Josh1336
New member
Hello Again,
Sorry for the lull in responses, there are many members of this page that are quite knowledgeable! Here is a revised list with several modifications.
This List will incorporate styles as well as Manufacturers. Granted any war time stahlhelm with original paint ups its rarity but I’m talking about the average helmet in general. Throughout WW1 Germany produced roughly 8.5 million stahlhelms and it is thought that 80% have been destroyed or lost to time. Meaning that there is a possibility of 1.7 million helmets still somewhere in the world.
Germany had a percentage guideline to how many helmets it wanted produced per size. Sizes were in centimeters and went from 60 to 68. (I have heard rumors of size 70 but I have never even seen a documented photo of one) This percentage was listed by Ludwig Baer in Vom Stahlhelm Zum Gefechtshelm.
Size 60 - 1%
Size 62 - 13%
Size 64 - 42%
Size 66 - 40%
Size 68 - 4%
With this info, obviously sizes 60 and 68 are going to be on the rarer side; here is what I believe is the list from rarest to most common WW1 German Stahlhelms.
#1 Eisenhüttenwerke Thale A.G. (E.T.) Square Dip Original Stahlhelm ~30,000-35,000 produced in late 1915 majority were destroyed or recycled. It is the most rare variant.
#2 F.C. Bellinger (Marked FB) Size 62 (possibly 64) Stahlhelm, F.C. Bellinger is the 2nd most common manufacturer, however, this is an extremely rare misprint or possibly smaller satellite factory that produced these FB stamped helmets. Extremely Rare
#3 Körting & Mathiesen (K&M) Manufacturer Mark Stahlhelm, in sizes 66, 68 it is the rarest manufacturer having only operated for a short time in 1916. Extremely Rare
#4 Siemens & Halske A.G. (Superimposed H over an S) Manufacturer Mark stahlhelm, only produced in size 60. Extremely Rare
#5 E.T. Size 60 Stahlhelm, together with the SH above, only 85,000 were produced (Per the percentage quota) Extremely Rare
#6 E.T. Size 64 M18 Cutout Stahlhelm, dispersed in August of 1918 to the front, with only 100,000 produced and its unique shape makes it Very Rare
#7 C. Thiel & Söhne (TJ) Manufacturer Mark 66, 68 Stahlhelm, known as another unusual manufacturer as well as the harder to find size 68. Very Rare
#8 E.T. Size 68, due to the rarity in size making it Very Rare
#9 Gebrüder Bing A.G. (GBN) Size 64 Stahlhelm, this is the only Barvarian Manufacturer and the manufacturer of the Duck Bill Variant. Rare
#10 J. & H. Kerkmann (K) Size 64 Stahlhelm, another manufacturer of the Duckbill Variant. Rare
#11 Vereinigte Deutsche Nickelwerke (NJ) Size 62 Stahlhelm, a less known Manufacturer. Rare
#12 Gebrüder Gnüchtel A.G. (G) Size 62 Stahlhelm. Scarce
#13 Hermann Weissenburger & Co. (W) Size 66 Stahlhelm. Scarce
#14 Richard Lindenberg A.G. (Bell L) Size 64 Stahlhelm. Scarce
#15 F.W. Quist (Q) Size 66 Stahlhelm. Scarce
#16 Eisenhütte Silesia (Si) Size 62, 66 Stahlhelm. 3rd most common manufacturer. Common
#17 F.C. Bellinger (BF) Size 62, 64 Stahlhelm 2nd most common manufacturer. Common
#18 E.T. 62, 64, 66 Stahlhelm, the most common manufacturer in WW1. Common
Again, in no way is this list the law of the land, this is my revised list from a few months of on and off research.I am a novice collector who is trying to learn and create a list that could assist future collectors. If you agree, disagree, have suggestions, know of different helmets or want to add on, please do so! I'd love to see what others think.
I am so fortunate that since I've started my collection I’ve amassed 6 different manufacturer stahlhelms with the rarest being a mailed home ET60 with traces of Buntfarbenanstrich Paint!
Sorry for the lull in responses, there are many members of this page that are quite knowledgeable! Here is a revised list with several modifications.
This List will incorporate styles as well as Manufacturers. Granted any war time stahlhelm with original paint ups its rarity but I’m talking about the average helmet in general. Throughout WW1 Germany produced roughly 8.5 million stahlhelms and it is thought that 80% have been destroyed or lost to time. Meaning that there is a possibility of 1.7 million helmets still somewhere in the world.
Germany had a percentage guideline to how many helmets it wanted produced per size. Sizes were in centimeters and went from 60 to 68. (I have heard rumors of size 70 but I have never even seen a documented photo of one) This percentage was listed by Ludwig Baer in Vom Stahlhelm Zum Gefechtshelm.
Size 60 - 1%
Size 62 - 13%
Size 64 - 42%
Size 66 - 40%
Size 68 - 4%
With this info, obviously sizes 60 and 68 are going to be on the rarer side; here is what I believe is the list from rarest to most common WW1 German Stahlhelms.
#1 Eisenhüttenwerke Thale A.G. (E.T.) Square Dip Original Stahlhelm ~30,000-35,000 produced in late 1915 majority were destroyed or recycled. It is the most rare variant.
#2 F.C. Bellinger (Marked FB) Size 62 (possibly 64) Stahlhelm, F.C. Bellinger is the 2nd most common manufacturer, however, this is an extremely rare misprint or possibly smaller satellite factory that produced these FB stamped helmets. Extremely Rare
#3 Körting & Mathiesen (K&M) Manufacturer Mark Stahlhelm, in sizes 66, 68 it is the rarest manufacturer having only operated for a short time in 1916. Extremely Rare
#4 Siemens & Halske A.G. (Superimposed H over an S) Manufacturer Mark stahlhelm, only produced in size 60. Extremely Rare
#5 E.T. Size 60 Stahlhelm, together with the SH above, only 85,000 were produced (Per the percentage quota) Extremely Rare
#6 E.T. Size 64 M18 Cutout Stahlhelm, dispersed in August of 1918 to the front, with only 100,000 produced and its unique shape makes it Very Rare
#7 C. Thiel & Söhne (TJ) Manufacturer Mark 66, 68 Stahlhelm, known as another unusual manufacturer as well as the harder to find size 68. Very Rare
#8 E.T. Size 68, due to the rarity in size making it Very Rare
#9 Gebrüder Bing A.G. (GBN) Size 64 Stahlhelm, this is the only Barvarian Manufacturer and the manufacturer of the Duck Bill Variant. Rare
#10 J. & H. Kerkmann (K) Size 64 Stahlhelm, another manufacturer of the Duckbill Variant. Rare
#11 Vereinigte Deutsche Nickelwerke (NJ) Size 62 Stahlhelm, a less known Manufacturer. Rare
#12 Gebrüder Gnüchtel A.G. (G) Size 62 Stahlhelm. Scarce
#13 Hermann Weissenburger & Co. (W) Size 66 Stahlhelm. Scarce
#14 Richard Lindenberg A.G. (Bell L) Size 64 Stahlhelm. Scarce
#15 F.W. Quist (Q) Size 66 Stahlhelm. Scarce
#16 Eisenhütte Silesia (Si) Size 62, 66 Stahlhelm. 3rd most common manufacturer. Common
#17 F.C. Bellinger (BF) Size 62, 64 Stahlhelm 2nd most common manufacturer. Common
#18 E.T. 62, 64, 66 Stahlhelm, the most common manufacturer in WW1. Common
Again, in no way is this list the law of the land, this is my revised list from a few months of on and off research.I am a novice collector who is trying to learn and create a list that could assist future collectors. If you agree, disagree, have suggestions, know of different helmets or want to add on, please do so! I'd love to see what others think.
I am so fortunate that since I've started my collection I’ve amassed 6 different manufacturer stahlhelms with the rarest being a mailed home ET60 with traces of Buntfarbenanstrich Paint!