Helmet Cover

[OKW]

Opinions on this one please

[NickD]

i would say its a repro/fake as these are extremely rare & have been faked for many many years anyway that's my opinion

[NickD]

i personally wouldn't trust it if its being sold as real & asking for allot of money as there's no real way you can be 100% sure that its real. Ive seen replicas sold on eBay that look exactly the same even down to the aging but again that's just my opinion

[NickD]

Notes:

1 Waffen-SS helmet covers are considered rare. Almost all Waffen-SS helmet covers encountered today are reproductions both new and old. The first reproduction Waffen-SS helmet covers began to enter the collector market in the 1970's. High quality reproductions are today produced from original Waffen-SS camouflage material that is cut from large sheets of damaged Waffen-SS zeltbahn cloth. Once sewn into helmet covers, these are often passed on to collectors as authentic and at very high prices. The construction of original helmet covers is of higher quality than most modern reproductions. Of importance is the fact that modern fakes fail to reproduce the metal rocker clip in the proper way rendering the cover identifiable as a post-war fabrication.

just as an added note so i would be very careful

[OKW]

Heres the clip. Its on ebay item 320348815607 seller from Paris area France, wants GBP 500.

[Adrian Stevenson]

It is a fake. The clips alone condem it.

As already stated these camo helmet covers have been faked for years and to a much better standard than the one shown here. I believe there are now state of the art fakes on the market which are almost perfect, but perhaps too perfect.

An original will now sell for around $5000.

I would not buy one of these without rock solid provenance going back to WW2.

Cheers, Ade.

[ahrtal]

It is a fake. The clips alone condem it.

As already stated these camo helmet covers have been faked for years and to a much better standard than the one shown here. I believe there are now state of the art fakes on the market which are almost perfect, but perhaps too perfect.

An original will now sell for around $5000.

I would not buy one of these without rock solid provenance going back to WW2.

Cheers, Ade.

I originally posted the following on another section of the forum, but got no responses:

One area of SS cloth that remains quite secret: How to distinguish between authentic and reproduction helmet covers. Of course the discussion of the rocker clips' composition comes to mind---although I'm not sure that it is totally correct. One in the British War Museum I saw about ten years ago, did not fit that broadbrush comment. But it could have been a "filler", although it was not noted in the description. That they were not manufactured in the pea/dot pattern cloth is pretty much documented. As far as a discussion of the correct construction of the cover goes, it seems that is a close held subject that never is openly discussed, which it should be. The reason is to prevent the fakers from producing completely correct covers. Well, that will probably never happen, because it just can't be done. They can be close, but never exact.

Other questions:

When did the first "correct" (OK, "near-correct") reproductions begin appearing on the market?

How does one distinguish these old "nearly correct" fakes from the originals?

To whom are these early "near-correct" repros attributed?

Are there any websites or publications that give side by side comparisons of real vs fake construction aspects ?

Is there a know list of current reproducers?

I did have an opportunity to see an early 1st model camo cover in Normandy this past autumn. It was the first type with the sewn on rocker clips. Unfortunately, it was in a display case, so I could not get a close look at the construction, and could not get good photos. Well, food for thought, at any rate.

Steve Z.

[Adrian Stevenson]

When did the first "correct" (OK, "near-correct") reproductions begin appearing on the market?

How does one distinguish these old "nearly correct" fakes from the originals?

To whom are these early "near-correct" repros attributed?

Are there any websites or publications that give side by side comparisons of real vs fake construction aspects ?

Is there a know list of current reproducers?

Hi Steve, I will try and answer each of your questions in turn in the order you posed the:

1) I would say the first good fakes were made at least 25 years ago now. I recall handling them then. They were made from cut up original Zeltbahns.

2) The clips are one of the big indicators. Sorry I don't have pics to show good ones. I have never bought a helmet cover. Avoid any clips with RZM marks.

3) That is a question I prefer not to answer. I don't wish to get into legal trouble here.

4) None that I know of? I would advise you to save every pic you come across and build a file good and bad items. The bad will outnumber the good.

5) Bear in mind there are "fakes" and repros. Repros, sold as such, can be seen at a variety of online re-enactment dealers such as here:

WAFFEN SS HELMET COVERS

Another thing to be aware of that these covers have been made all over the world by different people.

Cheers, Ade.

[Alan M]

An original will now sell for around $5000.

I would not buy one of these without rock solid provenance going back to WW2.

Cheers, Ade.

Wow , i think the price is the guide to rarity

Al

[NickD]

heres a couple of pics that are suppose to be good ones but again make up ya own mind