Lost Skeleton
Well-known member
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301463119823" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Someone will be burned — badly, I fear
- Thread starter Lost Skeleton
- Start date
RON
Well-known member
Love the phony advertising!
"Q: No question, just a comment. You may not know it but your helmet is the holy grail! I have been watching and buying WW1 helmets here for nearly 18 years and this is the finest I have seen by far. Unbelievably rare. Anyway this time of year I'm broke but will enjoy seeing just how high this goes. Good luck. Rex Jan-03-15
A: Thank you for your kind words!"
"Q: No question, just a comment. You may not know it but your helmet is the holy grail! I have been watching and buying WW1 helmets here for nearly 18 years and this is the finest I have seen by far. Unbelievably rare. Anyway this time of year I'm broke but will enjoy seeing just how high this goes. Good luck. Rex Jan-03-15
A: Thank you for your kind words!"
Peter_Suciu
Well-known member
edwin said:
Edwin... helmet collectors are cheap! I literally heard from a collector at a show say, "I can't buy books. I need that money for helmets!"
Peter_Suciu
Well-known member
edwin said:
As a helmet collector and author of many articles and books on helmets I can't agree with you more. Reference books should be the FIRST thing you buy, but many helmet collectors seem to think it gets in the way of adding another helmet to the collection.
Don't get me started on shelves! I know many helmet collectors with hundreds of helmets - so many thousands of dollars invested - and they go for the cheapest track shelving at Home Depot. I spent $4000 on my aluminum shelves for my helmets. I'll have those shelves for the rest of my life. These were expensive but worth every penny.
edwin said:
Can I make a comment as a layman who knows nothing about the subject and would be unable to spot a fake ear-cut Stahlhelm? Is there a reference book that is really of help in this respect? As a comparison, you may have read all the existing literature on spike helmets and still be screwed - at least on pictures - by a clever crook. You hear this all the time, even from seasoned collectors...
Just a naive question...
Bruno
Adler
New member
Don't like the liner and pins, don't like the paint, don't like the form of the flairs. But all that doesn't matter because the real M18 ear cutout's should be marked ET64 and not BF64...
It's as easy as that... and yes, it's written in almost every book about German helmets.
Good collecting starts with good information!
Adler
It's as easy as that... and yes, it's written in almost every book about German helmets.
Good collecting starts with good information!
Adler
Peter_Suciu
Well-known member
911car said:
Bruno--
I have a massive library of helmet books, articles and documents. I've tried to collect EVERY book on helmets. It was some outdated book published in 1960 I probably have it. My helmet book list:
http://www.nyc-techwriters.com/militaria/articles/helmet_titles.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
That said the Ludwig Baer books are a good source to start with on all things German steel helmets.
Cheers,
Peter
poniatowski
Well-known member
The German craftsmen who rolled the edges of the helmet were usually very good at it and the inner 'lap' of steel tended to be very uniform. This one is a mess. That's what would put me off and what I noticed first. Other than that, the visor and 'fenders' look very good, but the replicas can be improved with a simple cylindrical stake and a pair of hammers…. raising and rounded planishing. I know this, because I did that to a replica I found. :wink:
Ron
Ron
Lost Skeleton
Well-known member
Yes! Eisenhüttenwerk Thale was the ONLY manufacturer of M18 "cut-out" helmets. Like Keith, I believe the eBay helmet was an original F. C. Bellinger (BF) M18 doctored to deceive. The bright orange rust around the liner band is a tip-off that artificial aging was involved as well. There were no adequate photos of the M18 chin strap and how it is attached to the bales, but it appears to have been shortened and sewn rather than double-riveted at the fold as it should be. Ron pointed out the typical cautionary boilerplate — "I am not an expert…" "… found in a basement…" "Seller does not offer returns." Then, there is the dubious Q & A:ottodog8 said:
No question, just a comment. You may not know it but your helmet is the holy grail! I have been watching and buying WW1 helmets here for nearly 18 years and this is the finest I have seen by far. Unbelievably rare. Anyway this time of year I'm broke but will enjoy seeing just how high this goes. Good luck. Rex
Either "Rex" is an idiot or a party to the shill. I believe the latter. Finally, the helmet was auctioned once before — ending prematurely to be revised as a private listing. In eBay parlance, private listing means "bidders' identities protected." In reality, it guarantees that hapless bidders cannot be warned they are being fleeced.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301444700163" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
As Peter states, one cannot have enough references. However, the internet provides enough free information to have spared the winning bidder his costly mistake (scroll down to Regarding WW1 German Helmets):
http://www.germanhelmetsinc.com/faq.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
horseguards
Member
Thse "private" auctions are often questionnable. and this could very well be a case of shill bidding. It often happens on Ebay, but they don't care, as long as the final price gets inflated.
For Gott's sake, though, don't show a swastika; the Ebay PC police will be on you in a flash!
For Gott's sake, though, don't show a swastika; the Ebay PC police will be on you in a flash!
poniatowski
Well-known member
horseguards said:
But you can show all of the sex toys you want! ](*,) (Not that I've been shopping!)
Ron