7 hours ago, 1st Minnesota said:

Yea I didn’t think it looked good. I’m glad I’m familiarizing myself with the good and the bed that has been or currently on the market. Is the yellowish/orange usmc Indian head helmet I sent up top original? 

Re-read post 43. You need to find out about that hole, punched or not punched and whether there is a full name. Not much else can be said from the photos your have showed. If you can’t get the answers you want, I would want to have a very good return policy to inspect it in hand. 

True! Yea I definitely don’t want a very expensive fake in my collection. 

Kevin gives sage advice. Learn first, buy later. 

 

Kevin, what are your thoughts on 3/5 helmets? For some reason they were quite hard to find when dad was collecting. I know he only ever found two. Things might be different now. Certainly more has come out in the last 40 years. 

 

This is one of his 3/5's that I kept. 

4 hours ago, Eric Queen said:

Kevin gives sage advice. Learn first, buy later. 

 

Kevin, what are your thoughts on 3/5 helmets? For some reason they were quite hard to find when dad was collecting. I know he only ever found two. Things might be different now. Certainly more has come out in the last 40 years. 

 

This is one of his 3/5's that I kept. 

Hi Eric, is the square blue or green.  Would be good to see a close-up in natural light.  Thanks.

Definitely blue. You can compare it to the green directly below it. 

Yea it doesn’t look like most typical royal blue. Looks like a teal color blue

1 hour ago, Eric Queen said:

Definitely blue. You can compare it to the green directly below it. 

Hi Eric, man just when I thought I had seen most of your collection, Bam, you post this! That is such an incredible helmet! You are correct about the blue fifth helmets. For some reason, blue diamond sixth helmets seem to come to market, but the blue squares are rare. I too have seen only three the past decade I felt comfortable with. One of those I snagged on ebay after Duke Massey brought it to my attention. It came from one of the Manifor’s and I looked at it the morning it was listed and thought it was black, but it is definitely dark blue. Thank goodness it was photographed in full sunlight. Yours with the cammo shell is a stunner.

 

I have a named cammo painted shell that was done in France just before hostilities ended for a Marine seriously wounded and going home. It doesn’t have the Indianhead star on it because it was before they were using it but the cammo design and some other details on my cammo remind me of yours. My bet is there was an artisan or two doing these cammo shells on order as souvenirs in France and the men didnt wear them but brought them back in a duffle bag. Your Marine probably added the blue square when the company was painting those up coming home, or just included it on his order when the cammo was painted if he had this done just before departing. That might also explain the lighter blue color as I am sure those artists probably had a broad palette. It was definitely done during occupation or as they were leaving (due to the 1918-1919 date on it, mine only has 1918 because the Marine who opened it went home in September 1918). I simply have never seen another quite as stunning as yours. I also have never seen a cammo shell being worn by a Marine in a Antrim or yardlong photo, have you?

 

Back to the original question, yes you are very correct those blue squares are very tough to find and I should have included that one on the list earlier. Thanks for sharing Eric. Your Dad did all of us so many favors finding and preserving such nice stuff directly from the vets. I will cherish my 1/6 helmet that I obtained from him that started all of this for me. And oh yeah, dang, what about Private Camerons medals on the shelf sitting next to that helmet. Haven't seen that either!!!!

Well Eric, I see now that your Dad had included you cammo helmet in Equipping the Corps. It looks so different in the book I didnt immediately recognize it. I think your photo above does it more justice but no doubt looking at the photo in the book that the square is blue. Here is my cammo, and I think they may have been painted by the same guy, the colors, and some details sure seem similar. 

Wow! Both are very nice helmets! Thank you both for sharing

That is a beauty Kevin. Thanks for sharing. It's even more interesting being named to a 4th Brigade man. Most helmets of this type (with the large, detailed EGA at front) tend to be from 5th Brigade personnel. Agree that the color schemes are very similar. Very nice. 

This is on Ebay

Yes it is and there is a very extensive thread on this forum right now about this seller faking Marine Corps groupings. This helmet is a fake and fabricated in his garage!

Yea. I’m not an expert on WW1 usmc helmets but I knew right away this was BS. The paint looks like chalk. The ware on the diamond is at random spots but only a little bit to give it that “look” 

You really should read this thread to get a feel for the extent of this sellers bad deeds

 

 

Plenty of pictured USMC helmets on the forum, they should be viewed as a good reference for the budding collector.  Id say don't buy anything unless it looks similar to a "legit" helmet here - or comes direct from the family. There is a huge market out there preying on people wanting 3/5 or 2/6 helmets (ie whatever sells). The forum should be seen as a reference tool, as a lot of us have shared our personal collections (and knowledge) here.  I'm sure any of us would be willing to get a PM from you asking advice before your next helmet purchase. 

Thanks @AustinOmuch appreciated! Yea I will definitely do that for the future when I purchase a WW1 marine helmet. I will use this forum for reference and send some pics your guys way to get a second and third opinion :)

Wise words Austin! I just helped a forum member through PM yesterday in the purchase of a nice original 2/6 helmet. He scored a good one! No better place than this forum for assistance and reference. 

2 minutes ago, warguy said:

Wise words Austin! I just helped a forum member through PM yesterday in the purchase of a nice original 2/6 helmet. He scored a good one! No better place than this forum for assistance and reference. 

I really appreciated the assistance from Kevin and can’t wait to get my 2/6 helmet. It will be here on Monday and I will post pictures. This is my first with an EGA. I have a 3/6 but that one does not have a EGA. 

Austin has also been a great help to me when I have questions as well. This forum has been an amazing learning tool with some amazingly knowledgeable people who are more than willing to help. 

Austin is very knowledgeable and an asset to this forum!

Kevin & Shawn - appreciate the kind words, I'm flattered! 

 

1st Minn - give me/us a holler when you're tempted on the next Marine helmet. That's what we're here for!

Thank you Austin and everyone! Madams a lot. I will definitely take you guys up on that offer

Hi guys. There is a WW1 marine uniform with pants that I am being offered for sale at a show. Can u tell me if the patch looks legit on it? 

There is also a name with the uniform. Comes with the pants. From an auction in upstate New York 

On 10/24/2022 at 10:34 AM, 1st Minnesota said:

This one MG unit helmet apparently sold a while back. Just tried to find one that was for sale at one point 

 

 

This one reminds me of the style the painter from Nebraska does. He has a distinctive style. 

 

Heres two I saved that sold through a catalog. Both are done by the Nebraska painter in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

Just my opinion but I personally don't like it. To me, its an attempt to copy this style of patch.