I just picked up this M-40 Q66 SS Helmet. A young man (28), said it had been sitting in a friend's relative's home and he listed it on eBay on 10 July 2013; however, after it was on eBay for a few days, he decided to end the auction because he believed it would get kicked off before the auction ended.
As you can see, the helmet is named to an SS soldier named Läbe. During my next visit to the National Archives, I plan to see if there is a personnel file for him (hopefully there is only one Läbe). I have asked the seller for more details about the soldier who brought it back (his name, unit, serial number, etc.). Unfortunately, the helmet wasn't properly stored. I would have liked to have seen what it looked like in 1945. As we say, "It is what it is," and its originality is unquestionable. It might clean up a bit (it's rather filthy, which gives it character), but I'll leave that up to the person who owns it after me. The helmet also has streaks of white paint on it. For you non-Americans, it was very common for Americans soldiers to keep their souvenir German helmets in the garage, where they painted various things for the household. As one of my good friends joked years ago, "If a helmet has paint drops or streaks on it, it has to be real." I personally have owned dozens of German helmets with paint drops or streaks and I'm sure other German collectors in the U.S. can confirm this.
Barry
As you can see, the helmet is named to an SS soldier named Läbe. During my next visit to the National Archives, I plan to see if there is a personnel file for him (hopefully there is only one Läbe). I have asked the seller for more details about the soldier who brought it back (his name, unit, serial number, etc.). Unfortunately, the helmet wasn't properly stored. I would have liked to have seen what it looked like in 1945. As we say, "It is what it is," and its originality is unquestionable. It might clean up a bit (it's rather filthy, which gives it character), but I'll leave that up to the person who owns it after me. The helmet also has streaks of white paint on it. For you non-Americans, it was very common for Americans soldiers to keep their souvenir German helmets in the garage, where they painted various things for the household. As one of my good friends joked years ago, "If a helmet has paint drops or streaks on it, it has to be real." I personally have owned dozens of German helmets with paint drops or streaks and I'm sure other German collectors in the U.S. can confirm this.
Barry
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