Tony is correct. Hence, this JR117 helmet appears to bear a cockade of the free city of Bremen (post-1897; before it was a red cross on white background).Good spot John. I looed at that helmet for over an hour and could see nothing wrong with it at all.
But I completely missed the Kokarde.
View attachment 16115
None of the Hessen Kokarden shown here are serrated:I agree with John that Bremen cockades were normally serrated. Therefore, there is a doubt. On the other hand, JL Larcade writes that Hessian cockades were always serrated, for both enlisted men and officers. I have occasionally seen, like everyone else, these simplified serrated white/red/white Hessian cockades with only one red ring, but never saw one that was convincingly authentic.