band and lack of maker marks.

Better pictures will help and happy to stand corrected from some of the others here.

Michael

[MCulver]

The helmet is a brownish color, but years of water and other damage has left it marked in many places.

I was identifying it as the 1916 model based on the rivets and bill (There might be a technical term for the "bill"). The 16 is less pronounced than the 17. Though I may be mistaken.

I'll put up some better pictures tomorrow.

Also, for the "54" marking, it's actually on top of the helmet, not on the inside, and there's clearly no other (nor were there) characters present. I'll take a photo of that as well.

Matt