Normandy helmet legit?

[edelweiss123]

Metal that is not preserved or treated in any way(oil, lacquer...) will continue to rust.

This helmet is dry - it has not been preserved or treated at all.
...helmet was found in 2012.

Regards
Replace

As has previously been said, only base it on the item you have in front of you. Forget the story and focus on the item in your hands. The rust is too new. Its tempting to believe the stories that are told with these items, however they are often told by the dealers for one purpose...To make you believe the item is the real deal so you buy it.

[Sir Payne]

If the seller agrees to let you examine it for free, than that is very good service indeed. So far my opinion is the same on this one. But I'd like to wait and hear from somebody more experienced

[edelweiss123]

Ive just looked at some of his other items and they all have a "story" and not many of his items appear to come from a "humble" background so to speak. Ive had no experience with the seller, and although the examine and return service is a very good thing to offer, i dont like how he "glorifies" most items.

[Replace]

As has previously been said, only base it on the item you have in front of you. Forget the story and focus on the item in your hands. The rust is too new. Its tempting to believe the stories that are told with these items, however they are often told by the dealers for one purpose...To make you believe the item is the real deal so you buy it.

Yes, I agree with you.

But, I think we all have connections/buddies that we trust.

Just because things are rare - they are not necessarily fake.

Regards
Replace

[edelweiss123]

Yes, I agree with you.

But, I think we all have connections/buddies that we trust.

Just because things are rare - they are not necessarily fake.

Regards
Replace

Im Purely basing it on the item shown. Not the rarity, not the story. Im sure someone with more authority on this subject will chip in at some point. But it doesnt sit right with me. I wouldn't buy it

[Replace]

Ive just looked at some of his other items and they all have a "story" and not many of his items appear to come from a "humble" background so to speak. Ive had no experience with the seller, and although the examine and return service is a very good thing to offer, i dont like how he "glorifies" most items.

All items have a story - even items that are original and not fake.

[Jerry B]

Can you show the underside where the wire folds over the rim?

[slados28]

Being from a country that was occupied myself, just like you, I have no real problem believing direct "woodwork" find stories when picking up items here, the same country/place in which these items were originally left behind by their original owners... dealer stories are obviously worthy of heavier scrutiny no matter where you are though.

With this in mind, a bit off-topic here, I do find the very rigid and, often, indiscriminate disregarding of background stories as adhered to by collectors from countries that had no direct presence of Nazi-Germany to be curious. Of course, I do understand the original thought behind the "buy the item, not the story" mantra... I do, however, feel that some take it way too far and as meaning "no stories are to be believed, ever"... which is of course incorrect.
It should all be a case by case sort of thing, of course... no one item is 100% identical to any other in either history or appearance.
I'm just saying that although we, as collectors and people in general, are ALL now decades removed from the actual events some of you are also continents and often very long implicit chains of events removed (with regards to period items) from the actual places these items were dropped/discarded by German soldiers/the like -- something which understandably can lead to a heghtened level of distrust for background stories. It's sometimes a bit misapplied when dealing with items found "closer to the source" though..

That aside, sorry about the lightly off topic rant, I'm with the others on the actual item here. To me it looks like it's got two separate layers of rust, so to speak; One is in the natural pitting caused by decades of weather exposure and natural wear --- the other is the artificial looking light and fresh orange layer of rust on top which seems added recently and after the addition of the wire to feign originality if examined. In other words, I don't see the natural progression that imo should be present between these layers of rust... looks very artificial to me. Your call of course -- I just don't like it at all. My opinon

[edelweiss123]

Being from a country that was occupied myself, just like you, I have no real problem believing direct "woodwork" find stories when picking up items here, the same country/place in which these items were originally left behind by their original owners... dealer stories are obviously worthy of heavier scrutiny no matter where you are though.

With this in mind, a bit off-topic here, I do find the very rigid and, often, indiscriminate disregarding of background stories as adhered to by collectors from countries that had no direct presence of Nazi-Germany to be curious. Of course, I do understand the original thought behind the "buy the item, not the story" mantra... I do, however, feel that some take it way too far and as meaning "no stories are to be believed, ever"... which is of course incorrect.
It should all be a case by case sort of thing, of course... no one item is 100% identical to any other in either history or appearance.
I'm just saying that although we, as collectors and people in general, are ALL now decades removed from the actual events some of you are also continents and often very long implicit chains of events removed (with regards to period items) from the actual places these items were dropped/discarded by German soldiers/the like -- something which understandably can lead to a heghtened level of distrust for background stories. It's sometimes a bit misapplied when dealing with items found "closer to the source" though..

That aside, sorry about the lightly off topic rant, I'm with the others on the actual item here. To me it looks like it's got two separate layers of rust, so to speak; One is in the natural pitting caused by decades of weather exposure and natural wear --- the other is the artificial looking light and fresh orange layer of rust on top which seems added recently and after the addition of the wire to feign originality if examined. In other words, I don't see the natural progression that imo should be present between these layers of rust... looks very artificial to me. Your call of course -- I just don't like it at all. My opinon

Not slating the stories, ever item owned has a story to tell. All i was saying, is with all the evidence taken into consideration, and the fact that nearly every item this person is selling has a very exciting story behind it, i find it hard to believe with this one. The helmet may indeed have been found in 2012, but the wire is not original to the helmet in my opinion, nor is the aging.

[slados28]

Yes, this is what I thought would happen... I should have been more clear on this; I was not aiming at anyone in this thread or on this board, this was just me raving on about an observation of mine in general, based on things I've read on multiple threads and forums all over the internet. I also agree 100% that no story, true or false, is needed with this one... imho (always an important bit ).