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Medic, 101st Airborne, 501st PIR, NCO Marked Helmet


Bugme
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Excellent looking helmet looks very Nice indeed my friend :)

Great American History attached to that Helmet for Sure..

Thanks for sharing truelly amazing.

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:thumbsup: Outstanding find. A real nice piece. What other gems were in that collection that got broke up ?

 

Rich

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That's a wonderful piece of history, and we should all be glad that it's somewhere where it will be appreciated.

Bill

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Oh yeah. I'm also curious to know.

Hopefully you'll be seeing some of these posted by those other collectors that are here on this forum. I can only brag on what is mine. I will say this however, that many of these helmets are phenomenal one-of-a-kind helmets that will knock your socks off! I only wish that I had had the money for some of these at the time.

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Moonlight Gecko

Bugme, let me first say that I hope you have a healthy and speedy recovery.

 

Your helmet is very interesting. But I am wondering about the insignia. The distressed paint job, 101st Abn markings, medic cross and NCO bar seem like a combination that is almost too good to be true.

 

Not trying to ruffle any feathers, but it does leave some room for speculation considering the amount of "original" helmets appearing for sale.

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Not trying to ruffle any feathers, but it does leave some room for speculation considering the amount of "original" helmets appearing for sale.

No feathers ruffled here. Any helmet of this type and rarity should be gone over thoroughly to eliminate any speculation and question. The heavy base metals found in WWII paint have been confirmed on this helmet. I've tried to take as many pictures as possible to allow for inspection here on the forum also. It has also been inspected by several other well known collectors. This helmet was used on a campfire which accounts for the heavy burned look and lack of paint on the dome. It also appears to have spent a lot of time in the elements as evidenced by the heavy patina. I have spent weeks going over this helmet under magnification looking for telltale artificial aging methods, none of which were found. I am 100% confident in this helmet.

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Scott

 

Do you think the campfire use contributed to the peeling/lifting pattern of the paint on the front circle???

 

RON

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Absolutely, it certainly wouldn't have helped, softening it up so it went brittle and started to crack/peel over time.

As you already know Scott, this helmet is off the charts! We always say this, but it rings true here, they NEVER come better than that beauty!

Also, as I've said before, I actually like the shellack/lacquering on the shell, because you know it's 100percent preserved and will never age or deteriorate any further :thumbsup:

Hope you are doing well chief!

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So this is what your mind was on, when you forgot to raise the kickstand! :lol:

 

An absolute knockout piece! Well deserving of its own thread!

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Scott

Do you think the campfire use contributed to the peeling/lifting pattern of the paint on the front circle???

RON

Ron, without a doubt, the use of this helmet for heating water or cooking or whatever our medic did here has contributed to the lifting that you see. Some of the paint is burned off completely while other portions show signs of the paint softening and then re-adhering once it cooled.

 

I actually like the shellack/lacquering on the shell, because you know it's 100percent preserved and will never age or deteriorate any further.

Blake, thanks for bringing this up, this is something I forgot to mention earlier. The previous collector/owner of this helmet did something that WWI vets did to their decorated parade helmets and what TR collectors did to their helmets up until the early 80's in an attempt to preserve them... he shellacked it. While we've since learned that this is something we 'should not' be doing to preserve these helmets, I believe that this is one case where it may have actually helped to hold the very fragile paint to this helmet.

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Corpsmancollector
in an attempt to preserve them... he shellacked it. While we've since learned that this is something we 'should not' be doing to preserve these helmets, I believe that this is one case where it may have actually helped to hold the very fragile paint to this helmet.

 

Sorry to ask a stupid question Scott, but what exactly is shellacked? I've not heard this term used before...I hope I haven't shellacked a helmet either, by the sounds of it!

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Shellac was the 'do-all' product of the late 1800's to the mid-1900's. It was used as a tough all-natural primer, sealant, stain, and high-gloss varnish. Shellac was even used in electrical applications since it has good insulation qualities and seals out moisture. It's because of this ability to seal out moisture that helmet collectors thought it would be a good product to preserve helmets. Unfortunately, seeing that shellac is a natural compound, it does break down with decades of age causing discoloration, cracking, crazing, peeling and even powdering of the finish.

 

All of the above can be found happening on this shellacked medic helmet. However, as I mentioned earlier, this is a rare case in which it has actually helped preserve the fragile paint left on this particular helmet.

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So this is what your mind was on, when you forgot to raise the kickstand! :lol:

Had I had this helmet on my mind, I'd of been wearing it before I got on the bike. ^_^

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This helmet is nothing short of amazing and has just become one of my favorite painted lids of all time!! Very nice and I am in awe of such an awesome piece of history!! Was this helmet in any books by chance?

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This helmet is nothing short of amazing and has just become one of my favorite painted lids of all time!! Very nice and I am in awe of such an awesome piece of history!! Was this helmet in any books by chance?

This is by far one of my favorite helmets also but then, I'm a little biased. :rolleyes: The collection that this helmet came out of, was kept out of sight for many decades so, as far as I know, this helmet has not appeared in any books.

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Wonderful, I love him :love:

I have a very deep 'like' for this one but, I don't know about 'love'. I reserve 'love' for my bride. :lol:

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