Fake Tanker Helmets from Italy

[sprprops]

Not sure if this is the right place for this or not. But there has been a large influx of fake M1938 US Tanker helmets coming from Rome Italy.

They are being sold by ebay user flender68 as real US helmets. They are some sort of vintage euro clone of the Rawlings design with the biggest difference being the snaps are way to big. He is now apparently adding fake US markings and the names of American dead tank crew members to help sell them.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-M38-tank-crew-Helmet-/193022070218?hash=item2cf1030dca%3Ag%3ALJ0AAOSwSMZcyNFg&nma=true&si=wlBBbr0xL1p3YoDh60gufyODbl0%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

I have started to see many US collectors starting to buy them and them attempt to unload them in the US when they realize the have been had.

Here is one of these foreign copies being sold as a real US helmet.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/WWII-US-M-1938-M38-Sherman-Tank-Tanker-Helmet-by-Wilson-Extremely-Rare-G-I-Info/254338385919?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D6dbee25c84d942f0bc89207a080e7b7f%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D193022070218%26itm%3D254338385919%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2481888&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A244a1a67-c5b1-11e9-904e-74dbd1806329%7Cparentrq%3Abed9844e16c0a9cb18007c7afff10b02%7Ciid%3A1

 

[Baron3-6]

Thanks for the heads up - the Euro sizing in the liner on the first one is dead give away. The second one is just lousy....never ceases to amaze me how people will abuse a dead man's name to make fast money. There was a big incident with faked dog tags from Normandy being sold on ebay a few years ago...there is a thread on here about it.

[Costa]

more garbage to enter the market

[Wake1941]

These euro clones have been around for years, multiple nations copied the US tankers helmet. They look similar but if youve ever owned one you can tell the difference between the euro ones and the US wartime ones

[Andrew]

The sad irony is that some helmet collectors are interested in the Euro/foreign-made tank helmets for what they actually are. Defacing them with faked US markings simply damages a piece that already has intrinsic value.

[Cap Camouflage Pattern I]

The sad irony is that some helmet collectors are interested in the Euro/foreign-made tank helmets for what they actually are. Defacing them with faked US markings simply damages a piece that already has intrinsic value.

Yes, some day euro clones will dry up and their price will go up. Then people will start wishing people didnt mess with them.

[752ndTank]

I'm the historian of the 752nd Tank Bn. The 752nd M1938 tanker helmet that popped up on eBay is one of the worst imaginable fakes. It's clearly not US, and the goggles are a mass-marketed "Army-Goggles" toy/general use item that was being sold in Europe some time ago. Look very closely at the "Army-Goggles" sheet that is part of the auction, and you will see it is written in Dutch. In all, I come up with 13 technical and historical problems with this auction. I stopped trying to come up with more issues after I hit 13.

 

This EXACT same helmet was sold on eBay in Rome -- by our friend "flender68" -- in Feb 2018 for $260 USD. Now the new owner in the US is trying to flip it for $600, with a strange plea for the family to come forward and offer proof of THEIR identity so he can "give" (sell?) it to them. Look at the seller's negative feedback and more red flags go up.

 

I have been in touch with the KIA man's family over the past several years. I knew men who were in his crew, and have eyewitness accounts of the incident. I have visited this man's grave in Italy, and this coming April I will be visiting the exact spot where he was lost. This is beyond disgusting when it hits so close to home.

[Andrew]

The googles turn up often in Dutch surplus gear.

[Andrew]

Yes, some day euro clones will dry up and their price will go up. Then people will start wishing people didnt mess with them.

This is what already happened with German helmets that were repurposed by the Norwegians after the war.

[Baron3-6]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-WWII-United-States-US-Tankers-helmet/173371566424?hash=item285dc02958:g:gkIAAOSwO9RbKSJG

 

Looks like it might be another...ear snaps look big, euro-style stamp on the flap and NO clear pictures of where the size and maker are on US helmets.

[752ndTank]

It took a while, but someone finally bought this badly faked 752nd Tank Bn helmet on 10/28/19. The seller originally listed at $600, then dropped to $450, then $300. This helmet has bounced around on eBay and has been sold twice in the past year or so. Something tells me we'll be seeing this one on eBay again.