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M35 Heer Normandy Camo

Bigdibbs88

"Ach du lieber!"
Just pulled this out of OH today.....indirect vet family buy. My best find of the year. EF64 M35 Heer.....1939 dated liner band. Heavy textured camo.
 

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Jesus Big Dooker, that is a helluva find. Congrats buddy. I will not ask but if the day ever comes, well you know. GR :thumbsup:
 
to say it was too good to be true.. It almost was... Like finding a un-touched turret sniper.. A holy grail type helmet.. To the searcher comes the find. :thumbsup:

It's out there you just have to know how to search it out.. I would have thought it was fake... At fist glance passed it off.. Closer inspection proved otherwise. CONGRATS !!
 
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Woaw! I am by no means a helmet expert, but that sure has the right 'look' to it! Congrats, I would be happy to find that one.

-Steve
 
Thank you guys for the compliments. Really feeling like the collecting god's have smiled on me on this one. :biggrin1:
 
Call me the "Mikey" of the camo collecting world. (Remember the old cereal commercial - "Mikey won't like it, he hates everything!)

If you review the thread entitled 'Questionable Camos', you will see some features of these that keep popping up on helmets.

Notably, the bright colors - 70 year old camo has typically faded to a very flat, dead looking finish. Therefore, bright paint is a red flag, IMO.

Disparity of wear - Certain areas of the finish have large portions of paint missing, while in other areas the camo are absolutely pristine with no wear whatsoever.

Unnatural wear is also a factor, re: the way that helmets typically wear when used in combat - the myriad of scrapes, dings, chips, scratches, rub marks and so on. The paint on the retaining pins typically takes a beating, probably because the pins protrude past the surface of the helmet and come in contact with additional wear producers. Pristine camo paint on retaining pins is a red flag, IMO.

Always remember that there is a lot of money to be made in the realm of forgery, whether one is taking about designer purses, fine art, or rare WWII German combat helmets. Therefore, we must be ever vigilant and always seeking to increase our knowledge base.
 

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Based on the paint wear, I'd suspect a high-end fake camo. It looks too pristine. It would be nice to know for certain. Since you indicated it was an indirect Vet family buy, you should try to document the chain of custody since it arrived in the US. I've seen a lot of lids that are pitched as Vet family buys. You should do some research on that name and try to determine the unit. I know that it would be difficult with only the family name. How prevalent was that pattern and where was it used?
 
I bought this personally direct from vets family, so yes I'll call you both mickey.

Judging every helmet authenticity based solely on wear.... Wow. The vets grandson put this helmet up as collateral for....wait for it.....$150. There goes the big money theory
 
If it's what you think it is, then you are better than great; you're lucky (great find at terrific price). I'm always happy to see someone make a fine catch.

On the other hand, unless I've got solid research with verification, I'm always skeptical with just a story. I've seen Vet family stories researched and the story then changes a bit, like the Vet didn't deploy overseas, but got it from some returning vets, etc... The most interesting lids I've seen always have solid research like Peter U posts.
 
If it's what you think it is, then you are better than great; you're lucky (great find at terrific price). I'm always happy to see someone make a fine catch.

On the other hand, unless I've got solid research with verification, I'm always skeptical with just a story. I've seen Vet family stories researched and the story then changes a bit, like the Vet didn't deploy overseas, but got it from some returning vets, etc... The most interesting lids I've seen always have solid research like Peter U posts.

That's fine, and I totally agree with " a story is just a story". I even understand the camo paranoia.... I don't buy any helmets camo or not unless it's out of the woods. But this helmet stands on it's own merits. And I've had over 15 PM's on walhalla and WAF to buy this, to me that says something.
 
That's fine, and I totally agree with " a story is just a story". I even understand the camo paranoia.... I don't buy any helmets camo or not unless it's out of the woods. But this helmet stands on it's own merits. And I've had over 15 PM's on walhalla and WAF to buy this, to me that says something.

I'll try to get help with my paranoia problem. Congratulations on that helmet.
 
I bought this personally direct from vets family, so yes I'll call you both mickey.

Judging every helmet authenticity based solely on wear.... Wow. The vets grandson put this helmet up as collateral for....wait for it.....$150. There goes the big money theory

Judging every helmet authenticity based solely on wear.... Wow

Yea, a very important factor concerning camos specifically. Otherwise, how do you know just when the camo was applied ? Take someone's word for it ?
Believable wear is very important in Camo helmet authentication, IMO. If a helmet was camoed during the war and was used in combat, it will indeed have that important wear. If it was camoed post war, then it was not used in combat and will not have the all-important wear. Thus, we see so many of these 'drying rack' camos, that might have good age, but not the correct wear, as if the helmet went through a time machine even before the paint was dry.

Vet association can be congered up relatively easily. Here is a photo and thread from WRF that shows a vet with a German helmet supposedly brought back by him. Obviously it is a West German police helmet with fake decal, but it goes to show how wrong 'vet association' can be.

http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/steel-helmets/german-helmet-question-22660/
http://blog.al.com/ht/2007/04/following_brothers_into_battle.html

Richard G. Sandmire shows a German helmet he recovered during World War II.

Haven't you heard the old German helmet collector's saying: 'buy the helmet, not the story' ?
 

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Ok every good condition camo is a fake. Mine shows wear, but I digress.....it definitely makes sense that they took an untouched m35 DD army and faked the camo to sell it for $150.

I think you misunderstood in that I was not looking for your approval, simply sharing my helmet. Like I said, I've had plenty if approval elsewhere including people such as Willi Z, that's enough for me.

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=777743

I guess the one in the new camouflage helmets book that just came out is fake as well.....
 

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I think the point is that a lot of vet stories and vet artifact associations, if not most, are fake or just a story and should be presumed suspect without solid research. Most vets are bullschitters that believe their own stories.
 

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