is THIS an honest lid?

[FranzJon]

WW2 GERMAN M-35 HELMET. NAMED: HAUPTM.BERND. SE62. - eBay (item 180591135249 end time Nov-29-10 15:59:59 PST)

[FranzJon]

obviously I'm no expert.... but I'm suspicious of the brown/tan paint. It just looks funny like a little too spicy, like artificially aged. And the Hauptm. Bernd, it's in white. Every other helmet I see it's yellow. Is Hauptman shortened to Haupt. or Hauptm.?

Oh and I emailed the Seller and he's in Latvia with the helmet. He claims the helmet is from a local collector who purchased it from the US.

[FranzJon]

Here's another beauty... IF it's a real one.

ORIGINAL GERMAN M35 SE 62 NORMANDY CAMO HELMET & LINER - eBay (item 380293306136 end time Dec-03-10 18:09:33 PST)

[SteveR]

Not trying to be an a$$hole. But please post photos from the ebay listings to the current thread. Ebay listings go stale very fast and then the thread is useless for reference and or discussion.
SteveR

[davejb]

Looks to me like a artificially aged liner, some very unatural looking scratches around the rim of the liner, therefore if the liner is suspect perhaps the paint work is too, as for the name, this looks asif the writer ran out of room, a common fault with fake names because someone was in a rush to do it, generally anyone who has named a helmet of their own takes a little more time and makes a neater job of it.

[FranzJon]

Not trying to be an a$$hole. But please post photos from the ebay listings to the current thread. Ebay listings go stale very fast and then the thread is useless for reference and or discussion.
SteveR

thanks... updated with pics.

[ObKrieger]

As far as Latvia goes, stay away from there when you are looking for German helmets. I believe that these are both fake. Artificial paint and ageing, black liner, just stay away from these helmets.

Look around on Ebay at other helmets from Latvia and the rest of Eastern Europe. They are all super-rare camos in great condition. They are usually named, too. How do so many perfect camos end up in Latvia? They get made up for sale on Ebay.

Run away!

[Schwerpunkt]

Both helmets are to be avoided , if you need help from the forum on ebay helmets it's best to avoid ebay altogether. You can bet that the real ones you see there will go up to dealer price.

[DougB]

And the Hauptm. Bernd, it's in white. Every other helmet I see it's yellow. .

I have seen hundreds painted in white. Black. I have seen red and blue. Yellow as you say. There was no standard to which soldiers personalized their helmets with but it was almost always in white.

[tampalam]

The color of the name is not a problem, but the way it is written is, as well as the liner and the aging on the exterior paint. A few years ago, I would have said it was good, but experience tells me that it is one to be passed up. Unfortunately, many buyers who don't know end up buying these doctored helmets which further encourages fakers to mutilate otherwise good helmets or relic shells.