Named, unit marked WWII 36th Division Helmet

[36thIDAlex]

Hey everybody,

 

I’ve recently been given the opportunity to purchase what might be a new centerpiece for my collection. My buddy came across this as a collector friend of his was downsizing. The collector had the helmet for awhile apparently and to me, it seems 100% legit.

 

It’s a front seam, fixed bail (one broken off) with a Seaman paper company liner. The helmet itself has a fair bit of the original cork left while some seems to have rubbed off. The insignia on either side appear to copy the OD variant of the patch and match perfectly with the natural wear on the helmet while the follow me stripe seems great as well. The liner looks to have been painted 3 separate times as a first lighter shade of green is visible, followed by a white, and then by the darker green. The lieutenant bar also seems to have been fatter and below the hole on a prior coat.

 

The helmet is named to Lt. William M Gerhardt, Commanding Officer of Cannon Company, 142nd Infantry Regiment , 36th Infantry Division. The following is from his obituary

 

Mr. Gerhardt served in the U.S. Army in WWII with the 36th Division, 1st Lt. Field Artillery. He was a recipient of three Purple Hearts and four Bronze Stars with Valor, a member of the Purple Heart Association, DAV, VFW Post 1889 and 36th Infantry Division Life Member.

 

 

What I would like to ask is

1. Does this appear legit to you all? It seems to me but would like to check before I invest

2. What would you say the value of a named, painted helmet in this condition might be worth?

3. Any help on more info on Mr Gerhardt!

 

This could be my dream helmet and I just want to make sure it’s not too good to be true. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[36thIDAlex]

 

 

 

 

His serial number

 

[644td]

What’s up with all of the scratches? The scratches seem to be everywhere, insignias, follow me bar and I have never a liner marked up like that. I believe the leather chinstrap is a Eroupean strap, looks really thick in the pictures. Hold out for others but something to me does not feel right. I hope I am wrong, I want you to have a helmet to be proud of, with no regrets.

 

Marty

[Cap Camouflage Pattern I]

Looks to me like someone took sandpaper to the insignia and liner

[Wake1941]

I can say Im not much of a fan of this one either, 644td brought up some great points. The liner has shell both show significant wear to the paint but the strap in pretty darn good condition. The follow me bar has almost no age, to me if looks like it was artificially aged. No scratches on the back except for inside the bar, doesnt really make much sense

[Burning Hazard]

Not a fan of this one, looks like it's been sandpapered, return it if you can.

 

Pat

[kaszanka]

wow.. my instant reaction was - what up with this intentional looking directional scratches.... ?! Thats a fake aging for sure.. run from this one

[36thIDAlex]

Hey guys, I appreciate all the comments so far. Luckily I haven’t bought it yet as I wanted to see what everyone in the forum had to say. I was wary with all the weathering. I figured it would be hard to fake the rust but the scratches I wasn’t sure whether it might have just been banged around in a garage for years. Would you all imagine the serial number and paint to all be faked too or just the conditioning?

[Wake1941]

The paint is definitely fake and aged, not sure about the serial number but anyone with the unit rosters could put it in the helmet.

[ArchangelDM]

Run away from this lid,

 

You ever been to the beach when the red flag is up telling you not to jump in the water.

 

Today is that that day

 

- Dean

[dogface44]

Hello,

 

Its not a good one.

[USMC-RECON0321]

Sorry but not a chance on this! This is what I also call a "One Looker" but not in a good way!

 

This is what many un-informed collectors unfortunately find out well after the fact when they go to sell what they thought was a "Top Shelf" helmet down the road. I see it at shows and we all see it on eBay and say: Well they'll figure out it's fake when they go to sell it some day. Well today is his day, because luckily you asked for opinions before deciding to buy. (And as usual chinstraps missing). If this was a legit helmet and ID like this from a "Collector" you would easily expect to pay $2500 +/-. So the price he's asking might tell you if he believes it's a fake or not also.

 

Just some thoughts.

Troy

[Dreamer42]

The SN looks like it was painted with liquid white-out. White paint over time should have yellowed a bit. The follow me stripe looks like it was painted last month with spray paint. As others have mentioned, the scratches are huge red flags for me. Here's my WWII helmet from Col. Harry E. Smith for caparison on aging over time.

 

[shadawg]

That Is undoubtedly an atf leather strap as well. They have the same exact pattern,straight cut, glossy appearance and color as the one on this helmet

[36thIDAlex]

Hey everybody! I want to thank you all very much for saving me and my buddy from this monster. I’m not too much of a helmet guy so it had sold me but boy am I glad I came to you all before doing anything else. He’s working on getting a refund and I’m just taking it easy looking for anything else 36th ID (That’s legit!)

 

Thanks again, the power of this forum is great!

 

Alex