IR88

Hi everyone.....
This is the last one I had in hand.....I like it a lot , I decided to keep it and I'm pleased to share it with the community and your great knowledge.
A IR88 fiber pickelhaube .....
IMHO is a good one and I don't see nothing wrong (or at least something very obvious)
Of course every opinions are welcome.....
Thanks
Giorgio

A beautiful example!

giorgio said:

Hi everyone.....
This is the last one I had in hand.....I like it a lot , I decided to keep it and I'm pleased to share it with the community and your great knowledge.
A IR88 fiber pickelhaube .....
IMHO is a good one and I don't see nothing wrong (or at least something very obvious)
Of course every opinions are welcome.....
Thanks
Giorgio

Click to expand...

I agree with Dennis
Nice Kammer issue stamps
Steve

more pics....

What a great piece! Congrats!

Very Nice Piece, in great shape, I really like it, Congratulations.

NICE CONDITION

Very nice

Giorgio,
Fantastic detailed pictures of a rare and nicely preserved Pickelhaube. Thank you for sharing your wonderful addition to your collection.
Best regards
John

Very nice. Congrats

Great and rare helmet, congratulations

Superb find !
Great condition....just amazing

I was offered this one too on the 22 of March by a german dealer who was in Münsingen...He sent me some live picts on my mobile phone.
I did not take it for some reasons (chinstrap is copy, cockades, not sure).
It further seams that the shell has been polished with black shoe polish (visible on grommets and spike base) and that metal fittings have also been polished to a high gloss. To do that, spike has also obviously been dismantled and then reassembled. The front hole is no longer in line as it always should be on pre-war M95 helmets
Nevertheless, great markings and untouched inside of the helmet
Philippe

Pourtant, c’est un casque très rare avec des beaux marquages

dixmude 14 said:

Pourtant, c’est un casque très rare avec des beaux marquages

Click to expand...

Yes it is, no doubt about it . At least, always a question of price ans personal taste

Philippe

argonne said:

I was offered this one too on the 22 of March by a german dealer who was in Münsingen...He sent me some live picts on my mobile phone.
I did not take it for some reasons (chinstrap is copy, cockades, not sure).
It further seams that the shell has been polished with black shoe polish (visible on grommets and spike base) and that metal fittings have also been polished to a high gloss. To do that, spike has also obviously been dismantled and then reassembled. The front hole is no longer in line as it always should be on pre-war M95 helmets
Nevertheless, great markings and untouched inside of the helmet
Philippe

Click to expand...

First of all really thanks to everyone for your opinions...... and thanks to you as well Argonne.....
I'm learning about pickelhaube and these inputs are really interesting......
1)About chinstrap and cockades I post more detailed pics....I'd be wrong for chinstrap but I'd be surprised if cockades are fakes...(but of course I could be wrong)
2) "The front hole is no longer in line as it always should be on pre-war M95 helmets" sorry..I don't understanr this, can you (or others member) explain it to me?
3)I 'll check about the use of black shoe polishing...but why would any collector do it? what was he supposed to hide?
a) it's a bad and "dangerous" thing for the haube or is a damage only for the "patina"?
b) Forgive me if is a stupid question: could the shoe polish, or sometihng like that to clean or to polish up the helmet, also be used at the time?
c) It can be reversible or you can do something about?
4) How can you check about dismantling and reassembling of the spike?
5) about the polished fittings: am I wrong saying that within some years will loose his brightness?
Ok.. forgive me if these are silly questions...
Really thanks ...
Giorgio

....to further integrate what was said above,and help in a more precise evaluation, I tried to take two photos of the details.....at the base of the spike they seem more oxidations and also at the grommet, the material that has collected seems like something very old....but, of course, your knowledge is much deeper than mine....
Thanks
Giorgio

Hi Georgio,

1)About chinstrap and cockades I post more detailed pics....I'd be wrong for chinstrap but I'd be surprised if cockades are fakes...(but of course I could be wrong) I am sure that the chinstrap is a repro one. About cockades, other members could confirm or not. I am not 100% sure
2) "The front hole is no longer in line as it always should be on pre-war M95 helmets" sorry..I don't understanr this, can you (or others member) explain it to me? If you have a look to old original picts (pre 1914) you will see that 99% of the M95 helmets always has the one of the 5 holes in the spike neck showing to the front of helmet. On this helmet, it is placed on the prussian side. This is always a sign that the spike has been removed at some time, for different reasons. Done by the soldier that brought back the helmet as a trophy, to save space in his bredbag, done by a collector that wanted to have his helmet shiny again. It´s then easier to polish the differents parts if removed. Last possibility: a lot of M95 helmets saw there spikes removed from 1915 onwards during the campaign because of the perfect target they represented for the enemy. A lot of collectors choosed after the war to put a new spike on those helmets.
3)I 'll check about the use of black shoe polishing...but why would any collector do it? what was he supposed to hide? Nothing to hide! Only for the pleasure to habe a shiny helmet that looks new and good...Some collectors love that...I do not...
a) it's a bad and "dangerous" thing for the haube or is a damage only for the "patina"? No!
b) Forgive me if is a stupid question: could the shoe polish, or sometihng like that to clean or to polish up the helmet, also be used at the time? Soldiers of the german army were not allowed to polish their helmets with shoe polish! Only sometimes gently clean the shell with a dry and soft cloth. If old Wappen became a little dull, it was allowed to polish it gently only with chalk, taking great care of the leather shell while doing that!
c) It can be reversible or you can do something about? Better let it as it is now!
4) How can you check about dismantling and reassembling of the spike? As said above, when the front hole of the
spike neck is not showing exactly to the front of helmet. If the spike has been removed, there are 3 of 4 possibilities to reassemble it in a wrong way on the shell. This can also be be seen from the fact that the rivet lugs are no longer perfectly pressed against the inner disc, but not always!
5) about the polished fittings: am I wrong saying that within some years will loose his brightness? The more you polish some metal. The more often a metal is polished, the faster it will tarnish.

Philippe

Hello!
For me as a native of Mainz, it's always nice to see helmets from this garrison town. I also think that the chinstrap is a copy, but I consider the cockades to be original. Unfortunately I only have a private 88 helmet without regimental markings - see pictures (with original tunic from Mainz, which has the shoulder piece from 1913). If the helmet should ever return home - I would be happy .
Best regards,
Christian

Hi Argonne and thanks for taking the time to answer me.....
So, let me recap to see if I understood everything correctly:
1) the chinstrap is a copy (but I think this can be considered a venial sin as it can easily be replaced) ....but I would like to know what other members think of the rosettes.
2) the question of the front hole is very interesting....but from what I understand it could be a plausible scenario that does not necessarily indicate sure tampering..........
Honestly I have to say that looking closely the rivet lugs even if not perfectly pressed against yhe inner disc seem untouched with no signs of folds or tampering....but as said I certainly don't have your knowledge.
3) regarding the use of shoe polish or polish for metal fittings, it is something that would be better not to do but which seems to be a fairly common practice.
I am at the beginning of my adventure with the pickelhaube and all this is part of the journey of knowledge and I consider these kind of "threads" very useful.....
Ok...
Thanks again for your time....
Giorgio