What is this helmet?

**jonobo** · 07-30-2013, 12:00 AM

I just thought it looked kind of like a British tank helmet or something... some insight would be great!

**Tinhat** · 07-30-2013, 12:20 AM

It's a Swiss M48/62, the 'P' is for Military Police. See the link below for more information.

.: World War Helmets - Casque Modèle 48/62 :.

**gel65** · 07-30-2013, 02:29 AM

Right on point Tinhat these are not rare but not often seen in good condition

**Greg Pickersgill** · 07-30-2013, 11:33 AM

I would be inclined to say they are are now rather uncommon - in 15 years of fairly seriously collecting helmets I have seen only a dozen or so for sale, and sometimes at unpleasantly high prices. Many were sold by the Swiss on the surplus market to the various contenders (usually Croatia) during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s and I would imagine the bulk of those ended up in scrapheaps eventually. (One might wonder whether the Balkan militaria shops are full of them - but I have been told that such shops are surprisingly disappointing.)

Its worth checking this other page - .: World War Helmets - Casque Modèle 48 :. - also, to see how this helmet was developed from surplus AT helmets sold by the UK to Switzerland after World War 2. Now those early Swiss-modified models really are rare. I have never seen one either in the metal or listed for sale.

**jonobo** · 07-30-2013, 01:52 PM

Would you say $60 is a good price for this helmet to be had?

**Greg Pickersgill** · 07-30-2013, 01:58 PM

Yes! If it were in the British Isles I'd buy it myself for that - and I already have two!

**Stinkpotpete** · 07-30-2013, 02:20 PM

60 bucks might be a little on the high side, but the liner is in nice shape, and it has the leather protector with it, mine is missing that part.

**Tinhat** · 07-30-2013, 03:08 PM

These used to be really common, to the point that you wonder how many Military Police the Swiss needed. As the links show these helmets have the potential fo being really collectable if they weren't Swiss.
I still see them in most Army surplus stores, but they are not for sale, so I've developed a theory that they are there to make the shop a bit more 'Army' than 'surplus'.

The bottom of this link has some great examples of Croation used M48s, these would be very collectable.
.: World War Helmets - Casque Modèle 48/62 :.

**Greg Pickersgill** · 07-30-2013, 05:25 PM

It is notable that it is people in the USA who seem to be saying these 'used to be really common' and so on. One can only imagine that container-loads of them were at some time dumped on the US surplus market. Not so certain as regards the rest of the planet.

Tinhat, that's a peculiar thing you say about them 'being really collectable if they weren't Swiss'. Does this mean that there are some countries that are 'really collectable' and some that are in some manner infra dig?

**Tinhat** · 07-30-2013, 09:48 PM

by Greg Pickersgill

Tinhat, that's a peculiar thing you say about them 'being really collectable if they weren't Swiss'. Does this mean that there are some countries that are 'really collectable' and some that are in some manner infra dig?

I'll try an justify my comment and keep it in line with the thread and not deviate to the "why are German helmets are so expensive" debate. I don't believe that Swiss helmets are that popular amongst helmet collectors, depending on what your chosen field of collecting is, but if it is centered around a specific theater of conflict or period of war, then the Swiss generally won't fit in or there will be other helmets that are more desirable. If you are a general helmet collector, then you will probably have one in your collection, it's not hard to find and not expensive.

There will be undoubtedly people that collect Swiss helmets and scour the world for specific variants and models that are rare, there is a difference between being hard to find because there are not many in existence, and being hard to find because everybody wants one, ‘infra dig’ would be a bit harsh but it is a reality that some things are more collectable than others. If you were to put a Swiss M48 and a Croatian used/identified M48 on E-bay…which would get the most bids?

I do own a Swiss helmet and I like them, I think they are some of the best quality helmets ever produced and ahead of their time, if I had to wear a helmet in 1948, this would be the one I would pick, but all that doesn’t make it a real shining star in my collection.
I’ve only lived in the US for 5 years, and I saw a lot of them in surplus stores in the UK, although as I said not for sale…