AAA0 helmet

[Bugme]

Bugme,

To be the devil’s advocate is not an easy part to play and your point of view is rather courageous. I was not laugthing at your respectable arguments but at seller’s hazy explanations...

 

Dan.

 

Thanks Dan, No offense taken! However, I'm still sticking with my original assessment of this helmet. For the record, the net looks U.S. to me.

 

Hey Mike... c'mon you know you want to agree with me.

[Jeff]

Have you guys seen the question posted on the ebay link on the helmet. Check it out. And he still refuses to scrutinize what the serious collectors would like to know. Im no expert here but come on.

[LTGSANCHEZ]

The seller doesn't want to remove the net because he wants to leave everything "as found"... Well that is fine, and I completley agree with that to a limited extent... I don't treat my leather items, I never wash or soak anything... BUT not removing a helmet net... come on... That net is covering up something he doesn't want bidders to see... It's a damn shame. A real nice 9th helmet sold on ebay not too long ago. Someday there will be another, just steer clear of this one boys.

[Alonzo]

About two to three years ago an 88th division helmet came up for sale on ebay...it was discussed at length on the other forum M.C.F. It sold for over $1000.00. The aging of the paint was brought up and how rust had formed both in the chipped painted areas as well as on the painted surface itself

If I recall consensus on that helmet was what costa referred to as an H.C.P.P. (Home Cooked P**s Pot).

Is this the same guy?

That netting resembles the british net though it does not show the camo colors...it appears to be all Olive colored...US issue, right??

The thin netting can get very fragile with time, I had one that was virtually stiff as cardboard...it retained its helmet shape even after being removed.

It seems the consensus on this one is not good, though the observations of Bugme are sound as well.

Cheers

[gecko NZ]

one things for sure you cant really go wrong with a plain unpainted M1 lol

[Bob Hudson]

one things for sure you cant really go wrong with a plain unpainted M1 lol

 

So true. Elsewhere on this forum we had some posts about how we may have been too hard on easy_green, the ebay seller who makes some very artful fake marked helmets. His conscience is clear, apparently, because he admits to what was added or re-created. But of course they are not marked as fakes and it is inevitable that some of the buyers will resell them and, surprise, may try to pass them off as the real thing.

 

Sellers of things such as this AAA0 helmet should not be surprised if such offerings are picked apart: the assumption is they are all fake and it is up to the buyer to provide overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

 

There is another helmet thread - http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=15421 - in which it's revealed the seller pulled his listing because too many people questioned the helmet. It was not painted but was another great candidate for faking: "ORIGINAL PARATROOPER M-2 "D" RING HELMET, ID'D 101ST AB." Intead of getting ticked off at potential buyers understandably asking tough questions, he should be ticked off at the fakers whose work casts a cloud over all but the most mundane of M1 helmets.

[Bugme]

...Sellers of things such as this AAA0 helmet should not be surprised if such offerings are picked apart: the assumption is they are all fake and it is up to the buyer to provide overwhelming evidence to the contrary....

 

...Instead of getting ticked off at potential buyers understandably asking tough questions, he should be ticked off at the fakers whose work casts a cloud over all but the most mundane of M1 helmets...

 

First, I don't think anyone defended easy_green as much as we now know where he's coming from. Do I agree with him?... NO, but this is a forum and forums are places to dispense thoughts, concerns & reasons as well as education.

 

I also agree with the fact that the sellers need to be more open and not offend so easily. I'm a seller on eBay, I get some of the dumbest questions from people who are extremely knowledgeable because they talked to a buddy of their's who has a friend who used to be related a guy who married his sister who was a reenactor. However, I patiently answer the questions. But, let's face it, not everyone has a calm temperament and when they get asked questions that they feel are directed at them personally... they get mad(human nature)

 

Finally, I actually emailed the seller of this 9th ID helmet. Quite frankly, he didn't help his cause with the answers he returned to me. He told me he still hadn't found the paper work and that I shouldn't bid if I was expecting to get the paperwork. I still think it's an original but, his selling tactics suck... so, thats it, I'm leaving this subject alone, since that's where I appear to have been since this thread started anyhow.

[glenm]

As an aside to all this, one thing that should be taken into account is the tale of how such a "combat" helmet actually got back to the USA.

 

I mean, unless he was wounded in combat and kept hold of his helmet through the hospital system, it's obviously not the helmet he finished the war with, judging by the condition of it and the net still attached. Any unit that did even the briefest of occupation duties would have taken off their helmet nets and spruced up paintwork etc..

 

There is more chance of such a helmet turning up in Europe, as a battlefield pickup. Of course, when I say more chance, it is still a slim chance, unless we're talking about ebay.fr with the numerous rare Normandy-barn-found helmets on there....

 

Cheers,

Glen.

[Jeeper704]

There are a lot of barns in France ....

 

Erwin

[Gregory]

There are a lot of barns in France ....

 

Erwin

Yes! In a quarter of century the Enigma machines will be found there on a grand scale...

[Squad leader]

There are a lot of barns in France ....

 

Erwin

 

and in Belgium as well !!!

 

Dan.

[Johan Willaert]

and in Belgium as well !!!

 

Indeed, but since I've gone thru them, they're all empty....

[teufelhund]

Indeed, but since I've gone thru them, they're all empty....

You are right Johan... but in France, they are short on barn ( and attics) in order to store scam... therefore the frenchies are building new ones...around Sainte Mère Eglise,and elsewhere....

T

[VAWARMEMORIAL]

Not that I would buy the helmet or any other that this guy is selling, but I did notice that he has 99.9% Positive feedback 1000+ sales on ebay...... If he sells a lot of rare items that are fake don't you think that the feedback would show it........ just a thought

[KASTAUFFER]

One of the most prolific medal engraving fakers I have ever seen on Ebay had almost perfect feedback. He also used a lot of private auctions so that by the time the victim figured out what they had, they couldnt leave feedback.

 

Kurt

[Bugme]

I know I said I wasn't going to comment further on this one but, I couldn't hold back. Of 41 posts made so far on this helmet, only 16 of them remotely discussed the helmet. The rest talked about this seller, other sellers and barns. Are we still discussing this helmet?

[Bob Hudson]

I know I said I wasn't going to comment further on this one but, I couldn't hold back. Of 41 posts made so far on this helmet, only 16 of them remotely discussed the helmet. The rest talked about this seller, other sellers and barns. Are we still discussing this helmet?

 

 

Helmet? There's a helmet in this pile?

[blitz67]

Just a few quick thoughts on this helmet and a couple counter points.

As far as the chinstrap being moved and the shadow being seen, so what. First thing I would do would take the chinstarp down so you could take the liner out. When you decide not to take the liner out because the net is brittle you would obviously put the chinstarp back up but, looser so as not to damage it. The net looks dead on to me, plenty of rust where you would expect it, even soaked in to the net. I think this would be extremely hard to duplicate. Due to the condition of the outside shell you can tell that it was stored very poorly and the helmet and shell would stick together with rust. The reason the white paint would be more intact than the green is because by painting the insignia you have added another layer of paint and it would take longer to degrade than just the one factory layer. I don't buy the feedback argument either, he has been selling on EBAY for years and and if he was fakeing helmets he would surely have much worse feedback. The net being british or not is also not a problem because we used tons of British gear just as they used tons of our stuff. My last point is this; if you were going to fake a helmet and name it wouldn't you put a name on it that could be found in the nARA data base? There is a Franklin Bauderman from Essex county, NJ who died in 1997. I would assume he was an officer and not all officer's had their rank and a leadership stripe on their helmet. Why would you want to? Don't you think the Germans figured out what this meant? Okay, one last thing, why we you use such a rusty shell to fake with? Look under the net, there is hardly any original paint left just a fine layer of rust that would definately stick to the net. I like the helmet and if I had the cash right now I would be bidding.

[ADMIN]

Just a response earlier to mention of a thread on another board that discussed a fake AAAO helmet.

 

I believe it was on Gunboards and MCF some time back that a fake AAAO paint job was discussed. The main reasons people knew it was fake was that the AAAO paint job sat on top of the rust and nicks in the helmet. I recall the helmet looking weathered like the one for sale and the seller stated it was named to a vet (he provided the name, but I can't recall offhand). In short, the fakery was found by a close inspection of pictures showing the AAAO paint. (The same seller also had a fake GO-DEVIL painted helmet that was attributed to a real vet from the division but the helmet itself had the same fake paint job.)

 

With that previous thread in mind, it concerns me that the tell-tale sign of it being a fake paint job is covered up (rather conveniently I might add). The selling feature of the helmet in question is no doubt the paint job. If the seller does not wish to remove the net, fine. But, I as the seller would be separating the net as much as I could safely do to photograph every inch of that AAAO paint job. As a buyer, I wouldn't trust shelling out my hard earned cash on a piece in which the main selling feature is a feature I have not fully seen.

[VAWARMEMORIAL]

The true fact of the matter with this helmet is........ Until you hold it in your hands and put the old eagle eye on it for yourself you will never know and even then there is the possibility that it is a really really good fake. There are somethings that are fishy about both the seller and the helmet as mentioned above but if he has a good return policy the and you have the bread and the desire to own such a helmet then go for it. Personally, I have other things that I am pursuing and don't have much desire to own it.

[tweedie]

Hi

Such helmets reaching the "open market" that way are quite suspicious to me

I can't believe the seller has no network of collectors ready to buy it on a phone call.

[Bugme]

Hmmm... someone got a good deal, $1,500.00.

[Plant#4]

More helmets and other stuff are coming out right now "JUST" because of these prices. This generation is dying off and the kids or grandkids dont care or need the dough. Himmmm keep dads old hemet or fix the kids car? Grandads old book or go to the movies? The fact is the younger generation cannot keep all of thier parents things. There is too much stuff. So they keep what they think is "valuable" or means something to them, and dump the rest. How many of us still have thier parents car when they passed? Same thing, dont need it, get rid of it. Real or not, I will let other folks decide. Because they know more about this than me, but I do know why people get rid of stuff. Dave

[Red_Nek]

More helmets and other stuff are coming out right now "JUST" because of these prices. This generation is dying off and the kids or grandkids dont care or need the dough. Himmmm keep dads old hemet or fix the kids car? Grandads old book or go to the movies? The fact is the younger generation cannot keep all of thier parents things. There is too much stuff. So they keep what they think is "valuable" or means something to them, and dump the rest. How many of us still have thier parents car when they passed? Same thing, dont need it, get rid of it. Real or not, I will let other folks decide. Because they know more about this than me, but I do know why people get rid of stuff. Dave

 

Don't forget, as novice collectors grow older they are able to upgrade their collections. I, personally, sell parts of my collection that I have no desire to collect anymore or want to upgrade.

[ITALIANWARFRONT]

Thank you all for the nice comments, thankfully the collectors that know me personally know that I'm a serious collector.

I'm 44 years old and I started collecting when i was 11, my main interest is Italian WWII specially RSI period 1943 1945 but i have a secret love for German WWII camo helmets.

When I start collecting I was living in Italy close to the Gothic line and we use to find many US helmets with divisional insignia like the 34th, 10th Mountain,88th...............

I'm a collector not a professional dealer and I start selling on Ebay in 1999 to finance my hobby, buy one item sell one item so I don't have to explain the wife why I'm taking money out of the bank account.

When i list on E bay I always start my bid at $9.99 , always place many nice and clear pictures and always offer inspection and return policy.

I never sell items that I think could be fake and If I think are reproduction I always mention that in the item description.

I have been collecting for many years so I know that what looks good for me can look bat to one other person like I see many items offered as original that I would never buy, but I respect everybody opinion without making inappropriate comments or accusation.

when i moved to the US I sold all my collection to buy my first house here in the state so when I had the opportunity I always bought nice US helmet.

In my collection I have many US WWII camo helmets that I love and many other with divisional insignia ( will add pictures of few ).

I sell on E bay because I have many collectors asking me to buy my helmets but when I ask how much they are willing to pay I'm told to make the price first.

All the Items like German helmets that I cannot sell on E bay I sell on my web site, WAF e stand or to the military show I go. ( next the SOS )

Going back to the net, I did remove the liner from a very nice M1 with navy insignia to check if any insignia was painted on the liner and when the liner came out the net got loose and now the helmet lost that nice look that had before.

 

Giorgio