Fake Pickelhauben Photos And Characteristics

[b.loree]

One of our main missions here on the forum is to share information so as to prevent new collectors from being fooled or ripped off by today's fake pickelhauben. Consequently, I am starting a new thread here where we can show you obvious fakes and what to look out for. The reason for this, is that many of us older collectors got burned when we were new or intermediate players in the game of looking to buy helmets for our collections. So, to the members.....please post some links/pictures of FAKES here.

 

[Naprawiacz]

https://www.pickelhaubes.com/xf/threads/same-item-just-different-ball-shape.17571/

 

[b.loree]

Here is a typical fake helmet probably made in India, these are all over Ebay:

This fake is supposedly representing a Famous Garde Dragoon Regt. Haube. First the "chemical aging" of the brass screams reproduction! Real oxidization of brass is uniform, not in chemical patches! Perhaps the worst part of this repro is the helmet plate/wappen. Again chemically aged and we see an extreme lack of crisp details. This is no where near the quality of the originals. Further clues...the spike shape is not correct, the chin scales ends have no locking fasteners and the small leather strap is obviously newly made and dyed on both sides. Period leather is only dyed on one side, modern, both sides. I am sure that others here will post more clues but this will get us started.

 

[seagull]

A curious fake helmet, believed to have been one of many made in the UK in the 1970's, these keep on popping up and now being around 40-50 years old, are now fooling whole new generations of hopeful collectors. One of these has been on eBay for most of 2025 at a wildly optimistic £1600 or thereabouts.
If you list most of the identifying attributes of this helmet it, amazingly, ticks all the boxes for what it claims to be - The total physical effort put into these things is astounding and yet in actual execution EVERYTHING is still wrong. It is supposed to be a Reserve JR33/34 and wears the "Konigen Schwedischen" honour banner across the eagle - but does not have the trailing "Tails" that the original banner has.
The eagles crown is pierced - but not accurately- and the whole "Reserve"eagle is very poor definition with poorly trimmed edges that are easily visible. The Reserve Cross is quite convincing but still wrong.
The star bolts on the spike base are of very flat thin brass with small metric screw fittings and their square nuts are very sharp edged (new!).
The chinstrap is (technically) correctly made but of very shoddy materials and fitted with a highly suspect buckle and, again, a uniformly blackened leather strap.
The internal sweatband is poor suede leather that does not fit without crumpling at the seam and with black shoe polish to give it "colour" between the visors.
The liner is a coarse linen-type cloth that you would not find in any officer helmet.
The visors are lined with coarse cloth that seems to have been glued in place and dyed- the front being black (!) the oddly small sized rear visor only vaguely red.
The front visor trim is poorly attached to the split brads at each end with a messy "overhang' at each end that would not be acceptable on the poorest EM helmet.
The shell itself is leather, with hair side to the inside as it should be, but the outer surface is vaguely reminiscent of painted leathercloth, slightly flexible and not the rigid shellac that it should be. The internal seam at the rear of the shell is not sewn but glued together.

So why do I own this one? Simple. it looks OK on a shelf from about 10 feet away. Also, It was ridiculously cheap (£30) back in 2001 when I found it in a junk shop that was closing down.