Kurassier Metalhelme M1915

[RON]

Hey guys, what do you think about this one apart from the bad pictures and the missing cockades?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230602570834&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[J.LeBrasseur]

looks good and has correct spike.

0 feedback would be my only concern, does not make the seller bad, just be more cautious.

James

 

[RON]

Hey James,
Did you read his little story about being offered $500 for it?
Anyway, I asked him for more (and better) pictures but again I don't believe this is the one... (I'd rather buy something like this from the Forum or a trustworthy collector for instance)

 

[klink]

Try it,

This one looks good.
But wait the othes pictures especially of the plate.

 

[Arran]

There's something about the overall shape of this one I don't like; I'd like to see better pics. I think it could be a worked-over copy...

 

[poniatowski]

Wait for photos of the plate for sure. Looks like a lot of parallax in the lens on that one, but looks like original to me, although I'd like to see many more photos... wondering if there's a size stamp on the neck guard or elsewhere.
To me it looks like there was lot of 'cleaning with steel wool' on this one, the paint on the spike looks to have been burnished off on purpose, rather than through normal wear... but is that a big deal?

I got a nice Bavarian from a fellow with 0 feedback, but he had other auctions running as well. The good thing about paypal is there's a protection plan, so if this is a rook, then you get your money back from them.

The auction house comment is interesting... somebody trying to get something for little?

Ron

 

[edwin]

I don't trust this one partially because of the unclear pictures. Wait for better ones and as you already mentioned its better (or less risky) to purchase a helmet from an reputable dealer, although the price will undoubtably be alot higher.

Best regards,

Edwin

 

[RON]

Thanks for all your insights... Good to know you're not alone in the collecting world anymore

The guy is not much of a photographer; I just got the additional photos requested. From what I can make from the still-bad-but-higher-resolution-pictures, the helmet has a large ding in the back, the spike looks as if it has had some sort of chemical reaction to something as Ron noticed, it has the wrong (brass) chinstrap, and the wappen looks too bright / shiny... This is what I call poor salesmanship. The interior might be the only thing that seems unmessed with (Junker 1916??)... Oh and the seller is a 'Merit' smoker...

Here's what I'm talking about; what do you think now?

 

[poniatowski]

It looks to me as if somebody took the spike to a buffer and heated the daylights out of it. The brass hardware'd chinstrap may be a period replacement, one never knows.
The dent's wouldn't be hard to remove with a little care and it looks as if the plate was painted silver, but may just be a slightly different alloy of steel (MY guess would be the latter). It looks like the feathers on the lower breast are right.
I've seen a lot worse.
Hope this helps and any counter comments are welcome.

Ron

 

[RON]

Hey Ron,
This one is too risky for me. The price will certainly climb at the last minute but might still be enticing but I'd rather wait for a better looking one that would include the cockades...