WWI German Prussian Infantry Enlisted M1915 Pickelhaube

[anton67]

Hello,
I just picked this one up and I would like to get some opinions on it.
I got it from ebay so I do not have it in hand as of yet.
Any thoughts on originality of parts would be appreciated.

[ww1czechlegion]

Hello,

Congratulations on this new acquisition! It will make a nice display piece!

What my eyes see as observations about the helmet:

1.) Extra set of holes for the front plate attachment that are mostly hidden from view in the photos taken of the inside of the helmet. Helmet is probably an old arsenal re-work piece, done during the war. Nothing wrong with that, just letting you know what I see.

2.) Liner is getting dry-rot, which is pretty typical for these Model 1915 helmet liners. Nothing can be done to stop or reverse the dry-rot or "red-rot" process with the leather liner.

3.) The front visor appears to be very short in length. No big alarm bells, just an observation. Carefully flip up the inside of the liner in the forehead area when you get the piece, and see if it looks like the stitching has been re-done. If this is an arsenal re-work of an old pre-war helmet body, they probably put new visor(s) on the helmet. The German arsenals even used old pre-1900 era helmets from storage stock that were taller in profile, and cut them down, put new liners in them, and sewed new visors on them, and lastly they refinished the exterior of the leather helmet body and visors.

4.) Nice maker stamp clearly dated 1917, and size 53, which is the smallest helmet shell size they made.

5.) Helmet exterior and the metal fittings look like they have been sprayed with an oily product or some sort of "so-called protective" agent to make the black leather finish and the gray metal fittings look shiny. This process looks fairly fresh, so I have to guess that the seller on eBay tried to clean the helmet up to make it look nicer?

Just my observations. The helmet will make a nice display piece.

Again, congratulations!

All the Best,

Alan

[HARRY THE MOLE]

A nice helmet, well done!

[AZPhil]

Great pick up. like mentioned it will make a very nice display.

Member ww1czechlegion has made some very good observations.

But now you know that you have to find some nice kockardes and chin strap!!!!!!

Semper Fi
Phil

[anton67]

Thank you for all of your helpful comments. That is exactly the type of info I was looking for. I do have a set of cockades and chinstrap for it.
Does the wappen look the right size?
Maybe it just looks big because it is a small helmet.

[ww1czechlegion]

Does the wappen look the right size?

Yes.

Maybe it just looks big because it is a small helmet.

Correct.

The size "53" is a very small helmet. The smallest size they made.

I have a Prussian M15 shako in the same size. My shako looks like it was made for a munchkin.

Best Regards,

Alan

[Chopperman]

-It will make a very nice display piece.

[anton67]

Thank you all for your kind comments.
I will post better pics when I get it in hand.

[anton67]

UPDATE:
Got it in the mail today.
Here are some updated pics with the cockades and chinstrap added.
It does not appear to me to have been sprayed with anything.
In fact the patina on the metal looks to be matching.

[anton67]

Oh I forgot to mention that this helmet is quite small.
It would probably fit my 10 year old daughter.