M42 Medic Helmet on ebay. Genuine?

[Matt L]

Gee I thought I was a member when I registered..I even made a donation the day after I registered as I like this site so much!

Thank you for that info

Dean

You were and still are- it's simply a field that has to be filled with something indicating if someone is a member, moderator or administrator.

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Hi, i didnt like the medic cross and the liner, it looked to new, but thats just me.
Best regards
Nuno

I've been in touch with the seller of this helmet, and he tells me that there appears to be the outline of a smaller cross under the paint. I told him his helmet was the subject of much debate on here. He says that he pays no attention to people on websites any more as he had a Waffen SS deaths head badge for sale once which he had got off a veteran he had known for a long time. Several people supposedly clued up in these things told him it was a fake because 'this wasn't right' or other reasons. It later sold for £200 a few years ago.

There is no substitute for actually handling items, a photograph can prove to be very misleading either way! Websites such as this can be invaluable when appraising items. But I wouldn't mind betting that some collectors have been told that their prized posession is a fake when it has actually been genuine! There are people out there who are experts in their field, and then there are those who just think they are. There is a whole world of difference between the two. I don't claim to be either of these two.

Harry.

[Schwerpunkt]

I've been in touch with the seller of this helmet, and he tells me that there appears to be the outline of a smaller cross under the paint. I told him his helmet was the subject of much debate on here. He says that he pays no attention to people on websites any more as he had a Waffen SS deaths head badge for sale once which he had got off a veteran he had known for a long time. Several people supposedly clued up in these things told him it was a fake because 'this wasn't right' or other reasons. It later sold for £200 a few years ago.

There is no substitute for actually handling items, a photograph can prove to be very misleading either way! Websites such as this can be invaluable when appraising items. But I wouldn't mind betting that some collectors have been told that their prized posession is a fake when it has actually been genuine! There are people out there who are experts in their field, and then there are those who just think they are. There is a whole world of difference between the two. I don't claim to be either of these two.

Harry.

Harry , those that say you can't authenticate an item from a photo are usually those that have crap to sell and refuse to provide decent photos. Their only hope is that they can dissuade people from posting their photos on forums.
An important lesson is to just avoid those people.
Good photos are enough to make an evaluation. You cannot hide important details from the camera eye.

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Harry , those that say you can't authenticate an item from a photo are usually those that have crap to sell and refuse to provide decent photos. Their only hope is that they can dissuade people from posting their photos on forums.
An important lesson is to just avoid those people.
Good photos are enough to make an evaluation. You cannot hide important details from the camera eye.

When I was in my youth, the only German helmets (and uniforms) you saw were without doubt genuine. My first helmet - an M35 S/D came off a shelf at Woodford airfield. I sold it a year later to a dealer for the equivalent of £1.75p. I don't bother with German militaria now due to the ammount of fake stuff knocking about. Some of it is so good its scary. I know of dealers at arms-fairs who have told collectors trying to sell something that what they have is a clever fake, and have then bought it off them for peanuts - knowing full well that it was indeed genuine! How times have changed since I used to help out in a militaria shop over 40 years ago.

[Matt L]

And 'got it from a veteran' isn't necessarily meaningful- a guy may claim quite truthfully and actually recall that he brought something back from the war but really got it later and forgot or is otherwise mistaken about the matter and, not being anything near an expert, has a fake unknowingly- I've seen this happen; my local army militia unit has a few FAKE breast eagles and other pieces in their little museum donated by WWII vets who supposedly brought them back but clearly must have acquired them later and nobody has any idea because they're 'vet bringbacks' to them...

[Tom Bennett]

The real ones have to be out there lets face it.
Whether the experts like it or not its only an opinion and at the end of the day its your desicion.None of us served in WWII although somtimes you may think otherwise.Best of luck with it

Tom

[jagdhorn]

I am more knowledgable about WW1 German medics, I have a lot of postcards of them, and it is very rare to see one in a helmet with the red cross on it, not saying none had them, but they are rare and far between.
But in the WW2 German helmets that I see for sale, there are lots of medically marked helmets, very white, large red crosses. I have not spent lots of time looking, but I have not seen (if my memory is right) lots of marked Red cross, white helmets. In fact, I don't recall any in the photos sections of my WW2 books. I have seen reenactors wearing white bid/possy like things and these well marked type helmets, but while that may make them safer and more medical, in real war, I would not be too happy to have large white and red marked troops around my position, since it pretty well ruins our camo discipline! Also, I am not sure I would like it as a medic, since anything that stands out tends (in my opinion) to draw fire. Geneva convention or not!
So, my question- is it a fair assumption to highy doubt all these well marked, super noticable helmets' authenticity, and to assume they are fake unless otherwise proved?
Or am I just a skeptic
Jagdhorn

[Danmark]

Guys, are you all noticing the slowly ascending prices for ground dug helmets?
And after such spirited discussions as in this thread, one can see why!
Yes, I know they can fake a relic too - but at least you get a fighting chance of it being 'ridgy didge'
Dan

[Isle of Wighter]

I've noticed Dan! And I suspect that this rising price trend for relics will drive the fakers to start improving their techniques for faking them! It's soon going to be worth all the effort to prematurely age a helmet.

[jimpy]

.................But in the WW2 German helmets that I see for sale, there are lots of medically marked helmets, very white, large red crosses. I have not spent lots of time looking, but I have not seen (if my memory is right) lots of marked Red cross, white helmets. In fact, I don't recall any in the photos sections of my WW2 books. I have seen reenactors wearing white bid/possy like things and these well marked type helmets, but while that may make them safer and more medical, in real war, I would not be too happy to have large white and red marked troops around my position, since it pretty well ruins our camo discipline! Also, I am not sure I would like it as a medic, since anything that stands out tends (in my opinion) to draw fire. Geneva convention or not!
So, my question- is it a fair assumption to highy doubt all these well marked, super noticable helmets' authenticity, and to assume they are fake unless otherwise proved?
Or am I just a skeptic
Jagdhorn

The problem is, is that there ARE wartime photos of medics with oversize markings either on helmets and or wearing bibs etc with prominent Red Cross markings on.