Prussian M15 Garde find and restore

A

Arisaka99

New member
Hi folks; first time post. Like many of us, I enjoy treasure hunting at pawn, gun, and antique shops when I drive somewhere. Ever since I was stationed in Germany with the Army in 1988, I’ve wanted a decent Pickelhaube at a good price. I never found one that spoke to me. That ended in early March when I picked up this Prussian Garde enlisted (other ranks) Pickelhaube at an antique mall in Guthrie, OK for a really good price. It was missing its kokarden but other than that, it was complete and not in too bad of shape.

A century plus of sitting on a flat surface had popped the threads on the visors and the middle retainer on the rear spine (see pics), but the rest seemed good based on my familiarity with other period original items (leather and metal aging). I grabbed it for $340 and after some research, Brian Loree from this site came up over and over again as “the guy” for a correct and meticulous repair. After some great back and forth emails, I sent him the helmet in early May (tarrifs… OUCH) and got it back two weeks ago.

Brian re-attached the visors, repaired the popped elements on the rear spine, and found me a set of original and correct kokarden that matched the overall condition of the helmet. For the quality of the work and going rates on kokarden, I consider his rates to be VERY reasonable. I needed someone with experience, attention to detail, and a passion for the item (as well as someone trustworthy and easy to work with). He is all of these; you literally cannot tell the restoration is not original.

As you can see, he used the correct thread and a needle that fit through the original holes without stretching or popping them. He also replaced the rusty ten-penny nail holding the wappen with the correct wedge-shaped leather tabs from period scrap leather. I appreciate him ID-ing the chinstrap as correct and the wappen as original the helmet. Finding replacements would have scrapped the great buy I got. The leather and metal remains as-found with no cleaning or preservation agents.

Here are some before and after pics. Thanks Brian for the assistance, education, and this great site!!!

Before
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After
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Arisaka99,
Welcome to the forum. For a beginner you picked up a good helmet at a good price. But most importantly you picked the right man to do the repairs to your Pickelhaube. Now you have a fantastic and period correct Garde Pickelhaube.
Best regards,
John
 
My thanks for the kind words. The condition of this helmet was very good, supple leather always makes my job easier! :) The solder job on the rear spine pin went well, thanks to Tony S. who decades ago sent me a letter entitled "Soldering for Dummies". I do not have his expertise but I still have the letter and can follow his simplified directions! :D
 
That's a nice helmet indeed. I like the look of the M15 garde helmets. For some reason I have not crossed them at the right moment but patience is a virtue. :)

Thanks for posting the before and after pictures and welcome to the forum!
 
So in terms of rarity between 1 and 10 where do these fall (one being common)? Does it vary by country? It seems the most available examples of any Pickelhaube are in the UK (excluding the big U.S. haul of Prussian examples from the depot at Colditz for war bonds after the war ended)? Asking for education; not to sell.
 
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So, just based on my experience....the regular Prussian Infantry M15 is the most common. Anything beyond that (M15 second tier) would include Baden, Bavarian, Saxe and Garde. Forming a third tier, we get into the very rare M15's, for example Oldenburg, Wurttemberg, Hesse, Brunswick, Saxe Duchies etc. Can finding these vary by country and location? My answer would be yes. Another factor is the number of Allied troops involved in both wars. The larger the number, the more souvenirs brought back. Were there post war occupation forces involved? If yes then again, more opportunity for the "occupiers" to liberate or buy items. Regarding the UK and again just my two cents.... more fakery to watch out for and more expense! Personally, I have never bought anything from the UK by auction, or other means.
 
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b.loree said:
So, just based on my experience....the regular Prussian Infantry M15 is the most common. Anything beyond that (M15 second tier) would include Baden, Bavarian, Saxe and Garde. Forming a third tier, we get into the very rare M15's, for example Oldenburg, Wurttemberg, Hesse, Brunswick, Saxe Duchies etc. Can finding these vary by country and location? My answer would be yes. Another factor is the number of Allied troops involved in both wars. The larger the number, the more souvenirs brought back. Were there post war occupation forces involved? If yes then again, more opportunity for the "occupiers" to liberate or buy items. Regarding the UK and again just my two cents.... more fakery to watch out for and more expense! Personally, I have never bought anything from the UK by auction, or other means.
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I agree Brian, when I just started collecting, I watched regimentals, a UK site, and a US site, which name I forgot, but most members would know which one. And several other sites too. Now, I only buy from the membership here, whom I trust, and E-bay france. You have to be careful with ebay, but you can still find nice items there. A few minutes ago, I bought a nice enlisted Hessen M95 wappen there, for instance. Complete with the nuts, to attach the wappen to a Hessen M95.
 
By the way, I really like this Garde M15! And the way it turned out.
I also have a Garde M15 here in my collection, but then again, it is marked ER2, Eisenbahn. But, as most people know, the Eisenbahn regiments were Garde muster too. So this one is like it should be, and I like it a lot.
I bought it several years ago from Sander.
 
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