Using UV light to detect fake fabrics

The IR 92 skull discussed in another post appears in the list of items for the seller of bogus mitres...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Helmet-plate-pickelhaube-German-Elite-Cuirassier-Kurassier-/141493034762?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item20f1a45f0a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
He is selling a lot of these replicas lately.

Presumably to help pay his legal fees.

He needs all the money he can get.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Prussian-Parade-miter-helmet-Pickelhaube-mitre-mitra-/141540229454?pt=UK_Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item20f474814e" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Unfortunately I read these comments too late and he scammed my family as well. We sold him a helmet on ebay, he harassed us that it wasn't authentic then insisted we pay a very high insurance fee to send it back to us, I didn't want to pay the mail insurance and refunded his money before getting the helmet back thinking ebay would never let him continue on the site if he didn't mail it.... big mistake they will continue to let him buy and sell and will not let me give him a negative rating. He has stolen a very valuable helmet (and came up with $14,000 so clearly his money troubles are a fabrication). If anyone can offer any advice on how we might be able to get it back i.e. would the authorities help us since he already has a criminal record?
 
sassafras said:
Unfortunately I read these comments too late and he scammed my family as well. We sold him a helmet on ebay, he harassed us that it wasn't authentic then insisted we pay a very high insurance fee to send it back to us, I didn't want to pay the mail insurance and refunded his money before getting the helmet back thinking ebay would never let him continue on the site if he didn't mail it.... big mistake they will continue to let him buy and sell and will not let me give him a negative rating. He has stolen a very valuable helmet (and came up with $14,000 so clearly his money troubles are a fabrication). If anyone can offer any advice on how we might be able to get it back i.e. would the authorities help us since he already has a criminal record?

Report the helmet stolen with the appropriate postal authorities!
 
Its a real shame that ebay does nothing and this creep continues to prey upon people. Could Ebay not be forced to act if presented with his list of convictions? He is obviously a career criminal.
 
Hello
Creep aside Johann may I suggest your being far to aggressive in your testing, judging from the pictured blue 'bling' your holding the light too close imo. or you have an industrial strength light! As we all know all that glows isn't fake.
A short while ago I sold a W1 shirt the only problem with it was a previous owner had it dry cleaned. I'll take it back anytime, no problem. Basically you want to see as in a darkened room reflected back the same colour even under uv light covered in a blue/purple hue.
New collectors can practice around the home as a quickie here are three prs of my jeans the one on the right has been worn and washed lol! two are brand new, note the tag even from six feet.

Cheers
Eric
 
He is at it again,

Christopher Rattray,
21 Elgin Gardens,
Dundee.

British Artillery Helmet. Pickelhaube German French American?

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/theblackhill/m.html?item=143404872094&hash=item216398b19e%3Ag%3A634AAOSwLZVdhQk4&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562
 
Adding information to this blog thread a little late, but just to keep the community aware.

Christopher Rattray of 21 Elgin Gardens, Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom trading as ‘theblackhill’ on eBay was at it again in 2020 fraudulently selling imitation/counterfeit helmets as real antique helmets on eBay.

I purchased a number of helmets purporting to be genuine 19th century imperial German helmets. When I received the helmets, I discovered them to be poor but clearly deliberate recent fakes/forgeries.

I contacted Mr Rattray to seek his response and was met with outrage, counter accusation, threats, etc. It was clear from the outset I was dealing with an unhinged and unscrupulous individual. He refused to take back the helmets or to provide a refund.

I reported the matter to eBay who, after a very lengthy and arduous process, eventually found in my favour and returned the considerable sum I had paid for the helmets. I requested eBay ban ‘theblackhill’ from being able to trade and prevent Christopher Rattray from re-opening an account, which they seem to have done. I imagine he will find a way to open new accounts, so recommend genuine members of the community to be aware.

I also reported the incident to Scotland Police, providing screenshots/evidence, but they essentially did nothing.

I have subsequently found Mr Rattray to be active on the Facebook page ‘Imperial German Headgear’. I reported Mr Rattray’s actions to the administrators of the page and provided evidence of his action, including reference to this blog thread on pickelhaubes.com. The administrators acted swiftly to remove his access to the page.

Mr Rattray has also used the following other names to establish eBay or other accounts in the past:

Pittmiddlewood
Elgin marbles
theblackhill

He also goes by:

Christopher
Chris
Christaidh

Based on my experience, I would recommend the following:

- If you are purchasing antique armour, helmets or headgear from anywhere near Dundee or Scotland, please be very careful in doing as much background research on the seller as possible.

- Do not transfer funds directly to the seller but use and intermediary that has Buyer protection, such as PayPal (goods and services).

- Keep evidence of every transaction, interaction, photo, etc. Consider videoing in one shot unboxing of any received parcels from initial opening through to entire inspection of the purchased articles.

In closing, I wish the genuine and honest collectors/sellers/traders in the community all the best in navigating what truely is a jungle out there.

Finally, should Mr Rattray be reading this post (and I would love it if he is), I wish you nothing less than the worst in life you arrogant, incompetent excuses for a forger. May your numerous dishonest dealings come back to haunt you in old age and deliver the crushing and ignominious end to your pitiful existence. You deserve nothing less.
 
@CavalryCollector how do I contact you directly about your post? I'm looking for more info and really need to speak with you if possible?

I don't really know how to work these things so much but if you could let me know how to get in touch or PM you I'd be grateful.
Steven, if you go with your computermouse, and hover over his user name to the left of his post, a new window will open.
At the bottom of that window you will see "start a conversation". Click on it, and you can send a message to him, which he will receive.
The little envelope, next to his username on the top of every page here, will get a red dot, when he receives it.. This will also happen to you if he answers your message.

Regards, Coert.
 
Thanks Coert, but all i get is follow or ignore it is the same when I hover your username?
If all is okay, you can start a conversation with me, if you do hover over my name. It will read as: Follow, Ignore, and Start a conversation.
But, it can also be that this option is not available for you, because you are still new on the forum.
But I cannot say that for sure, I have been on this forum for a while.
If I hover over your name, I can start a conversation with you though.
 
Yes there is a limit put on new members as part of our anti spam measures. They can not PM until after they have made a certain number of posts without problems.
 
Just a reminder to the membership......the limit on new members to access PM was placed on because we had a spammer who registered and then used PM to bother members. Consequently, Joel our tech support instituted this measure to stop this. Now, obviously I have had a few other things on my mind lately but upon reflection, I think that the limitation period on new members was two weeks. I will check with Joel about this and clarify. Many of you do not know this but there was a time under the old system when Tony, aka L-B Admin. used to sit down every day over morning coffee and eliminate hundreds of spammers. Our security has improved considerably but spam still slips through. I eliminated one of these idiots last week and I am sure Tony has as well. We are watching every day.
 
Hi @StevenJones19601 , I was alerted your trying to contact me by one of the Admins tonight. Seems we are both too new to be able to message each other directly. I'm happy to discuss further on this open forum, which may be of assistance to our fellow genuine collectors. Alternatively, if you post your email address, I'd be happy to contact you that way.

I hope you'll also understand that I maybe a little cautious to begin with until I'm able to verify your identity. Whilst I've no doubt the Admins of Pickelhaubes.com will act swiftly to remove bad actors from this forum, it's a little harder for me to, once we've established direct email communications.

Incidentally, I note you list yourself as located in London. Assuming this is London, England, and that Steven Jones 19601 may be a pseudonym, it may be that we have been in email contact already. I'm sure if we have been in contact before, and my original post above is familiar to you, you will recall receiving an unsolicited email in about Feb 2020. If not, please ignore my last, and let me know how I can help.

Hoping you haven't been scammed by the Rat, but note if you're accessing this thread, you may have been. If so, I'd encourage you to share openly for the benefit of the genuine collectors out there.

All the best,

CavalryCollector
 
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