Front Visor Metal Trim and Helmet Plate Holes

5thlancers

5thlancers

New member
Hi Folks,
Could some kind person give me some info on the front metal visor trim please on a officers pickelhaube, I have come across one with all the metal work being of brass colour but the visor trim being of silver colour but with signs of it being gilt, ie: still showing signs of some brass colour to it, is this normal.
Also while were on the subject, I have collected British Helmet for some years now, and now and again inside where the helmet plate comes through there are extra holes or elongated holes showing signs of another helmet plate being fitted or re-positioned for some reason, I take it this is the same with pickelhaube's, if it is would you still consider purchasing such an item or leave it well alone.
Cheers.
Kev.
 
I've seen gilt over brass and silver over brass, but not the other. Maybe Brian or somebody with more expertise in this area can comment. Also, photos of the extra holes would be helpful, since this sometimes happened with officers and sometimes it's a bad thing, sometimes not. Impressions of other plates / wappen would be something to look for. For enlisted (and some officers as well), the extra holes will often be sealed over and there's a thread about that somewhere in the forum.

:D Ron
 
First Kevin, the officer trim is much narrower than the OR trim at least on the post 1891 versions that we most often see. There are 2 forms of officer trim, rounded and diagonal. Your 1st Bavarian helmet has the diagonal which is common to Bavarian officers. These configurations come in 2 finishes, brass and silver. The colours used correspond to the buttons on the pre 1910 uniforms.....silver buttons =silver haube trim and fittings. Now the tricky part comes in when we are looking at a helmet produced during the war when there was a brass shortage. In these cases, the base metal used was zinc not brass and it was covered with either a silver or gold wash (very thin) to simulate the pre war quality finish. Every metal fitting on the officer helmet was produced in zinc with one of these 2 washes. So if you see some trim that is mostly silver with some brass showing through, then the item is pre war but it has been polished too much and the original finish removed. If you see both silver and brass fittings showing grey metal base then the item is mid war with zinc fittings with the wash worn off. You will also find combinations of zinc fittings with brass. I have a Garde officer helme where the wappen (helmet plate) is pre war quality gilded brass but all the rest of the fittings are zinc washed. Knowledge is power, you have to equip yourself with the knowledge before you throw thousands at these officer helmets. This forum is a great source of knowledge. Keep on asking questions here, we are all ready to help because we have all made mistakes and bought faked items. We do not want to see new collectors get burned!
 
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