M18 I am considering buying. (Help ASAP please)

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Any observations on this one being messed with? Here are some photos.
Should I be worried about the wear on the front liner pins? They do not seem to match the rest of the helmet. And I don't see that much on other green examples.

What would market price be on this one? I am thinking in the neighborhood of a grand or so?

Wilhelm

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Other side

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Front

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Back. Should I be at all concerned about that paint drip on the liner hole?

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Liner shots to follow

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Liner shot #2

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Liner shot #3

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Seems that the liner band has a cut or crack in it. Anyone else see it?

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Liner pad

[C. Roelens]

Wilhelm,

I would approach this one with caution. There is a lot of glare/shine in the photos of the outside of the helmet. Does the paint seem to match inside and out? To me, it appears that the outside may have been repainted. I don't like the tone of the paint, nor the aging and overall wear. Closeup photos of all three rivets would be nice also, I don't like the ring around the back rivet, which appears to be loose. Is the paint running around the right rivet also?

I'll wait for your response before I get to the liner and drawstring.

Chuck

[Hans K.]

You can't always be 100% sure by looking at pictures alone, but I think the paint on the helmet (B.F.?) looks period. The drip on the rear is odd, but I've seen this feature on many WW1 helmets, although the drips aren't usually so pronounced. The possible reason for the ring around the rear pin is that the pins have obviously been removed at some point, and it could be that that pin is just sitting too low. I can't say whether the two side pins are original due to the lack of detailed pics.

What I think this helmet has going for it is that it has the complete chinstrap. It looks like a good textbook example, with the leather showing nice age and wear. These are very fragile, and complete M18s don't show up all that much because of this. The liner pads look like they've survived in good condition aside from some damage to the fingers. The light blue cushion pouch ties are very common on M18 helmets, and I've seen red, black and pink ones too, even combinations of these colours on one liner. The drawstring isn't the one orignially issued with this helmet, but I don't think that detracts much.

Here, as an example, is the rear liner pad on one of my M18s along with the original drawstring. (The thumb pictured doesn't belong to me).

Hans

[Hans K.]

I should add that it would be hard for me to guess at a value based on these pictures alone. I don't totally dismiss Chuck's opinion of the exterior paint, though I do think it stands a very good chance of being original.

If the pins are all original to the helmet and the exterior paint proves to be period, $1000 would be a good price.

Hans

[juoneen]

I like it , but wouldnt offer over 500, or thereabouts if the possibilities exibited themselves. Looks honest to me at first glance. Dont fret about the paint drip.Rivets are they tight?

[ROBB]

A fine helmet if its on ebay and the seller sells worldwide it should do $1000 + Rob

[langemarck]

paint looks good, liner is good, chinstrap looks also good, ink mark in the rear of the helmet is a very nice bonus.
I can't tell about the pins from these pics, but if they also are unmessed with, this helmet would go around $1000 for sure.
Ivan