WW1 Russian Solberg steel helmet M17 real or fake?

[Wolf]

Hello friends,

I found this helmet at a dealer. According to the seller it is a WW1 Russian Solberg steel helmet M17. It is said to have been used by the "Communist Red Brigades" in the 1917 Russian Revolution and is still completely in its original condition, they only added the red star for the revolution, but that would also be original from 1917.

I know these helmets are very rare and the majority were used by the Finns who fitted them with new three piece liners and chin straps and mostly painted them black.

The helmets used by the Russian Army (Tsarist Army) are said to have been green and had a normal lining like the French Adrian helmets.

However, the inner lining of this helmet does not correspond to either of the two variants (this variant is completely unknown to me) and the age of the Red Star also seems questionable to me (looks quite new I think) and I also don't know if it is the correct helmet color for the Russian Army in 1917. I also searched "communist red brigade" on the internet and found only one terrorist organization active in Italy between 1970 and 1988...

As I have no experience with Solberg helmets and this is the first one I've seen, I wanted to ask for your opinion on the helmet. On the points above, whether it is genuine, and on the condition of the helmet if everything else is fine. (Because it looks pretty rusty to me and the price is quite high. But I have no idea how they're usually traded...) Or whatever else you notice.^^

Thank you in advance for your efforts. Any advice is warmly welcomed.

Best regards
Wolf

PS: Sorry for the bars on the pictures, they come from the dealer, who had text all over them that I had to cover.

[Wolf]

It's a pity that no one seems to be familiar with these helmets.

But can you at least tell me if the red star is original from WW1 or if it's fake?

That would be of great help to me. Thanks.

Best regards
Wolf

PS: Sorry, no idea why the image is not displayed directly, but you can open it without any problems.

[Tinhat]

You may be better moving the thread to the part of the forum below, it might attract more response.

https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/headg...y-soviet-army/

My comments for what they are worth are, the chinstrap looks aged rather than old/used, the liner looks new with surface dirt, the liner cord looks new, the star looks very fresh. If this was a German helmet I don't think it would pass the same scrutiny, which this helmet deserves because of it's so hard to find.

Steve.

[Wolf]

Thank you Steve. I also thought it might be a fake. Especially since the dealer has some very rare helmets and badges on offer. I guess that's the rule again: if something looks too good to be true, it really isn't...

Best regards
Wolf

[Tinhat]

Hopefully someone else will comment. Here is a link to a good helmet site that has a number of images Ruso modelo M17 Sohlberg, it looks like the corrugated strips are steel on those helmets.

Steve

[Wolf]

Thanks for the link. It's really hard to find information about this type of helmet. I'll try to get the page translated.(because unfortunately I don't speak Spanish)^^

Best regards
Wolf

[Marcel Banziger]

Who's the seller?

[Wolf]

Spree-Militaria, a german Militaria dealer. Found his site by accident on the internet.

Russland Stahlhelm Solberg M17 der kommunistischen Revolutionsbrigaden | Stahlhelme & Kopfbedeckungen | spree-militaria.de

[Marcel Banziger]

Thanks. I am not experienced on these helmets but I feel the wear on this helmet, outside and inside, looks rather artificial and not genuine. Myself I would pass because of this. Price is rather low if original btw.

Edit: found on the WAF that this dealer has a lot of crap sold as original. He's been labaled a crook. Guess that answers a bit already.

[Wolf]

Thanks for the info Marcel. You have helped me a lot. I'll pass in that case and rather save my money for a real WW1 helmet.^^

Best regards
Wolf