I came across this photo on the web. Clearly the spike top is incorrect, but the plate appears to be a different design of Mexican wappen- has anyone seen such a helmet before, and is this variation identified? http://i66.tinypic.com/2cqzf37.jpg I took that photo. The helmet is in the Arizona Milit...

Very nice collection James, and well displayed.

Nice addition to a top notch collection.

Boots are the thing even uniform collectors give little thought to, but I think most soldiers would agree it can be the most crucial part when comfort is considered! Here is a link to my article on U.S. Army boots for FoxNews: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/09/01/evolution-combat-boots-from-bootee...

Sadly I am not, gave up on Max years ago, not of big fan of location and expensive to fly to from Midwest. Last couple times I went, very little Imperial. I hope you come back and tell me I am wrong and that it is better, then maybe next year? Best James I thought Max was back east, did they move i...

I'll be there with two tables in the ACTION ROOM. The show has steadily improved since OVMS took over. It is really the only fall show we travel to, so it has been worth doing. It isn't SOS or really even close, but it is a good show and not too far for my wife and me to hit. Honestly, it has a more...

One other point to make on the USMC helmets is that the EGA was worn in limited capacity on the Model 1917A1 helmets, which were sometimes known as the "Kelly Helmet." These featured the improved liner and were used at the end of the 1930s and were still in use when America entered World War II. I h...

Good information John. I would add one point about "never existed." The United States NEVER used a Brodie helmet. The United States used a Model 1917 helmet, based on the British MkI, which was an improvement over the Brodie pattern developed by John Brodie. That might sound like nitpicking, but the...

Very nice! It must be remembered the Corp wasn't that big back then so there weren't many of these uniforms!

Very nice find Kris. One of the rarest World War I "experimental" helmets - the Belgian Queen Elisabeth helmet. Between 1,000 and 1,200 were produced by Joseph Sankey & Sons, so it is very rare indeed.

John, I haven't logged into Photobucket, and honestly my problem with the company is really on how poorly it performed PRIOR to the change of business model. But many companies today have such surveys. It is common with cable TV providers, phone companies, etc. In fact, in the business world compani...

To be honest I think you go in assuming every single one is bad. I know many "advanced" helmet collectors and I've seen three from guys that say, "this one is real and what you want to see" - along with another dozen that aren't likely to be good. The thing is even the three that the experts claim a...

It was on this day that World War I truly began... and 67 years later in 1981 MTV launched. The world has never been the same because of either event!

Congratulations on being able to complete this helmet. Top notch job James.

Nobody's photobucket photos will come up... including my own. There's a message that says they want me to upgrade (pay). in order to see the photos. Anybody else having this problem? Ron, Photobucket changed its hosting policy - hosting of images on third party websites requires an upgrade to its h...

It is a closed group so I can't see exactly the specific item you are trying to draw attention to at this time.

I love machine guns even if they can't shoot. I'm always on the look out for these. If you have anything that you don't need from a Sten to a Maxim fire away and let me know.

As someone who covers cyber security as a reporter I would only add that the one concern with this site not being secure is that passwords could be compromised more easily. What this means is you NEVER should use the same password for Pickelhaubes.com for any e-commerce (Amazon, eBay, etc.) type of ...

Well, the more I dig into this... I must admit I completely understand this move by Photobucket. I'm going to be the contrarian on this one, but I think this is actually the smartest move that Photobucket could have made. Let's say they have 100 million users, which is the current estimate. Accordin...

Holy Cow! I had no idea that Wikipedia was that "Johnny on the spot". Wikipedia is a site anyone can update, so the one "plus" is that it is timely. When a celebrity dies the site is updated literally within seconds! The downside is that anyone can pretty much contribute to it... so trusting everyt...

Make it a labor of love! But having restored a few helmets and some other items I can say it is always worth the effort.

Hi, Chas-- First, I've had a LOT of problems with Photobucket in recent months too. It is to the point that I found it unusable and unfortunately what I've found all have issues. Hosting of images is a problem simply because of the business model. The most important thing to remember is that these c...

This is news I hate to share. Clive Law, whom some of you may know at least from his excellent books on Canadian militaria and owner of Service Publications, suffered a massive stroke on Sunday. He is in the hospital. His wife Elizabeth and son Richard are hoping for the best. If there was ever a ti...

Does anyone have any idea what the value/price would be for a live (papered) MG08/15? I don't believe there is the water can or hose, or the magazine. Just the complete and functional gun. A good friend is considering selling his and we need to come to an agreement on the price. These aren't the eas...

The results were up previously but now down.

They had some VERY nice rare Adrian helmets that had the splatter shields over the face. They went for double the estimated and then some :o :o I saw those and I know several collectors who watched and bid. No one I know won anything. A lot of stuff went for far above estimate. So now my hunt for t...

I was WAY outbid. The items went for truly crazy money. The one item I wanted sold for more than twice what I bid.

Is anyone going to be at this auction in Paris on Saturday:
https://www.aisne-encheres-historica.co ... ing-sales/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've seen similar British cavalry helmets in scale. These are vintage and were sold as gifts to retiring soldiers, gentlemen, etc.

Is that a British crown? It could be a King's crown, but I'm not really seeing it.

The cap insignia appears to be Belgian, and the Belgian military did use a copy of the Wolseley helmet.

That is a rather nice piece.

BTW Gus, it is ordnance. Ordinance is a piece of legislation enacted by a municipal authority, such as "according to the new ordinance all old ordnance must be made safe and inert."

I've confused the two in the past as well.

aicusv wrote:It looks to me that his weapon is a Ross rifle, which would make be believe he is Canadian (ay).

The Canadians used the Wolseley helmet as well, and the "Stetson" version of the slouch hat - so Canadian seems like a good thought too.

Now I think it is earlier. Possibly Boer War and the soldiers are British Yeomanry. Some wore sun helmets, some wore slouch hats. The rifle could be a Lee Metford so that would make sense if this was Africa. Possibly Boer War or interwar era.

I recently picked this up. The seller suggested it was an Indian Army kurta - but it isn't. The cut is wrong, the shape is only similar in passing. I'm thinking possibly Afghanistan or Persia in the interwar period. The fabric has that feel of something old but not too old. I don't think it is a mov...

The helmet looks like a British Wolseley but we know various other nations used similar patterns. I'm going to say Australian based on the equipment. Probably World War I, but hard to say. I'm thinking probably Palestine Front. There were no horses at Gallipoli, and the short sleeves indicate a warm...

Very nice helmet. Any idea the date on this one? Is it early 1920s? This is also why I try to use the term "sun helmet" when referring to sun/pith helmets as most European sun helmets are made of cork not pith! I've seen these Belgian cork helmets described as "pith helmets for use in the colonies" ...

This weekend (May 6/7) is the 40th annual Ohio Civil War & Artillery Show. It has grown into a great show that is much more than Civil War. There are seven buildings with 750 tables.

http://www.ohiocivilwarshow.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So if a tank lacks adequate armor is it still an armored vehicle? New research suggests that many of the MkI tanks that went into combat were actually training models: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4462368/British-WWI-troops-went-battle-UNARMOURED-tanks.html" onclick="window.open(this.href...

Nice scores. That auction seemed massive. James D. Julia is one of the better auction houses.

Willi, you bring up some excellent points and I do think Baltimore (as you and I both have seen) gets a huge gate both Saturday/Sunday because dealers aren't packing up at 12noon on Saturday as you pointed out. I agree with you it makes little sense to travel any great distance to go to Louisville j...

Wednesday setup should be dropped and moved to Thursday at both the SOS and Max. The whole schedule should be slipped by a day. Saturday should be a full day, for those who work and can't get Friday off. Sunday should be breakdown and departure. The SOS replicated Wednesday setup from the Max years...

The next Michigan Antique Arms Collectors Show is April 29/30. It is a good regional show and some interesting stuff can show up.
http://www.michiganantiquearms.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I do agree that the big shows are worth several days, but as I set up at a few other shows I find the multi-day regional shows to be an utter waste of time. Rarely do I sell anything on Sunday, and I understand it from the promoters point of view. But I've been in halls where no one has come in sinc...

Agreed that it is either an Odd Fellows, but it could be Knights of Pythias. These were "secret societies" or fraternal groups that began in the 19th century. In the UK and the U.S. these groups had military style ceremonies and wore uniforms complete with helmets. The Odd Fellows helmets are often ...

Great editorial by John Adams-Graf of Military Trader on whether today's militaria shows are too long: http://www.militarytrader.com/jagfile/time-return-one-day-show" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I have to admit I love SOS but by Saturday afternoon I can't get out of that hall fast ...

That is very cool James. Congrats.

Be careful that you don't suddenly need the South American, Swedish, Romanian and other international spikey helmets!

Quite the retirement gift Tony! Congratulations on a fantastic find and happy retirement.

Helmet sold for 900 euros, so either someone knew what it was or took a huge chance. I think the idea that it was over a leather/fur hat is probably correct. Looking at the photos from the auction site I see how the two holes on each side could line up with a cockade or rosette too. I've gone throug...

The problem is so much seems to be missing. I don't think based on the photos that this had a neck curtain - like the Indo-Persian helmets, but it is possible. I wonder if we're thinking the wrong region with India/Persia. Could this be French for say Indo-China, Siam or a similar French client state?