whats the current value of a US M3 anti flak helmet?

[walleyealx]

Funny that this thread just revived. This one just popped up for sale locally for me so I started trying to research them.

 

What are your thoughts on the one in the attached pictures? Is it legit? Rusty but seems to be complete. The price is in line with or on the lower side of what you guys have been posting recently.

[Bob Hudson]

Here's how I remove that surface rust without affecting anything beneath the rust: https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/23266-preserving-wwii-metal-items/

 

 

[The Rooster]

Wow  Bob... Sold? Wow.

And Nice job on removing the rust. Ive had good results with whink rust remover.

 

And walleyealx

Thats a nice one. Felt pads liner and chin strap. Looks good !

Many times the chin straps are broken or gone.

 

[dmar836]

To remove the rust, there will likely be no flocking left. I think most know that these were not just painted green like M-1s.

[36thIDAlex]

I got mine maybe a year and a half ago from a forum member for 225, it has about 95% of the original flocking, perfect lining, and the ear pads all still there. The brown doesn’t actually show up as much in person as it does in the pictures. Even so, pretty crazy to see the price jump so much and wonder what caused it

[Radio Operator]

I noticed recently that other WW2 era flight headgear such as good condition oxygen masks like the A-10a and A-14 as well as flight helmet receivers have went up this past year, it could be that there is more interest in USAAF flight gear overall. I'm not surprised the M3 is going up in price I've read there might have been around 210,000 made which isn't a lot when compared to the M1, and unlike the M1 after the war was over there wasn't much of a reason to keep them around. Add 70+ years of age to the mix and people holding on to them makes one in good condition relatively rare.  Great example of an M3 btw!