Prussian picklehaube details

[Chad1]

Picklehauben are not my primary field, so I wanted to get some opinions on this helmet, and possibly some discussion on a few points that I've noticed regarding construction.

First off, I believe this is a plain Prussian officer line infantry helmet. I know there are subtle differences between some NCO and officer helmets, but is my identification right?

The helmets body is not leather. Not sure if they made these with some kind of fiber glass or not, but that's what it seems like.

Also, all the fittings have that nice brass finish EXCEPT the rear spine, which is dull grey. I'm wondering if that's a replacement or if mixed finish parts are regularly encountered. Do ersatz materials find there way into the privately purchased examples too?

Lastly, the sweatband in the liner doesn't have the normal trimmed border that I've seen on other picklehauben. On this one it's cut straight across. Maybe it was a time saving step???

These are the only pics I have at the moment, so any comments are welcome

It looks like a real nice helmet, maybe even made during the war (as opposed to the prewar examples), but I'm wondering if I've missed anything.

[Chad1]

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[Chad1]

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[Chad1]

front visor trim

Forgot to mention the front visor trim is also subdued grey.

I'm curious what others think of this combination.

[Arran]

Hi Chad,
This is a classic Wartime helmet with a fibre vs. leather body. The fittings are a combination of brass and zinc, both of which would have been gold plated when new; the plating has deteriorated from the zinc fittings over time, which is a common phenomenon...

[ww1czechlegion]

Yes, Arran is correct, this is very typical to see a part or two with the zinc base metal exposed on these wartime assembled officer helmets.

Looks like the fiber body, liner, and rest of the fittings are in excellent condition. A very nice helmet, aside from the zinc visor trim & backspine, which would make for a nice addition to most collections!

Alan Schaefer

[jerryrehr]

Yes, Arran is correct, this is very typical to see a part or two with the zinc base metal exposed on these wartime assembled officer helmets.

Looks like the fiber body, liner, and rest of the fittings are in excellent condition. A very nice helmet, aside from the zinc visor trim & backspine, which would make for a nice addition to most collections!

Alan Schaefer

Well said Allan and I agree 100%.

Jerry R.

[Chad1]

comments

Thanks for the comments guys, it's always good to get positive feedback rather than, well, you know.

I particularly like the fact that it's a wartime made example.