Salty M40 SD TO ND Heer (reissue) shell ET66 4118

[PotatoDigger]

Picked up this pretty salty barn find M40 shell a few days ago off eBay, just being advertised as a German helmet with pretty lackluster photos.

It left the factory as your average SD Heer and then got a brush applied overpaint in a different shade of feldgrau.
Perhaps as part of a reissue, or perhaps not.
Unfortunately I got it with what was probably left of the liner removed and just the remains of one of the split pins still in place.
Otherwise the helmet was in as found condition, quite dirty still so I cleaned it a little, but not much.
There is also what's left of a name in the helmet, unfortunately the rust got the better of it and it crumbled away pretty much when I got it. ( In Pic. 9 you can still see a bit of the name )

Afterwards I asked the seller where they got the helmet from and they told me it came from around Hermsdorf, Thuringia in Germany, so this is most likely a veteran of the Eastern Front and was left there when the war ended.
As I am not one to dismiss saltier helmets ( as long as they still have decent amounts of paint remaining ) I was happy to add it to my collection.
I'll ask the seller if they maybe still have the liner band but I don't have much hope to be honest.
I'd like to know what you lot think of it

Currently not too active on the forums as I am spending a good part of the day on an archaeological excavation I had been invited to help on

Luis

[AndyM35]

I like it Luis. It displays well with the right side and pin on display. A solid relic shell with quite a bit of paint and in a larger size - what’s not to like

Andy

[PotatoDigger]

Thanks Andy! I certainly agree, it also looks pretty good when sat upon my attic find condition gas mask canister I got locally some time ago
Luis

[Adravor]

Very nice, and will make a good display piece, facinating seeing a helmet from Thuringia, my neighbour state.

[MAP]

The condition screems "classic barn find". Some honest rusting and such but no deep pitting you would see if exposed to the elements.

Congrats.

[RustyRelics]

Awesome! I've been roaming ebay for shells as well. Do you get different ebay results in Europe compared to the U.S.? I don't remember seeing that one.

[PotatoDigger]

Thanks for your replies, Adravor, Michael and RR.
I agree Michael, about as "barn-findy" as it gets
RR, it could be that the seller may not offer shipping overseas hence it doesn't show up on your search.
I think for every country's eBay it's different, if it's in Europe and they ship to different countries in Europe it'll be shown on most European eBay sites, if not, it will only be on the site where the item is being sold.
I also just got another barn find shell from eBay, kinda worse condition than this one, but I'm curious to see what it'll look like when that one is cleaned, looks to be LW, that one.

Also, here's some photos of the shell before I cleaned it with oxalic acid and after.

Luis