Here is a Thread you Need to Read

[DeeHoop]

Kenny

In my opinion the helmet he is selling the DD Luft DT is a good helmet.

Thats what makes guys like him dangerous, mixing good and mostly bad.

Thats one nice Luft that will go for a lot.

Matt


QUOTE=Kenny Suit]Gentlemen:

I wanted to pull this thread back up to the top because the fellow in question, Eric Dolin, has another nice helmet up for auction on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

What is troubling for me is that the most recent bidders who are raising the price on this helmet have made 0 purchases on eBay. So are these shill bidders? Or "new members of the eBay community?"

Another question for me is whether this helmet is original or not. It certainly looks good to me. But as we've seen in other threads recently, many collectors (myself included) are unsure about what makes an early LW eagle decal original. And helmets that had been given the thumbs-up on this forum were later given the thumbs-down.

Here's the link to Dolin's website showing the early LW decal on this helmet:

http://germanhelmetcollectors.com/_wsn/page3.html

I contacted Ken N. a couple of days ago because the decal on Eric's helmet is identical to one of the ones shown on Ken's website.

Ken doesn't remember where he got the photograph, but doesn't think he has ever owned this helmet.

Could it be that this is an original helmet? Or another one of "steelhelmet"'s fakes?

And how high is the bidding on this helmet going to go? With or without the help of shill bidders?

-- Kenny Suit

[/QUOTE]



ok

[PAB]

Erich Dolin the same guy the Fake SS seller
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=166595

[Dennis J]

need to read

Come on guys selling the good with the bad has been around since time.Thats how known fakers like Charlie Snyder have been around for at least 50 years.Thats right Charlie has been around for at least 50 years doing the samething over and over because he sells good items as well.Charlie will also let some lucky guy get him every now and then so they will say that they bought from good old Charlie and they got him because he did not know it was real and bought the item cheap while a 1000 others got ripped off.We all know Charlie it is the good guys we have to look out for.I know I have been ripped by Charlie and some of my so called good friends who's name in the hobby at the time was good as Gold.Seeding their websites with good and bad has been around for a long time.Bottom line buy the item not the story or the dealers name or rep or as far as that goes even the info in books are sometimes way wrong.This hobby is a trip.

Enjoy your hobby
Dennis J

[prussian.guard]

sooner or later this forum will be based on who has the best fake.
going by the prices of the original i don't blame them a new guy starts collecting TR he sees an original helmet for $6000 but then he sees a fake for $300 but looks exactly the same IN HIS EYES which do you think he is going to buy

[FLAK]

LOL

To all the doomsayers who say that the helmet market will collapse as a result of the fakery, I say...Great! Let the damn prices fall, that will give me a chance to really have a collection I can be proud of at a fraction of the price. I don't collect for investment, but for the pure awe that a helmet brings to me when I wonder where it has been and what it has seen.

Thats what i was waiting for to read,
I agree with you all the way,Because i dont have much money to spend on really killer helmets,beside you will never know what your going to get wich could be bad or good if all prices went to hell.

because i have prolly 16 helmets now all original,some complete and some not but not high end ones you know,at least i didnt pay mad money for crap but i did pay for what i have and know what it is ,and i did get burned for 800$ before i joined this forum so i must say thanx to the ones that gave me good info in the past

Well thats just my 2 cents

Kind Regards
MIke

[FLAK]

But i must say it is a shame what people are doing to this hobby because for some it is a real treasure to have something with the history it carry's."Not for just what kind of money it will bring""
I just guess we all have to be careful in the present and future.
Regards
Mike

[ROBB]

An old thread I was just looking at .Rob

[peter u]

sooner or later this forum will be based on who has the best fake.
going by the prices of the original i don't blame them a new guy starts collecting TR he sees an original helmet for $6000 but then he sees a fake for $300 but looks exactly the same IN HIS EYES which do you think he is going to buy

by PrussianGuard


This says it all,

P

[John C]

Hi,

I agree with WalterB. I collect because I love the history and the thoughts of what the helmet has seen. I hope the price for all the german collectibles crumbles and then you will see the real collectors that are in it for the history as opposed for the money.

John

[Chad1]

fakes

Has any else noticed that they spend more time reading about helmets than, say, WWII?

That should tell you the state of affairs.

If I'm honest with myself, I think I am more interested in WWII, than helmets from WWII. Afterall, a helmet is just something tangible that relates to the history, something that makes it more real.

So, why should we spend more than $10000 on a helmet, or $14000, or higher?

The answer is because we want to have the best collection, be the biggest or most advanced collector, and be envied by others.

It's about competition and it is treading a fine line with obsession.

Now that I've said that, I wouldn't be suprised if some of the more artistically talented/dedicated collectors don't manufacture "perfect" examples for they're own collection...to be envied by others as well as sold to suckers. We have already gone far beyond the history with this stuff.

[pantera123]

fakes

Has any else noticed that they spend more time reading about helmets than, say, WWII?

That should tell you the state of affairs.

If I'm honest with myself, I think I am more interested in WWII, than helmets from WWII. Afterall, a helmet is just something tangible that relates to the history, something that makes it more real.

So, why should we spend more than $10000 on a helmet, or $14000, or higher?

The answer is because we want to have the best collection, be the biggest or most advanced collector, and be envied by others.

It's about competition and it is treading a fine line with obsession.

Now that I've said that, I wouldn't be suprised if some of the more artistically talented/dedicated collectors don't manufacture "perfect" examples for they're own collection...to be envied by others as well as sold to suckers. We have already gone far beyond the history with this stuff.

I agree with you in some respects. I have never seen an area of collecting with more egotistical people. It seems that it is all about who can rise to the top of the mountain with the most stuff. I got into german helmets as a result of reading tons of WWII books. Of course I got burned a few times, but stuck with it. I collect for the same reasons WalterB pointed out. It is about the history to me, not how rare the helmet. I am sorry, but a large number of Germans fought hard for their country and the rarity of their helmet had little to do with that. To me, a no-decal combat helmet from a soldier at Normandy is more interesting than a chicken-wire helmet from a soldier that spent most of his military service in an office!!!! As a Civil War image collector that is why I like the Army of the Potomac and Army of Northern Virginia photographs better. They both did the majority of the fighting in the East. An armed image of an Iron Brigade soldier is more interesting to me than some quadruple armed bozo who was on furlough most of the war posing with artist weapon props. But once again, as with German helmets, we know which example is worth more. ranting!!!!

I would say that the most discouraging aspect of helmet collecting is not the fakes, but some of the "so-called" collectors' attitudes.

[Rolf D.]

As a Civil War image collector that is why I like the Army of the Potomac and Army of Northern Virginia photographs better. They both did the majority of the fighting in the East. An armed image of an Iron Brigade soldier is more interesting to me than some quadruple armed bozo who was on furlough most of the war posing with artist weapon props. But once again, as with German helmets, we know which example is worth more. ranting!!!!

That is an analogy for mint decaled, camoed helmets vs true veteran SD/no decal Heer helmets and the likes...

Which is sexier is what determines which is more expensive. Not because of the history behind the unit, person and helmet but because someone cut some fence and put it on their newly painted helmet...

[Fred Green]

Hello,

This is an old thread that was mentioned in another thread. I thought that it might be nice to bring it back up to the top.

Fred

[panzer1432]

I agree with you in some respects. I have never seen an area of collecting with more egotistical people. It seems that it is all about who can rise to the top of the mountain with the most stuff. I got into german helmets as a result of reading tons of WWII books. Of course I got burned a few times, but stuck with it. I collect for the same reasons WalterB pointed out. It is about the history to me, not how rare the helmet. I am sorry, but a large number of Germans fought hard for their country and the rarity of their helmet had little to do with that. To me, a no-decal combat helmet from a soldier at Normandy is more interesting than a chicken-wire helmet from a soldier that spent most of his military service in an office!!!! As a Civil War image collector that is why I like the Army of the Potomac and Army of Northern Virginia photographs better. They both did the majority of the fighting in the East. An armed image of an Iron Brigade soldier is more interesting to me than some quadruple armed bozo who was on furlough most of the war posing with artist weapon props. But once again, as with German helmets, we know which example is worth more. ranting!!!!

I would say that the most discouraging aspect of helmet collecting is not the fakes, but some of the "so-called" collectors' attitudes.

I agree somewhat. I collect as you do for the history. I always wonder where the helmet was and what it saw. Who were the owners etc...

I don't need a mint helmet in fact I like some combat wear. I love the hobby and enjoy talikng to the helmet guys at shows...plus going out to eat. Plus checking out some really cool helmets !

[jacquesf]

Very relevant thread regarding the Champagne decal faking expose and is a direct link to the origin of these. A detailed discussion of this link and further info is in Walhalla felmet forum. J