What do helmets actually say?

[4md]

I want as many original Third Reich period helmets as possible, with as little post war tampering as possible.
I agree that just because a helmet is battle worn, or relic, or covered in scratches doesnt make it more significant or historically correct. After all some of that damage may have come from the battlefield in the back yard at mums.


regards Paul

[Paul D]

"I like the top conditioned helmets and "combat" examples equally, both carry historical significance."

To coin Doug's comment above i totally concur , helmet collecting is as simple as that with personal preference thrown into the mix !!

[Schwerpunkt]

I know a lot of helmet collectors who responded in this topic and it seems we are all on the same page. A true helmet collector loves them all without discrimination but collects based on his personal taste. But taste should not be the basis for a post. You don't need to comment on everything , just on what interests you.

[KradSpam]

Nice thread this one. There is a bit of a duality in the tales they have to tell I think, the individual story and the place where that particular lid fits into the big picture, regarding development or conditions in the Reich. Transitionals speak a great deal on the latter point, being relatively non-standard and using whatever is available, and even more so for smaller and less well supplied groups such as the SS. Early on at least, that is. At the other end of the scale a rough-as-toast April '45 produced M42 can tell as much a tale as anything else.

These two M35's are a nice case in point. Both made around the same time, both double decal at the factory, one remains in nearly the same spec as it left the factory and one is a bit of a Kampfsau with many coats of paint, including winter. It undoubtedly saw a great deal. It's also named to a few different guys, so maybe some of it's owners did not make it through the tempest it witnessed. The mintier one is named to a soldier of a HQ company, so it likely spent most of it's time sat in a perimeter guarding a group of high rankers behind the lines and could explain is condition, and also the fact it is still smooth and shiny so as to look pretty for the brass perhaps. I like them both equally, and they make a nice juxtaposition on the shelf. I like to imagine the two guys meeting, the old vet would probably view his clean and shiny kamerad with disdain for his cushy number. Helmets will always have an intangible degree of mystique for me, which I won't try and penetrate too much as I like to just like them because I like them. There isn't much left in the world as simple as that.

[António Fragoeiro]

I prefer to have salty examples, they show use, they have a better story to tell.
However mint examples are indeed representative of their era.
How they were when produced and that is always great to see.

Cheers
Nuno

[relicz]

I respect your opinion, but helmets aren't just, "stuff." Stuff is the old clothes in boxes in my attic. Stuff is piles of paint cans, brushes and rollers in the corner of my basement next to my wife's seldom used kitchen ware. Helmets were a part of someone's life. They were a tool of protection on the battlefield. A symbol of German military might. Yes, they are objects of steel produced by factories, but they became personalized when they were placed on a soldiers head. They are a representation of history. I look at my helmets and wonder who they belonged to, where they had been and what they had seen, and what ET happened to their owners. I doubt anyone in 100 years will look at my old shirts or paint cans and wonder the same. That's what makes helmets, and all items of TR, speak to us.

Perhaps if I used 'material possessions" instead of "stuff" it would have been more to the point. In the end we are all just "renting" these items for a period of time much like their original owners. Their importance can vary greatly over ones lifetime.

Stuff:
George Carlin Talks About "Stuff" - YouTube

As far as mint versus worn, I very much appreciate both. Although I am not into relics or ground dug items, I don't comment on or judge them, because to each their own.

[Aus der Traum]

*DISCLAIMER: My first helmet was a relic, I am not belittling them or those who choose to collect them.*

Rusted helmets don't tell any more of a story, in fact, I suppose it would be harder to figure out what that story is, as many have no remains of decal, paint, factory stamps or names. We often can't tell anything about their story, other than that they were made for a German soldier and were involved (in some unknown capacity) in World War II. I thought this ambiguity would be a 'turn-off' for collectors who only want combat affiliated examples.

This is just my opinion and being that I am not a collector of relic helmets, I may be way off base.

Josh