headgear
The Tanker Helmet was developed in 1938 was made of rubberized fibre and leather. The inner suspension was made of soft leather. Ten 3/4 inch holes were added to the fiber shell for ventilation. Ear pieces and a left flap are attached with leather. Each ear piece was fitted with a model R-14 earphone. The ear flaps can be worn up or down. A throat mic was also used when wearing this helmet.
This helmet was made by Rawlings and is in unissued condition. Any wear appears to be from storage. The helmet size is marked 7 1/8. This example is unique in that it’s fitted with the correct R-14 receivers which are seldom found in unissued helmets. One of the snaps is damaged (see pic). Otherwise, there are no issues with this helmet.
Price: SOLD
Posted in Recently Sold Militaria, WWII US Militaria | No Comments »
headgear
It’s a miracle this helmet has survived for 70 years without some one accidentally flecking off the remnants of the original gum rubber inner tube that has fused itself to the helmet. These pinkish red inner tubes were used by Wehrmacht soldiers as foliage bands early war, particularly during the invasion of Poland in 1939 (see pics). In addition to the piece of inner tube stuck to this stalhelm, there is a distinct outline of the band running around the circumference of the helmet.
The helmet is a model M35 shell marked “D 218″ and NS 64″. The German soldier also penned his last name prominently inside the skirt. There is a faint oval stamp in the dome of the helmet. The aluminum liner band has correct square bales and is dated 1939. The three helmet split pins and washers are tight with no indication of having been removed. The leather liner has the original drawstring and is supple, with no harmful preservants like Pecards or mink oil applied. The chin strap is maker marked and 1938 dated.
This helmet is considered a “reissue” in that a smooth gray finish has been period applied over the original apple green finish, tricolor decal, and heer decal. You can see where the paint did not adhere completely to the decals resulting in the tri-color and eagle peeking out from under the reissued combat finish. Luckily no one has tried to “dig” for the decals and left this stalhelm as-is.
Price: SOLD
Posted in Recently Sold Militaria, WWII German Militaria | No Comments »
headgear
Vietnam militaria has been my primary collecting focus since I entered the hobby and Special Forces berets rank high on my list of items I will never grow tired of collecting. With all the variations of flashes (shield shaped beret insignia), makers, and DI’s (Distinctive Insignia), one could easily spend their lifetime collecting green berets alone! I will be sharing berets from my collection in a series of articles. Some are dolled up, some are named, most are just honest Vietnam era berets from the various Groups and time periods.
1968 Government Beret w/ Machine Embroidered 5th Group Flash
This is one of the first berets I acquired and it remains one of my favorites. The nomenclature is virtually gone, but if you hold the beret at the right angle, you can see remnants of a DSA-68 code. The 5th SFGA flash has darkened from sweat and soil, and the “D-22″ marked DI has an arrow broken off, giving the beret much character. I particularly enjoy the build up of green verdigris following the outline of the harp. The beret has a great drape and is perfectly salty!
FANK Beret with Quilted Flash & Embroidered Liner
It’s been my experience that berets with fancy embroidered liners of tigers, dragons, shell bursts, etc seldom appear to have seen much use. This is not the case with this beret. The lining is nice and salty and shows notable use, yet it does not detract from the beautiful embroidery work. The FANK / UITG flash is equally beautiful (and used). It is the hand embroidered, quilted variety that some claim to be the 1st variation, with the later versions being embroidered on twill. I haven’t confirmed this distinction.
1967 Dated JFK Special Warfare Center Beret
This is another beret I’ve had in the collection for a long time. When I purchased the beret, I was pleased to discover the vet had painted the leather tab inside the beret white and printed his name and Social Security number over the white. I was able to research the veteran and learn he had a lengthy career in Special Forces with multiple tours in SEA (South East Asia). The beret is 1967 dated and government contract through Dorothy Mills, Canada. It has a machine embroidered JFK Special Warfare flash and DI.
Posted in Militaria Articles by Era, Special Forces & MACV-SOG, Vietnam War Militaria | 4 Comments »
headgear
Most would agree that World War II militaria is the most popular military era to collect, and fortunately, “out of the woodwork” WWII items continue to surface from estates. WWII militaria initially emerged as a collecting hobby shortly after soldiers returned from Europe with Third Reich souvenirs, particularly medals, guns, and headgear. As demand for German WWII collectibles increased, the hobby evolved from blue-collar to white-collar. As with any collecting circle, when items start selling for serious money opportunists enter the scene with fakes and begin to infect the hobby. The surge in German fakes, coupled with skyrocketing prices, resulted in many collectors turning to U.S. militaria as a safer, more affordable option, and U.S. items once considered “surplus” have become legitimate collectibles. Popular areas include:
1. Firearms: Military firearms have always been in high demand with crossover appeal to both militaria and gun collectors. Many collectors not only focus on particular models—like the M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, 1911A1 pistol and Springfield 1903—but also the various contractors for each weapon. The Holy Grail is to find a weapon that has all original finish and all original parts from the factory. Most WWII era weapons today have replaced parts, so original examples command a premium. A WWII-dated M1 Garand refurbished with postwar parts brings around $650, whereas an original WWII M1 Garand sells for more than $2000 if you can find one!
2. Groups: A group (or grouping) is a collection of items attributed to one veteran. Groups may contain uniform items, medals, helmet, dog tags, photos, and paperwork—including discharge, general orders and other ephemera. These items establish provenance, which greatly increases historical and collecting value. Items without provenance are worth no more than the sum of the parts.
3. Headgear: Military headgear is very popular because it displays well, with many types and variations to acquire. The price range accommodates anyone’s budget, with an infantry piped overseas cap selling for $5 to a named M2 “D-bale” airborne helmet selling for more than $12,000. Most militaria collectors have a soft spot for headgear, which is why it sells well.
4. Insignia & Medals: WWII patch collecting actually started during WWII. As soldiers returned home, many donated their insignia to be sewn on wonderful handmade patch blankets, or given to children to trade like baseball cards. Collectors focus on insignia variations and without knowing the difference between a “green back” vs. a “white back,” or a “green border,” it’s easy to assume they’re of equal value, but they’re not! Greenbacks are sewn with green bobbin thread, resulting in the reverse side being prominently green. These scarce variants sell for many times more than white back examples of the same patch. Medals are a privilege to collect and own because they are personal and earned by the veteran. Posthumous medals typically have name of the veteran inscribed on the back and are very desirable to collectors, particularly when they are accompanied with an original presentation case and government correspondence to the deceased solder’s family. A cased WWII Good Conduct Medal sells for $10, whereas an inscribed KIA Purple Heart sells in the hundreds or more, depending on the unit served in and the circumstances of death.
5. Knives: WWII knives were either issued or privately acquired. Notable makers of handmade fighting knives include Gary Randall and Frank J Richtig. To find clean WWII examples from either maker will cost well over $1,500. Most of the knives taken into battle were mass-produced through government contracts, like the wonderfully utilitarian model M3; a popular knife to collect because of the different contractors for both the knife and scabbard. M3’s start at $150 for just the knife and can sell in the hundreds for a clean, early example with the maker and date marked on the blade and a nice leather M6 scabbard. There are also theater-made knives constructed from scrap aluminum, Lucite, steel, brass and other materials. Theater-made knives vary in form, quality and value, and are sought after collectibles.
Posted in WWII US Militaria | No Comments »
headgear
This is a very clean WWII US tanker helmet in complete, unissued condition. The helmet was made by Rawlings and is in a desirably large size (7 3/4).
Price: Sold
Posted in Recently Sold Militaria, WWII US Militaria | No Comments »
