Oppinion on this mint SS decal Please

[TUFC]

just had a quick look , rounded outer border,no metallic content, so far will have another look.

[TUFC]

thinner border, obviously larger,

[DougB]

hi mate, fair point, but it has not helped this guy, prob to the tune of £1,000+. and one happy faker !!, but yes i do understand.

Well that unfortunately is two things.

1. Part of the learning curve.

See attached the first SS helmet I ever bought. You need to handle fakes and real to tell the difference. Thankfully this was returned 24 hours later and I got a full refund.

2. Poor buying habits.

Always post or email to a trusted source what you do not know yourself before buying and make sure you have an ironclad money back return.

The bottom line is the information is all there right in front of us really. You just have to have the will to commit to the study enough not to get yourself in over your head and think before you plop that pile of cash down.

PS real single decal M40 SS helmets in mint condition go for far more than $1000. $8000 is the benchmark. That alone should have scared him off but too many guys go bargain hunting and become the hunted themselves.

[TUFC]

hi, i don't know what this guy paid, god forbid it was not £8,000,i have quite i few lids , but will not go for an ss because of what has been said! other helmets in your hand are easy on the whole to tell if original, i recon the same could be said of an ss ,but the price involved puts massive pressure on.

[Walkwolf]

This is a scary one, Doug. It probably would have had me fooled !

Tufc, I don't think Klinger owns the lid, but was simply looking for opinions.
Hopefully this is true and he didn't get suckered.............

[DougB]

hi, i don't know what this guy paid, god forbid it was not £8,000,i have quite i few lids , but will not go for an ss because of what has been said! other helmets in your hand are easy on the whole to tell if original, i recon the same could be said of an ss ,but the price involved puts massive pressure on.

8000 Dollars not British Pounds. A double decal SS will start at 8000 British Pounds for one in halfway good condition.

Honestly with study you can buy these with confidence no problem. You have to know what to look for and be willing to commit the time to study, source and network.

[DougB]

This is a scary one, Doug. it probably would have had me fooled !

Steve, I bought this at a dealers who was using "sellers light" (poor light conditions). However when I got it home, cracked SS Steel and SS Helmets and couldnt find a firm match (close is not good enough with SS decals) I began to get that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Emailing the photos out to a few trusted people confirmed my sinking gut feeling and the helmet was returned less than 24 hours later for a full refund.

Now that I have a few examples and know what to look for this is an easy one to spot. But it will fool 95% of the casual collectors.

[HJ-Collector]

This is a scary one, Doug. it probably would have had me fooled !

agreed steve!

[Isle of Wighter]

I was taught a long time ago that I can get people to give me fish or I can learn to catch them for myself.

You are talking about a highly complex subject matter here as well. It is not as simple as "shiny shield" and "size of runes". There are 400 page books on the subject that dont even get to some of the more closer guarded secrets.

The first step is a visual study like the side by side comparison above.
The second is to buy authentic pieces to study.
The third is now that you have a foundation, to network with other SS collectors who will share knowledge with other serious collectors.
But it wont be handed out on a silver platter.

So you have a comparison above, what differences do you see?

Very pertinent comments for WRF Doug! And I agree with your fish analogy.I find the best way to get a feeling for SS decals is to look at the outer border in relation to the runes positioning inside it. I am still learning as everyone who collects TR helmets will always be, I always got the feeling right from the start that it's not the done thing to try and extract detailed info from experienced collectors when you have not bothered to put the time and effort in to do any reasearch. Mr Schwerpunkt gave me a bit of a rough ride here when I first joined which made me determined to learn all I could, so, thanks Frank . So I can fully appreciate why experienced members don't feel compelled to directly answer all the first post questions which pop up on forums from time to time. The lesson is.... get off your arse and do your own homework!

[DougB]

Jim is right, its just what you want to dedicate yourself to do. For example, I wont collect daggers because what I know about them will fit on the head of a pin. Totenkopf rings scare the living crap out of me and panzer wraps, well lets just not even go there.