Prussian M15 Pickelhaube Opinions

[ecoffman]

Hi all,

I was looking at potentially buying this pickelhaube from the XVII Armee-Korps Danzig, and while the rest looks good to me the holes for the wappen are throwing me off. It looks like they were punched out multiple times. The chin strap mounts might also be bad, but I am unsure of that as well. It may just be the quality of the pictures that have been provided.

It may have been depot repaired or something of the sort, or it may be fake/altered.

I haven't been able to find another example in which the wappen holes looks like this, so I would appreciate some feedback from some others.

Thanks in advance!

[ww1czechlegion]

Yes, it looks like a legitimate Imperial German arsenal re-work with the extra holes like this. A collector didn't punch the extra holes in it.

The white color size marking on the underside of the back visor is also a common sign to see on arsenal re-work helmets. More typically I see the yellow markings on arsenal re-works. The entire underside of the back visor having a dark appearance is also typical on Imperial era arsenal re-work helmets.

The one side of the helmet has a sloppy placement for the chinstrap attachment lug as you've pointed out. Sometimes we also see stitch holes that were missed and skipped over on the arsenal re-work helmets.

The only thing that I don't like is the shiny, glossy gray appearance of the spike. Was it waxed, varnished, or what happened to it to make it glossy/shiny looking? Other than this odd, glossy/shiny spike, I don't think the helmet has been messed with in modern times

Best Regards,

Alan

[ecoffman]

Thanks Alan!

I'm glad to hear it's a good one.

I figured a standard Prussian pickelhaube would be an unusual helmet for a collector to attempt to alter and then keep it as a Prussian, but one can never be too careful. All of the other altered ones I've seen have been turned into something more valuable/desirable.

I've noticed the same about the spike and have no clue what is going on with that. It might just be the lighting reflecting in some strange way.

[ROBB]

Nice interesting helmet pretty good price . The spike shine I think is an optical illusion due to white marks . Rob

[C. Roelens]

As always, Alan's assessment is spot-on.

Finding the kokarden will not be too difficult, but finding an original M15 chinstrap is another story.

It's good to see you on this forum.

Chuck

[ecoffman]

Thanks Rob! The price definitely is good. I bought it earlier for $350. I agree about the spike. The photos look like they were taken in natural lighting and it might just be reflecting that weird.

Glad to be here Chuck! Since I've been furloughed due to Covid I figured I would spend some more time here.

I've already found a Prussian kokarde and am working on the national. An original chin strap is going to be a real nightmare, though.