I already had an M1860 Prussian pickelhaube. It’s genuine enough and perfectly ok, if not a particularly special example. So I wasn’t looking to spend a large sum of money on what is essentially a duplicate. However, when one appeared on German ebay a little while ago, it was one of those moments when you see something and know you’ve got to have it. Everything looked wonderfully untouched, with most original gilding remaining on the plate as it turned out: