German Heer DD M35 Quist

[Helmcollector]

Someone very well known in military milieu and with a good reputation from whom I bought a couple of non German helmets said he had a M35 Heer DD Quist in mint state from his personal collection. And that he was considering to sell it. But he is allergic to fora where anyone with or without profound knowledge can launch his opinion and praise or 'drill in the ground' a helmet. At some point, I can understand him. Certainly in the past (and probably also now) there must have been fora where the loudest members were not necessarily those who had the most experience or knowledge. And I would already have left this forum if I thought it was the case with this one. I think not everyone that does not like fora can be automaticaly categorised in 'not to be trusted'. But perhaps most can...
So I could convince him (before even considering to buy the helmet because it will be a lot of money) to take some pictures at least of the decals to compare them with those in reference books like 'decals of the Theird Reich'.
According to me a 'big foot' consistent with a Quist helmet. But always glad that I may ask it to the more experienced ones...
I wish I could give more pictures of the helmet.
Thanks !

[Schwerpunkt]

Hello Erwin , The photos are not ideal but so far I like what I see , I would not categorize the decals as being on a mint helmet though.

[Helmcollector]

I understand your point, Frank...The term 'mint status of a helmet' is indeed subjective as is 'a lot a money'...

[Schwerpunkt]

Correct , decals are good. As to your friend’s allergy to forums. It is exactly the same as in the real world is it not ?
When I started collecting in 1996 there were no forums , new collectors just tagged along with other collectors they thought had the knowledge or dealers even that said everything they sold was good. I know a lot of people who ended up spending a lot of money on fakes that way. I know a lot of people who avoided buying fakes because of forums.
There is always a correction by more experienced members if false info is given.

[Helmcollector]

He told me something that put another light on fake decals....'In the seventies and eighties a lot of collectors put decals on authentic relatively cheap shells (few people then where interested in these things) because a helmet with decal(s) presented much better than those without. Not to deceive people but because they liked it. Afterwards these helmets came on the market and after a while sold as real ones'

[Schwerpunkt]

He told me something that put another light on fake decals....'In the seventies and eighties a lot of collectors put decals on authentic relatively cheap shells (few people then where interested in these things) because a helmet with decal(s) presented much better than those without. Not to deceive people but because they liked it. Afterwards these helmets came on the market and after a while sold as real ones'

Yes that is well known , however with new knowledge of decal vs shell correlation plus lot number research these helmets can be easily avoided. Also because post war applcation candidates are late M42’s or late M40 Q , that said I never saw large volumes of these pop up. Everything is just a question to know what to look out for.

[Helmcollector]

Easy...for you Frank Nothing is so easy as it seems...As you mentioned knowledge and experience take their time...I knew a farmer that saw his veterinarian doing 'childbirths' on his cows for years. So he thought, this is easy...If I pull hard enough on the calf, it will come out. So he made a hole in the wall of the barn and the next parturition he attached a tractor to the calf...Guess what...

[Schwerpunkt]

Easy...for you Frank Nothing is so easy as it seems...As you mentioned knowledge and experience take their time...I knew a farmer that saw his veterinarian doing 'childbirths' on his cows for years. So he thought, this is easy...If I pull hard enough on the calf, it will come out. So he made a hole in the wall of the barn and the next parturition he attached a tractor to the calf...Guess what...

Lol , i do not want to guess :-)
Nothing is easy but post war applied decals are less an issue than for example post war applied liners.

[MAP]

Not much more to add. Decal from these photos looks OK.

We would of course like to see the rest of the helmet.

[Helmcollector]

I could convince him to send some pictures. As soon as I have them they will be posted here. Erwin