WIW WWII Nazi Helmet

[RT DAVE]

Anybody have a ballpark estimate at the value of this thing is?  This was my deceased grandfather's possesion that he received either during or shortly after the war from a friend in the "old country".  I have somebody who wants it badly, but I'm having a hard time parting with it due to the fact that my grandfather kept it for so long.  In fact, he never got rid of it while he was alive.  Anyhow, just wondering if anybody knew about these things.  It says "Greetings from France" on the front and "Les Doro"  ("the grave)  on the side opposite the swastika.  I'm not a neo-nazi or anything...   

[VPFD13]

Right around 500.00 if you were more sure of the history you could get more. History buffs will give up more cash if you have some good back ground for it.

[mally69]

WOW 500 bucks  my grandpa has one also, i didnt know they were worth that much 

[daytonalo]

Why would you ever sell that piece of history ? Your Grandfather will roll over in grave !

[BMOTOXSTAR]

I want one of those to make into a Red Baron Helmet , with a spike in the middle, for when I ride my street bike.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Damn, is that a bullet hole in there?

[Daytona R/T SE]

That thing is cool! I wouldn't sell it!

[rav440]

Right around 500.00 if you were more sure of the history you could get more. History buffs will give up more cash if you have some good back ground for it.

id say it would be way way under $500 more like $50 - $150 range . that has a hand painted swastika " sp " the ones that go for big bucks are SS helmets .

here is a completed search on EBAY youll see what i mean .

good luck 

[VPFD13]

Why would you ever sell that piece of history ? Your Grandfather will roll over in grave !

  I agree but thats just my 

[VPFD13]

There is a re enactment group out by me and they set up a little sale and the vets bring out there old stuff, I seen a similar Helmet sold by the guy that brought it home with him sell for almost 700.00. I don't collect German stuff but I have a lot of WWII from the US and her Allies including helmets, uniforms, gear, and guns. In my opinion if you really want to sell it find a re enactment group near you ( believe me they are everywhere) and take it to a show it will sell for top dollar there.

[rav440]

Why would you ever sell that piece of history ? Your Grandfather will roll over in grave !

why keep it ? its not like his grandfather had a dierect link to it , as in killing the german the had it . it was given to him by his friend , so that link passed with the grandfather . maybe his grandfather want him to sell it and put the $ into the car .

i dont belive in keeping things around that someone else had . maybe one thing that was was heal dear to them , like a watch or a locket ect . you cant keep everything from someone how has passed .

what do you guys think will happen to our cars when we go ? our wives are going to sell them before the first shovel full of dirt hits the cassket .

[rav440]

There is a re enactment group out by me and they set up a little sale and the vets bring out there old stuff, I seen a similar Helmet sold by the guy that brought it home with him sell for almost 700.00. I don't collect German stuff but I have a lot of WWII from the US and her Allies including helmets, uniforms, gear, and guns. In my opinion if you really want to sell it find a re enactment group near you ( believe me they are everywhere) and take it to a show it will sell for top dollar there.

that helmet isnt worth anywhere near that $ range , like i said its worth between $50.00 and $125.00 no more thats just a typical german WWII helmet its not SS or paratrooper ect

[Todd Wilson]

Thats a great piece of history.   I have my grandpa's WWII US Army helmet. Wouldnt even think about selling it.


Todd

[RECHRGD]

As said before, that's a great piece of history.  It meant enough to your Grandfather for him to keep it all his life and have it passed down to his family upon his passing.  It would be disrespectful to sell it just to put a few bucks in your wallet. Just my  .   Bob

[daytonalo]

 

[Drache]

I dont think its worth anywhere near $500 and in fact some things make me wonder about it. First off the fact that it says Greetings from France in english and then the Les Doro in Spanish. The swastika doesn't seem to be an officially painted one either. In fact I've never seen a german helmet painted that way. I would simply go and pay the money to get it properly appraised and validated.

[HITMAN 149]

I want one of those to make into a Red Baron Helmet , with a spike in the middle, for when I ride my street bike.

just get a plastic nazi half helmet & glue a spike on top?!?!??!  they are only like 30 bucks?!?!/ i pid @$25 for my peanut shell helmet... then another $175 to haave it all airbrushed!!! hahahaha so my $25 plastic helmet..is now a $200 plastic brain bucket!!! LOL
but it's MINE!!!!!!!!!!!  i'll have to take a picture of it!!! of course it's got the punisher skull on it!!! hehehehe
* sorry for the brief hijack!!! 
ALSO DAVE..... i wouldn't get rid of it either....if you don't kneed the $$$ that bad or anything..... i'd hold on to it...just caise it was something your grandfather liked!!!! pass it on to your kids?!?!?!?!?

[Todd Wilson]

Here's my grandpa's WWII Army Helmet.   Saw action in WWII and plenty of backyard wars when I was a kid.  I've kept it all these years.

Both helmets go together. Starting to show thier age and the webbing inside is getting bad but thats ok its not gonna see anymore combat. I also have his officers group photo. He had it hanging in his woodshop for who knows how long. After he died my grandma gave it to me. I hope one of these days I can get his dress uniform as its still in a ceder chest tucked away at the house. Sure you cant keep everything but certain keepsakes are neat and important to pass on. Also these pieces of history are starting to be hard to find and that era is about forgotton. The greatest generation!


Todd

[rav440]

Thats a great piece of history.   I have my grandpa's WWII US Army helmet. Wouldnt even think about selling it.


Todd

right that was your grandfather own helmet that he was issued & wore during his service  . it wasnt given to him but somebody for some unknown reason . i wouldnt sell it either .

but like i said before you cant keep every little thing that someone close to you held dear to them .

case in point : my mother collects limited edition lithographs & prints she loves them and would never part with them . but when the time comes i have no room for them and 99 % of them will be sold .

.

[RT DAVE]

I have a "local" collector that offered $150 and was going to come to my house immediately from a location 100 miles away.  I told him no.  I'm not selling.  The main reasons I would sell are mainly 1. I won't display in my home.   2. This other guy has a good collection and would appreciate more  3. my g-pa kept it in his basement in a remote corner. 

In regards to the term "Les Doro", that is FRENCH for "the grave" not Spanish. 

The swastika (sp?) is not authentic.  At least that's what grandpa told me.  His buddies allegedly painted that on there along with the "greetings from France"  and the "Les Doro" part.  He always told me that was a bullet hole also.  Haven't really looked at it too closely. 

Thank you all for your input.  You've all made me feel as though i've made the right decision.  I think I will donate to a museum if I decide to get rid of it.   

[Todd Wilson]

Theres a german helmet like it on ebay thats at 610$ right now. This helmet has the hole on each side as well. Not a bullet hole but maybe a vent hole? Place to tie things thru? One of yours looks like it may be missing an eyelet.

ebay#  320184609778

Todd

[VPFD13]

Really.....

[Todd Wilson]

After reading your post again the painting on the helmet may have been from the old country friend. Might have been a thank you or perhaps an inside joke or funny between your grandfather and this friend.  Could also be a cocky german soldier that didnt fare to well and his helmet was picked up for a souvenier?!  Just some thoughts.........either way its neat!


Todd

[Nacho-RT74]

the Les Doro in Spanish.

What ? I dunno what it does mean that, but definitelly nothing in Spanish

[Nacho-RT74]

In regards to the term "Les Doro", that is FRENCH for "the grave" not Spanish. 

that has sense now.

He always told me that was a bullet hole also.  Haven't really looked at it too closely. 

This helmet has the hole on each side as well. Not a bullet hole but maybe a vent hole? Place to tie things thru? One of yours looks like it may be missing an eyelet.

bullet holes are never that perfect round and they got a dent/depressed area because the impact... then an irregular area on the broken metal.

[bull]

The swastika (sp?) is not authentic.  At least that's what grandpa told me.  His buddies allegedly painted that on there along with the "greetings from France"  and the "Les Doro" part.  He always told me that was a bullet hole also.  Haven't really looked at it too closely. 

Personally I doubt that's a bullet hole because it's too perfect. The edges of the hole would be bent inward if it were made by a bullet; that just looks like a spot where there once was a rivet. If you look at the other side you can see where there's a rivet in the middle of the swastika that lines up with the empty hole.

[Drache]

Its not a bullet hole  since if it was you'd be looking at a very large dent on the outside not a perfect hole. It makes sense that the swastika was painted on by your grandfather but that would also bring the worth of it way down.

[RT DAVE]

Its not a bullet hole  since if it was you'd be looking at a very large dent on the outside not a perfect hole. It makes sense that the swastika was painted on by your grandfather but that would also bring the worth of it way down.

It was painted on there by his buddies during the war, not my grandfather.  Same dif I guess?  Anyhow, it's a piece of history and I would think whatever a soldier decided to do to it "in the day" might not affect quite that badly.  I have no way to validate that.  Maybe they could do an analysis on the paint..   

I vote for it being a vent hole.  There are other rivits in that particular area if you look closely... 

[Red Ram]

I have a "local" collector that offered $150 and was going to come to my house immediately from a location 100 miles away.  I told him no.  I'm not selling.  The main reasons I would sell are mainly 1. I won't display in my home.   2. This other guy has a good collection and would appreciate more  3. my g-pa kept it in his basement in a remote corner. 

In regards to the term "Les Doro", that is FRENCH for "the grave" not Spanish. 

The swastika (sp?) is not authentic.  At least that's what grandpa told me.  His buddies allegedly painted that on there along with the "greetings from France"  and the "Les Doro" part.  He always told me that was a bullet hole also.  Haven't really looked at it too closely. 

Thank you all for your input.  You've all made me feel as though i've made the right decision.  I think I will donate to a museum if I decide to get rid of it.   

I think a museum is the appropriate place for memorabilia like that...it does have historical value. Selling stuff like that gives me a bad feeling. I was at an antique show a while ago and a collector of this kind of stuff was selling jewish star patches that the concentration camp victims were wearing. To me that's just sick...and I let him know how I felt.

[BMOTOXSTAR]

Antique Road Show bro.

[Silver R/T]

you probably could sell it for more if you were to sell it to someone in Germany

[Nacho-RT74]

you probably could sell it for more if you were to sell it to someone in Germany

OR MAYBE NOT. Germans are a little bit upset for those darkness years... as far I know not too much proud of. ( beside the engineering advances of those years )

[Brock Samson]

Todd, What's that helmet you got there made out of?.. i thought they were metal?..   

[Old Moparz]

Todd, What's that helmet you got there made out of?.. i thought they were metal?..   

Looks like the "liner" that cushions the steel from your head. Not sure if it's called something else, but I have a set too. The liner part I've had since I was a kid, but don't know where it came from. The steel helmet I actually garbage picked. Saw it on top of a box of junk by someone's trash one day as I drove past & decided that after 35 years I needed the steel part to cover the liner.   

[Neal_J]

Not to burst your bubble, but I believe the swastiska is painted incorrectly.  The lower left "arm" should point to the left, not down.

My two cents...

Peace,

Neal

[RT DAVE]

Not to burst your bubble, but I believe the swastiska is painted incorrectly.  The lower left "arm" should point to the left, not down.

My two cents...

Peace,

Neal

No problem.  I was operating under the assumption that his buddy put that on there kinda as message to my grandfather about what variety of soldier it came from. 

[Todd Wilson]

Todd, What's that helmet you got there made out of?.. i thought they were metal?..   

The outside helmet is steel but the inside seems like its some kind of carbon fiber or something. Not really sure what it is.


Todd