See...I told you it had a story to tell...each time you pick it up it will tell you a little more...
See...I told you it had a story to tell...each time you pick it up it will tell you a little more...
"Please", Thank You" and proper manners appreciated
My greatest fear is that one day I will die and my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them
"Don't tell me these are investments if you never intend to sell anything" (Quote: Wife)
And now I understand why a lot of you folks have had to build shelves to house your helmets. I wonder how many start out like me, trying to just find that special "one" to fill the hole, only to never part with any as the next "one" shows up, followed by the "one" after that. There are good intentions to limit the purchases I'm sure, at least at first. But beyond that, it looks like it often plays out like your signature that says "Don't tell me these are investments if you never intend to sell anything". For example, if I grow attached to this one, that shiny excellent condition one that shows up down the road isn't realistically going to be funded by the sale of this one is it?
I'm not sure I fully understood the gravity of what I'm getting into here until now. It's not that my desire for a nicer helmet that drove this long thread of hot and cold will change, but whatever uniqueness and story this one tells will be harder to give up than the assessed value of the helmet itself. I'm starting to think there should be warning labels on this side of the collecting world. That sounds like a joke, but it's kind of true.
by MAP
I think 10 helmets is a good, safe, moderate number for the average collection otherwise you begin running into space/storage/display issues so unless you want to devote an entire room to helmets, best to pace yourself.
10? Wow, my wife would kill me. Then she'd sell the helmets for what I told her I paid for them.
With badges and medals, you're just collecting an example, so one over another is usually just a question of condition. Usually, there's not much to connect one of those with any particular person either. It seems from threads you guys have posted on your helmets, these share more in common with wehrpasses and soldbuchs, where there's something unique about each example that you won't find in any others. Named ones in particular, enhance that aspect. It makes for a more profound collectible, but the danger is I could buy wehrpasses and soldbuchs all day long if I had the resources.
Thanks Jim! I seem to be the only one who's seen this helmet that isn't feeling it yet. There must be something wrong with me. Though, I'm giving a lot of thought to using this one as an entry helmet, to sell and upgrade later. Everyone seems to think it's worth what I paid for it, so if it will sell for that down the road assuming no major market changes, I don't stand to lose anything and can try to enjoy this one in the mean time. If I can add another $1000 to the pool sometime next year, I bet I could find a really nice one for that price.
If I may change the subject on the condition of this helmet to something that's more a feature of it (no doubt a welcome change at this point), I shined a blacklight on the helmet to see what it would show, and the decals did something I did not expect. When you hold a blacklight on them, they take on a "glow in the dark" looking yellow/green tone. Here are some photos. You can see it more on the police decal. I thought it was kind of an interesting discovery, and wonder what they put in those decals to cause them to glow like that, or if it's a product of aging. Kind of cool eh?
Attachment 890282
Attachment 890283
The green is the lacquer that's over the decal that glows.
Black light was used a lot before 2005 but during internet discussions between collectors it became clear that it is not a conclusive tool to determine fake from Original. You can find Original unlacquered decals on helmets.
I still have my blackligt but haven't used it in years.
The tool to have now is a USB microscope , but it takes a lot of work to learn what to look at.
Here's an example of a 200x zoomed in image of an Original Heer decal.
I'm my worst enemy. I was just like you and everyone else. I originally said..."I just need one helmet from each of the main participants". Never understanding the impact once bitten by the bug. But I still find gaps or holes to fill and then you get into the "Type" issue:
1) I need an M35, M40, FJ38, M42 as well as the M16/17/18 transitional" or
2) I need one from each branch - Heer, SS, Luft, KM, FJ, Police, Fire" or
3) I need one from each ET, EF, SE, NS, Q (and then HKP, CLK and QLV)
Then you realize there are variations out there
1) I need a Camo. I have a two color, a "Normandy", and a WW1 camo but now I "need" that pink hue DAK.
2) I need a cloth camo covers. Just bought a Waffen SS Oak Leaf B (on lay-a-way) from that recent hoard find. But sure after I get that I will want Oak Leaf A or plane tree version.
3) I need Political: RAD, RLB, SA, etc...
Key word here is "need". It's self delusion. I really don't need any of them. It is an obsession I (we) have that is NOT helped by this forum (sorry guys...it's a true statement), seeing all the eye candy posted and learning about all the different variations...
Up till now I have not sold a helmet because I like each one I've purchased. A few, I could have waited but they are still decent lids. But one day I will if I ever upgrade. And if I do, as you note, it will cost me more...
So now I am at ~50 (~25 German) helmets and counting...There is always another out there that I don't have
And lets not get into medals, rifles, uniforms, daggers, side caps, visors......the list goes on.
"Please", Thank You" and proper manners appreciated
My greatest fear is that one day I will die and my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them
"Don't tell me these are investments if you never intend to sell anything" (Quote: Wife)
I'm my worst enemy. I was just like you and everyone else. I originally said..."I just need one helmet from each of the main participants". Never understanding the impact once bitten by the bug. But I still find gaps or holes to fill and then you get into the "Type" issue:
1) I need an M35, M40, FJ38, M42 as well as the M16/17/18 transitional" or
2) I need one from each branch - Heer, SS, Luft, KM, FJ, Police, Fire" or
3) I need one from each ET, EF, SE, NS, Q (and then HKP, CLK and QLV)
Then you realize there are variations out there
1) I need a Camo. I have a two color, a "Normandy", and a WW1 camo but now I "need" that pink hue DAK.
2) I need a cloth camo covers. Just bought a Waffen SS Oak Leaf B (on lay-a-way) from that recent hoard find. But sure after I get that I will want Oak Leaf A or plane tree version.
3) I need Political: RAD, RLB, SA, etc...
Key word here is "need". It's self delusion. I really don't need any of them. It is an obsession I (we) have that is NOT helped by this forum (sorry guys...it's a true statement), seeing all the eye candy posted and learning about all the different variations...
Up till now I have not sold a helmet because I like each one I've purchased. A few, I could have waited but they are still decent lids. But one day I will if I ever upgrade. And if I do, as you note, it will cost me more...
So now I am at ~50 (~25 German) helmets and counting...There is always another out there that I don't have
And lets not get into medals, rifles, uniforms, daggers, side caps, visors......the list goes on.
First off; I like this Polizei and think you got a nice deal, a little rust doesn't really detract in my opinion, just adds to its character by showing some age and actual use. Congrats!
Secondly; Yes, it truly is an obsession. I think I started out wanting just a single nice one as well but then I suddenly found myself wanting just one more, then another and so on... I've sold off 4 or 5 now, mainly to fund one single bigger helmet purchase, and I'm now down to 12... still missing a lot of variations though... yes, it is a disease---an enjoyable ailment though
And, of course, there's many other areas within the ww2 collecting field to wander into... money gets tight real fast. Sometimes I feel guilty for spending so much on old "stuff" but, then again, I often feel even worse when actually selling something off
Just told Tony I'm good with keeping it, and thanks for his willingness to work with me. Classy fellow TonyM.
It's not 100% what I was wanting, but realigning expectations towards a good starter helmet, I've been too critical of it. If the paint were excellent on it, there's really not much else a person could complain about, and it would have quite likely been a lot more expensive. And, I have a real example to compare to now, and know more about what I'm looking for, so the next one will be a lot easier to spot. Besides, how many of these do you see with 3 names in it? I'll have to try and find out what conditions would cause helmets to move around. I speculate often it may have been a police force member being called into the army or SS, and his helmet moving to another recruit, or perhaps it may have had a dead man in it at some point. Seems like that might be kind of creepy for the next guy though, so maybe they didn't do that.
"Shultz? He's dead. Just scratch his name out and write in yours."
"Uh........okay."
Last edited by avenger; 10-09-2015 at 01:33 AM.
Since I kept the helmet, I thought it would be good to add some photos of the inside/liner details I'm seeing on a lot of other helmet threads.
An interesting thing I noticed, the pins that hold the liner in are not all the same. The front two look aluminum and are flatter, and the rear is aged and rounder. I actually found a date on the rear pin too, which is 1941. I can't see anything on the front two pins, but they're seated tighter. It's the only thing I'm finding on the helmet that isn't looking 1940...
Prong on rear pin:
Last edited by avenger; 10-13-2015 at 06:54 PM.
Similar Threads
Posting Permissions
.
Bookmarks