WWII U.S. Coast Guard M1 for Review!

**GIZMO8Z** · 10-12-2014, 07:35 PM

A colleague and friend of mine found this salty M1 at a local flea market and picked it for me at a great price (much lower than the sticker price)! It appears to be a mid-war front seam, swivel bale. What really spiked my interest is the Coast Guard marking. I've never seen a helmet like this before in person. Can anyone please help me authenticate and identify this lid? Authentic? Can we tell anything about the veteran who wore this by the marking? It would be so cool if this was a worn on a Coast Guard ship or landing craft!

I do not yet have this M1 in hand. Expect more photos once I have this helmet in-hand.

Thanks in advance for your time and consideration!

**RH1941** · 10-12-2014, 07:44 PM

Very nice Joe I like it a lot

**GIZMO8Z** · 10-12-2014, 07:47 PM

I'm rolling in helmets this week, Gary!

**Bill T** · 10-12-2014, 08:51 PM

oooo Love the looks of this one Joe. Nice. And for the price......just shows that deals are still out there at flea markets/etc!

**GIZMO8Z** · 10-12-2014, 09:18 PM

Thanks, Bill!

Right now I have only seen the three photos. I'm hoping to find out more (beyond liner maker) once I have it in hand. My buddy doesn't want to mess with it, but he says the liner webbing has a name or set of initials on it!

**RH1941** · 10-13-2014, 07:01 AM

Can't wait to see better photos

**GIZMO8Z** · 10-15-2014, 03:06 AM

My colleague dropped off the helmet today!

The USCG on the steel pit is interesting. It almost looks like the sailor changed his mind about it being white and scratched it off to bring it back to OD green? The USCG is devoid of cork texture and in spots bare steel is exposed. With that being said, the exposed steel isn't fresh and it has a patina to it. The inside of the pot is personalized to "JSM" just as the suspension of the liner is.

The liner was made by Firestone and is overall in good shape... Salty and one tear in the webbing. The two ends of the leather chinstrap are still clipped in and fragments of the chinstrap are still attached. Unfortunately, 90% of the chinstrap and it's buckle are gone. The liner also has USCG painted on it exactly how I assume it was originally on the pot before the white was scratched off.

Other than JSM painted on the inside of the pot, the entire helmet is missing a full name, serial number, or specific unit info on the vet.

Overall, I believe this helmet is untouched and rather unique! I just wish it could tell me more about it's past!