German Helmet Value?

My father took this off of a surrendering Hitler Youth along the Elbe River in the town of Magdeburg, on or about April 17 1945. The helmet is not Hitler Youth but at this stage of the war the Germans couldn't keep everything by the book.

Everything is intact and original just as it was when he returned from the War. The helmet has a patina but is not a rust bucket. The stamp at the rear is ?S64 over a serial number. The first letter (?) could be either a "N" or "F". Sometimes my eyes think they see a "N".

Thanks,

Semper Fi

I guess the short answer would be priceless. I had a double decal that my dad brought back from Juno beach and it's long since gone. If I had the chance to go back and get it, it wouldn't be sold for anything...someone will be along shortly to tell you what it's monetary value is...

That is a very nice Model 1942 or M42 single decal Heer helmet. There will be another stamp on the skirt near where the chin strap attached to the liner. This will be the Mfg. and the size. It will be 2 letters and 2 numbers.
On some sites these go for over a thousand dollars in this condition. Do a search and you shall find several for sale. I agree with Jim. If it was brought home by my Father it would be priceless!!!

Semper Fi back at ya!!!!

Phil

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Originally Posted by AZPhil

There will be another stamp on the skirt near where the chin strap attached to the liner. This will be the Mfg. and the size. It will be 2 letters and 2 numbers.

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The Mfg and ser # on at the rear of the skirt. As I said the first letter is hard to see but it is ?S64. A medium size helmet produced by either Emaillierwerke A.G. ( Coded FS) or Vereingte Deutsche Nikelwerke (Coded NS). Cannot find any markings on the skirt near either chinstrap.

Chesty Puller would know.

I can only give advice from a museum perspective concerning original German WW2 helmets.
The amount is really in terms of rarity, 100% original and its condition, which this appears to be, and most importantly what someone is willing to pay for it.

These are more common of course then say a Fallschirmjager helmet. We have one in our Airborne Forces museum valued at $40,000 dollars by a collector in the States. Clearly ours would never be for sale.

It has the wearers name in it with full provenance.

Certainly with your fathers story of recovery it will certainly help raise the price if selling is what you wish to do with it.
My advice would be to write down the story, and keep it in the family. Thats the true value of it.....true history............ that once its gone into collector circles, it will never be repeated!
Worth Insuring for $3500 at the very least
IMHO

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Originally Posted by Gil Boyd

It has the wearers name in it with full provenance.

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There is no provenance but this helmet does have the initials WD inside the rear skirt near the liner. I believe this to be the initials of a German soldier/owner since these initials do not match any in our family. My father's initials were WWB and mine are GB. No one else has been in possession of this helmet.

My father was a 60mm Mortarman with the 120th Infantry Regiment of the 30th Division. He landed on Omaha beach D-Day plus 6 and fought all the way to the end of the War at the Elbe in Germany. This included the Battle of the Bulge where his unit was in Malmedy. He survived both the Germans who retreated December 22nd and the American Bombers which bombed the city full of GIs four times on December 23rd and 24th (Blue on Blue).

There were other items besides the helmet that have been lost. The Officer's Tunic that my dad took with the helmet was so small I could not button it when I was a 150lb teenager. There was also a gas mask and a truncheon. I had the helmet in my possession but the other items were with my mother before she died and were not present when we cleaned out her house. I believe she gave them away.

Nice story and provenance there. My advice for what its worth insure it and get it behind glass in a display cabinet in the house and treasure it as a family keepsake for a brave man!;)

At least you know it's authentic. There are so many fakes around these days it's crazy. Sorry I can't give a value. I used to collect German helmets but they got so far out of hand price-wise, and fakes were getting to be the norm. I had to quit and moved over to American helmets.

As with Jim, I would never sell it unless I were facing dire straits. You may only be curious -There are quite a few Sites with forums about Wehrmacht helmets and other gear. Regardless, good luck.

Thanks to all who have provided a lot of food for thought. I continue to be curious because I recently had a real wakeup with an issue of two Japanese swords I have had for years. The short sword I had pretty much discounted as to any real value because it had been cut down and come to find out it is 6-700 years old and valuable. See attached Pic. However the long sword I thought was valuable turns out to be a 400 year old counterfeit. It's still worth $4-6,000 You never know!

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Originally Posted by Gil Boyd

Certainly with your fathers story of recovery it will certainly help raise the price if selling is what you wish to do with it.
My advice would be to write down the story, and keep it in the family. Thats the true value of it.....true history............ that once its gone into collector circles, it will never be repeated!
Worth Insuring for $3500 at the very least
IMHO

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Good advice, write down the story and either have it witnessed and dated by a notary or some one else in your family. Ray

Ray,
Certainly right there. I hear so many stories where relations have an absolute "Spielberg" film making stories, that are magnificent, only to then say, "I wish I had got Dad to write it down and fill in the details of where he got that and where it happened". Often when they bring something to the museum with real meaning and credibility of a battle, sometimes, that missing piece changes history and puts it right!!!!

Sad but true, and we have only scratched the surface of some of the stories of the true heroes of WW2 and beyond.