Heer M40 SD, ET66 for review

[MAP]

Ex DD even :-)

And a completely incorrect "ex" decal border outline shape! ROFL!!!

[oberhaig]

Been checking the other helmets in that auction. None have these crazy prices.
One misrepresented Kriegsmarine M40 SD sold for 900 euros , even ok if it is a Heer.
And 1 Luftwaffe fake that sold for 665 + 22,5%.

Yes I saw the Luftwaffe M42 - I'm surprised no one picked it up, are people really that gullible

[tobi]

Yes it seems at auctions everything is 100% overpriced in this case. At dealers it is 30% compared to before covid. A helmet like this M40 would not interest me over 1100 euros. I can buy a lot more rare and nice stuff for +4k that keeps it’s value. So I guess those people buying a SD Heer for 4k are misinformed about the market.

But it's very hard to find good helmets for a reasonable price. All good stuff is at militaria shops.. My last hope was a guy at Tegernsee in Germany (Bayern) - i know that he has a lot of original Wehrmacht Stuff for movies and for collecting. He always said that he is not selling anything - that was a few years ago. We visited him last Sunday and i asked, if he would like to sell something.. now almost everything of his collection is sold. I was very upset, but that's how life goes sometimes.

[Mathieu K]

I follow many auction houses. The good militaria auctions are bringing prices I certainly am not willing to pay, which makes buying and collecting very labor-intensive. I rarely see German helmets in antiques stores any more. You need to watch a LOT of online auctions. You will watch 100s of helmets go high, but you can (and will) get lucky periodically. Small militaria shows are a good source. Dealers are usually willing to haggle.

[TWS]

I have noticed in the last ~2 years or so that there is, I suspect, a "new" group of bidders that have discovered Ratisbon's. This group must have deep pockets and are either 1. Ignorant of the wider market, or 2. Know a bit about the market but have so much money that they simply don't care.

I used to get some fair deals via Ratisbon's, even accounting for the (formerly) strong Euro and the buyer's premium. That mostly went out the window around the time Covid hit either because people were on lockdown and had extra money and were frustrated they couldn't go to shows/shops or because of what I suspect is the new group of bidders that I mentioned above.

That being said, I did purchase two items from the auction that concluded this weekend. It had been four months since I'd bid on a single lot at Ratisbon's because I completely sat out the last two auctions prior to this one. I'm just not going to bid toe to toe with others who don't care if they spend 2-4x market value for an item or lot.