M 1915 PICKELHAUBE-HOW RARE

F

Foxdoublegunner

New member
Gentlemen,
How scarce are unit marked M 1915 Pickelhaube? I have one from Baden which appears to have been used but not abused and would like to have a general idea of how many of these might have been produced compared to the pre-war models.

Thank you,
Foxdoublegunner
 
A hard question to answer Fox, in my experience Unit Marked M 15's are rare. In my mind, I have 2 reasons for this....they stopped marking such equipment, as if captured, it gave away the unit ID. Secondly I would say that the vast majority of M 15's in Canada and the US are "Bond Helmet Survivors" that were unissued, (never marked) and captured by the Allies in warehouses after the war. We have pics here on the forum of huge Victory helmet pyramids in New York city and being unpacked at dockside. They were used as prizes for selling War Bonds. Any M 15 which you see on Ebay with a "like new " liner is a Bond Helmet in my opinion.
 
Brian,
Thank you for your insight. Yes, I have seen the pictures of the pickelhaube pyramids, leading one to believe that an enormous number made it through the war unscathed. Mine was definitely used but not abused and is properly unit marked so I doubt that it is a bond pickelhaube.
As I look at the prices, the M 15's are on the low end of the price scale-almost a beginning collector type of pickelhaube. Strictly from the point of view of supply and demand, if less of them were made because of less than two years of production, you would think that they would be more desirable but of course they also exhibit the constraints of wartime production which would tend to counteract the effect of any scarcity in the minds of many. I was just trying to get a feel for what percentage of available pickelhaubes are M 15's since price and to some degree condition don't appear to be a valid determinants.
In my case, I appreciate the fact that my only pickelhaube is a wartime issued & used item marked to the same unit as my P08. I also appreciate the assistance of my friends on this forum and the Luger forum in adding this to my small collection so my humble M 15 is worth more to me than a fancier parade pickelhaube. I hope that my heirs appreciate it.

Regards,
Foxdoublegunner
 
Hi again Fox. Like yourself, I have a marked M 15 in my collection. In this case it is a very nice Prussian Arty helmet marked to a Westphalian Regt. The Prussian M 15 is definitely the entry level piece for the novice collector and of course very common. However, once you get into M 15 Wurtt, Hesse, or one of the Saxe Dutchies, Brunswick etc you are talking big money......$1,000 plus. Of those, the Wurtt usually $7-800. It took me a long time to get a Wurtt M15, Tony Schnurr as well. This seems unusual as there were obviously, a number of Wurtt infantry Regts.
 
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