In 1987 my friend sold me a all matching 8mm G41 rifle that was missing the rod, bayonet lug and the clip for 50 bucks that his brother found while working on a garbage truck, I had until 2012 when I fell on hard times and had to sell it. I work in a metal recycling yard and you would'nt believe the stuff that people scrap! I guess " One mans junk is another mans treasure" is true.
"Only a pimp in a Louisiana whore house carries a pearl handled revolver"
- General George Smith Patton Jr.
I remember many years ago, when I worked in a garage straight from school..
They had a older type chap working there, who did some cleaning/errands and the like..
He was a old sea dog in the Merchant Navy who did the "Convoys" to Russia and back, some told great stories/memories.
Well one fine day he told us about his ship being in Montevideo, Uruguay when having a few beers with his crew mates.
A load bang was heard and they all rushed out to see what was going on?
The bar he was in, had both British AND German sailors in it, all friendly, having a good laugh.
One of them exchanged/swapped his cap for a penknife (if I remember the tale) and he proudly brought it home to Liverpool.
Many years later his wife, threw it in the bin and it was gone for ever.
That cap belonged to a sailor from the ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE and he had a wonderful momento from it.
He wasn't well off, working well past his retirement age to make ends meet, and that cap would have got some fine dough.
I remember how upset he was when I told him that THAT cap would have commanded a lot of money.
I would have bought it off him right there and then. He could have asked any price, I would have bought it.
And his bloody domineering wife threw a massive piece of history in the bin.
Still makes me angry!
For those wondering; it is my belief that these helmets were "collected" by a kid in the late 1940s to play with, he then went to Vietnam and recently passed.
Also for those wondering this would not be the first pile of junk that has come to me from the trash. In fact, ten years ago I got a call from a friend who said he knew a guy with two helmets in a shed headed for the trash...I still have those, but no photos at the moment. Maybe in a couple days.
Thank you for the words.
Best ABN
It's really sad how little respect some people have for history. The thought that such wonderful artefacts that have stood the test of time are simply thrown on the garbage and destroyed on some dump fills me with sheer horror...
Not to mention that they also have a certain financial value.
Thank God someone came along who saved the helmets from that fate.
Congratulations on this find and I am happy that they have now found a good home.
Best regards
Wolf
Congratulations! Every collector's dream. I hunt local bookstores and antique stores but hardly find anything.
Wow, just wow. It is like finding a Pot of Gold at the end of a rainbow! LOL
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