Here’s an odd one to come home from the war. Shows our guys were bringing everything home, a Japanese Type 18 Murata that would have been made about 1886. Unfortunately with a name as common as J. Sweat I doubt I’ll truly ever narrow it down. The carvings in the stock are quite interesting one side being done with what looks like a chisel or a knife the other side done by some form of punch possibly. As a theory my guess is this rifle was taken out of the stacks of confiscated weapons at the end of the war.   

Thanks for the reply. 

Hello! Gosh, I know I'm behind about 14 years, but I have a lot of information about this medal.  If anyone is still interested in learning more about it please reply and I will dig into my grandfather's records and share all that I have!

Its all WW2 produced... but... Like others have stated, you paid way too much. Even in the Netherlands.. you should be able to find a better example from someone in the States that will ship to you. Even on the forum here, some folks will ship overseas. For example, look at a recent pick up of mine... The sweat band in the liner is post war... and no nape strap, but it has its leather chin strap.... 205 bucks U.S. and I was bidding against others on ebay. Like Blitz was saying.. we have all gotten burned. Part of learning... Study up to know what to look for. The forum here is the best resource I know of to learn. Cheers!    

How common are these in unissued condition and era made. Thanks

Odd, it was coming up yesterday on both an internet search and a forum search and now it's vanished

Thanks for your respons. It seems oval so mcCord seems to match the fixed bales. The chin straps i expected to be added later. Would a firestone with the 23 number in the liner be a good match with this kind of helmet?   I live in the netherlands by the way so i maybe pay more than in the US.    My main concern is that the helmet and liner are atleast ww2 era ( around 1943, 1944)   The 101 paint on the liner was in my mind more a rack number in storage ore something like that

Grok says it’s an equipment bag from the Army’s dog sled program. 1943 is  significant because it was the hight of the program, which was headquartered in Camp Rimini, Montana; 1000 dogs were trained there.  Of course, Grok lies occasionally, so there’s that. 

By the shape of the loops, it is a Mccord shell. 

Tim, I think you played triple what that helmet is worth. Maybe in Europe it’s a good deal but here in the states you got taken. Don’t worry we have all been screwed a time or two.  If I were you I would get on US and started searching completed auctions to get a better idea of what this stuff is worth.  Your helmet appears to have a Korean War era overpaint(light olive drab) and the chinstraps being hand sewn really really hurts the value. I would value that set up at around $160-200 US dollars on a good day.   Remember, no matter what people tell you, this stuff is not rare. I think the US made something like 22 million M1 helmets during WWII. Post a picture or two on here before you buy, people here are happy to help.  Not trying to ruin your day, sorry about that but next time take your time and do your research. This hobby can be very very dangerous as far as crooks and grifters and getting tipped off.   Amd really this helmet is not collectible at all, poor example.