May I ask, where was there an arrogant and pompous post in this thread. A difference of opinions, yes. But all respectful.by danhashman
May I ask, where was there an arrogant and pompous post in this thread. A difference of opinions, yes. But all respectful.
"Please", Thank You" and proper manners appreciated
My greatest fear is that one day I will die and my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them
"Don't tell me these are investments if you never intend to sell anything" (Quote: Wife)
Hello MAP..
There is absolutely no pompous opinion in this thread, that´s the point, its actually very nice and constructive.. I was not talking about THIS specific thread..
On the contrary, i was mentioning about me NOT being an expert so i rather dont give opinions.... But then you know well that there are others, empty opinions who only want to shine, sound, pompous ...
Just read MrPotts "ANOTHER GRAVE HELMET FOR THE COLLECTION" Thread and was amazed by this guy´s arrogance, so my comment might have been under this effect.
I repeat..
THIS IS A NICE THREAD AND YOUR OPINIONS SHOW AN ADMIRABLE KNOWLEDGE - MY TOTAL RESPECT TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU...
So sorry if i did express myself in an unfortunate way..
And i still like that SS- Stahlhelm, regardless its provenance..
Thanks for the clarification. I will say, as originally read, I'm sure I wasn't the only one to misunderstand. I like to keep things civil as that is just my nature. And as you note, this particular thread shows that this can be done, even on the subject so touchy as this.Hello MAP..
There is absolutely no pompous opinion in this thread, that´s the point, its actually very nice and constructive.. I was not talking about THIS specific thread..
On the contrary, i was mentioning about me NOT being an expert so i rather dont give opinions.... But then you know well that there are others, empty opinions who only want to shine, sound, pompous ...
Just read MrPotts "ANOTHER GRAVE HELMET FOR THE COLLECTION" Thread and was amazed by this guy´s arrogance, so my comment might have been under this effect.
I repeat..
THIS IS A NICE THREAD AND YOUR OPINIONS SHOW AN ADMIRABLE KNOWLEDGE - MY TOTAL RESPECT TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU...
So sorry if i did express myself in an unfortunate way..
And i still like that SS- Stahlhelm, regardless its provenance..
"Please", Thank You" and proper manners appreciated
My greatest fear is that one day I will die and my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them
"Don't tell me these are investments if you never intend to sell anything" (Quote: Wife)
Not the case. Please read my post regarding buying one in the mid 60's. I know of two helmets that were vet purchased along with some Italian SS insignia. Possibly there is some connection there. I doubt that there will ever be a final fact regarding these helmets
BOB
LIFE'S LOSERS NEVER LEARN FROM THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS.
You can't always relay on "Vet purchased" or bought from a returning soldier as a guarantee that an item is not a fake. It helps give some provenance, but the Vet may have bought the item, rather than picked it up off the field of battle. Also "Vet collections" can be a mix of period war trophies and stuff they bought in the 1950's or 60's. I've recently viewed a collection from a WW2 vet that had a lot of Nazi stuff, some was genuine some was fake, any he probably never realized. The fact something was bought in mid sixties means nothing, plenty of fakes already around then. I started collecting in the early 1970's and can tell you all collectors knew back then you had to be careful of fake Nazi stuff. And most of us were fooled at least once. I must say I do like my Souval Luftwaffe Panzer Assault badge bought back then, but I know it's a fake. The thing about the Austrians was when West Germany banned the Swastika insigna in 1957, I believe it was, Austrian producers like Souval stepped in the fill the demand, along with others. Could this helmet shield be faked as far back as the 1960's? Of course it could. But would anyone have bothered rather than use a transfer decal? I think that's the question.
I only have one SS helmet. That's enough for me due to the fact SS stuff is way over faked. 40-50 yrs of faked is enough for me to stay away. I bought mine directly from a vets widow who's husband was a dentist in Charlottesville Va, he sent back 3 helmets from Italy.
You can not know what the situation was like vet buying in the 1950's and 60's if you were not there. Your statement has merit but is based on contemporary thinking today and not how things were back then. Too often on line I have read about all of the 50's and 60's fakes from individuals who had not been born. What fakes there were at that time was not well made and easy to spot
BOB
LIFE'S LOSERS NEVER LEARN FROM THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS.
???? Pompous opinions? I have been collecting for 50 years, and after many discussions with Al B., the late Jules L., and my own in hand examination of several of these helmets I concluded that Al and Jules were right, and that the "decals" on the examples I saw were not decals at all, but were actually painted fakes. I actually discussed this at length with Doug a number of times before his expose, at a time when he thought the M42 examples that had been posted on the forums were probably fake, but the M35 examples were real. Well, as it turns out, the M35's such as one owned by a VERY knowledgeable WRF forum member were originally DD Field Police helmets with the original decals scraped off and the painted insignia template sprayed onto the shells. The M42's are all in lot number ranges that are beyond the date of the cessation of the application of decals at the factory level. By that time in the War, supply was the issue. To me it makes no sense that at that time an SS soldier would take the time to spray on the runic insignia when there was an abundance of Pocher runic decals available that could be applied in the field. Simply stated, Champagne runic "decals" are not, in my opinion, period original. This is not the pompous opinion of someone trying to be "part of the play", it is based upon decades of collecting experience, in hand examinations of at least 3 unconvincing M42 examples, the collective experience of several collectors who forget more about the hobby in a day than I will ever know in a lifetime, and the exhaustive study of one of the most honorable guys I have ever spoken to regarding this issue. I am not, by any means, thin skinned, but your post required a response. You can believe what you want about the originality of these helmets, but I would suggest that you tread lightly with your insults. Jim G.
Thank you for your level headed comments and nice sentiment.
Steve
" What fakes there were at that time was not well made and easy to spot " I agree,Bob...if there were guys out there at the time making Super high end fake helmet decals, I can't envision why. SS helmets weren't all that rare or huge valued yet-why not make fake decals of things like Feldherrnhalle helmets, etc as well? It seems an awful lot of time and trouble to fake something of relatively common value. SS decals were certainly obtainable-as were any of the others as well. It would have been So much simpler and just as effective to take and slap on a genuine decal to a no decal helmet and voila-instant SS helmet to sell to some one who wanted one. It's just difficult to understand and accept.
William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
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