Where to start.

kaiserburg

kaiserburg

Member
Where do I start my collection? I am younger than most searching I assume, and I wanted to start early and ask around for people with more knowledge on this topic than me. Where should I look for Pickelhaubes, shakos, etc anything really. Even reproductions.
 
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Very young and good to know that we have youngsters getting interested.

You can start looking at ebay or dealers to buy haubes but you will also need to read up before u start buying.

Kaiserbunker.com offers wealth of information that you can access. Thanks to Tony for his effort to create and maintain the website.

You can also look up to the sale page on this forum as our members will also sell haubes on this forum.

Wish you luck in your collecting journey and enjoy the process.
 
Amybellars said:
Very young and good to know that we have youngsters getting interested.

You can start looking at ebay or dealers to buy haubes but you will also need to read up before u start buying.

Kaiserbunker.com offers wealth of information that you can access. Thanks to Tony for his effort to create and maintain the website.

You can also look up to the sale page on this forum as our members will also sell haubes on this forum.

Wish you luck in your collecting journey and enjoy the process.
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Kaiserbunker is a favorite site of mine. Thank you for your comments. I've been interested for a while.
 
Hello Kaiserburg and welcome to the forum. Nice to have you on board :)
Because of the many fake helmets, you do right to learn about Pickelhauben first. And for your first helmets you should ask for help. You can also send a PM if you don't want to post your purchase. Most of our members will reply with advice and opinions.
Further, I highly recommend Jim Turinetties Buyers Guide 2023-2025. It will give you some guidance and a feeling for prices of helmets for the different regiments:

» Search Results » buyers guide

derrittmeister.com derrittmeister.com
 
Welcome!

I can only agree with Sandmann.

First I would think about which helmets exactly I want to collect. Then always pay attention to quality, which is not easy. Unfortunately, there are many people who intentionally or unintentionally sell fake helmets. There can be disappointments. But it is a lot of fun!

By the way, I bought my first helmet at the age of 16. Teenager, too.

Best wishes,

GardeUlan
 
I fully agree with statements and advises above, but I would also advise you to visit fairs, talk to people, internet is wonderful but to het the feeling for haubes and judgement regarding originality you really have to see feel and smell the real thing, you can’t learn that online.
by the way I also started as a teenager ( 52 years old now).
 
As a teenager you will probably go through phases and your interest will most likely change.

The best advice I could give you which is from a lifetime of collecting is save your money and only buy quality.

If you save a couple of grand and still think the best thing you can do with a couple of grand is buy a pickelhaube your most likely on your way to becoming fully infected with the collecting sickness. ;)

I would then recommend finding a helmet you really feel you can't live without and post some pictures here. There are many members here who would really love to help you make a good decision.

If you make a good decision and everyone here will do their best to make sure that you do and you end up buying a quality helmet at a good price you will always be able to get your investment back and maybe a little more. ( its not about the money but you certainly don't wanna be stuck with an expensive mistake you can't get rid of looking at ya everyday)

As a young collector you have a golden opportunity to make all the right moves and you have in this forum a great tool to help. One many of us wish we would have had at your age. Take advantage of it, and welcome aboard. (y)
 
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John Josef said:
As a teenager you will probably go through phases and your interest will most likely change.

The best advice I could give you which is from a lifetime of collecting is save your money and only buy quality.

If you save a couple of grand and still think the best thing you can do with a couple of grand is buy a pickelhaube your most likely on your way to becoming fully infected with the collecting sickness. ;)

I would then recommend finding a helmet you really feel you can't live without and post some pictures here. There are many members here who would really love to help you make a good decision.

If you make a good decision and everyone here will do their best to make sure that you do and you end up buying a quality helmet at a good price you will always be able to get your investment back and maybe a little more. ( its not about the money but you certainly don't wanna be stuck with an expensive mistake you can't get rid of looking at ya everyday)

As a young collector you have a golden opportunity to make all the right moves and you have in this forum a great tool to help. One many of us wish we would have had at your age. Take advantage of it, and welcome aboard. (y)
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Thank you for your advice. History is something I think I'll stick with because I am deciding to devote my life to history, and collecting.
 
Welcome to the forum, you are in the right place as a budding new collector. 👍 In my experience, the most common first pickelhaube is the Prussian model 1915 or M15. They are the most common at least in North America but still pricey for a teenager at around $550US The next choice would be the Prussian Model 1895 with brass fittings. These 2, are the easiest to find and the most affordable. If price is an issue you could start by just collecting the helmet plates or original cockades. Last , as has been mentioned don’t waste money on copies/reproductions, they have no real value when collecting. Do not hesitate to ask questions here, we all are here to help out.
 
b.loree said:
Welcome to the forum, you are in the right place as a budding new collector. 👍 In my experience, the most common first pickelhaube is the Prussian model 1915 or M15. They are the most common at least in North America but still pricey for a teenager at around $550US The next choice would be the Prussian Model 1895 with brass fittings. These 2, are the easiest to find and the most affordable. If price is an issue you could start by just collecting the helmet plates or original cockades. Last , as has been mentioned don’t waste money on copies/reproductions, they have no real value when collecting. Do not hesitate to ask questions here, we all are here to help out.
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I am very excited to start collecting.
 
GardeUlan said:
First I would think about which helmets exactly I want to collect
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Fully agree with that!
I only collect Pickelhaubes that are related to my family's military history, so for me regimental association is more important than quality. Having said that, if you are not sure which direction you want to go then collect quality, as that will always remain tradable, while any premium paid for a regimental marking (I'm talking standard Prussian Pickelhaube here with the standard eagle, not one of the "fancy" ones with rare plates, with those the regimental marking will create extra value as it confirms authenticity) will probably be lost when you trade / sell it.
The big advantage of Ebay is the price, generally significantly lower than with dealers, however my experience is limited to enlisted men standard Prussian helmets. The big disadvantage of Ebay is that there is generally no guarantee :).
As mentioned by Brian, an M15 standard Prussian helmet would be a good start, still relatively cheap, and having a helmet in hand to study all the details and the feel really helps with subsequent purchases.
Enjoy!
 
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