DESCRIPTION
This is an original M38 ET68 German paratrooper mid-war single decal helmet with a rear lot number of 989 placing the factory production date to somewhere around early 1941 according to Brian Ice's lot data book. The 4 liner retaining bolts are the early to mid-war spanner style requiring a special tool to remove and tighten them which were later replaced by an aluminum slotted version that would work with any flat headed screwdriver and so more user friendly.
Well when I first started collecting German helmets sometime back in 2005 one could hunt down an all original WW2 M38 paratrooper (fallschirmjager) helmet without too much difficulty. There seemed to be a lot more websites at the time selling helmets and most of them had at least one M38 on their site or could get their hands on one if you had the budget. Since the pandemic it seems nearly impossible to hunt down a nice paratrooper helmet as I suspect most have been snatched up over the years and find themselves hidden away in private collections around the world never to be seen of again until the next generation inherits them.
The big money for these helmets now seems to be in Europe where collectors just can't seem to find them any longer and so are willing to pay a premium compared to prices we continue to enjoy here in North America. From old screenshots I took back in the day they really have literally tripled in value since 2010 and nearly quadrupled in Europe from that time. I believe these helmets although pricy continue to represent a rock solid investment in terms of helmet collecting and there are only so many left in the world and given that only 9 paratrooper regiments were formed during WW2 and only 6 were ever active that very few of these were ever even made at the time.
What we have here is truly a survivor helmet as both the inside and outside factory blue gray enamel paint is completely untouched and original as is the inside liner and chinstrap system. As is the case with many original paratrooper helmets the chinstrap appears to have been neatly cut which collectors used to think meant that these were cadaver cuts from fallen German soldiers however recently some interviews and diaries were found from US vets suggesting that these were intentionally cut in this way to render the helmets unusable by any future German Luftwaffe much like many WW1 helmets were given a spike hole on the top dome by way of ice pick at the end of 1918.
Unfortunately, the eagle was neatly removed post war with only a shadow image remaining most likely by some German civilian or GI vet who wanted it to be de-nazified for whatever reason. I have professionally aged and applied a new LW ET textbook eagle to the helmet to complete the piece. The decal was applied via a water slide technique and has dried for a month and so the substrate glue on the reverse side has had enough time to be firmly cemented in place. As a professional restored and die hard collector I never want to do anything to permanently change or alter the history of any given helmet. To achieve this I did not add a top layer of protective lacquer to the decal's surface making this eagle addition completely reversible. All you need to do is to lay a damp cloth over top of the decal and wait about an hour for the decal to gently peel off of the surface with no residue left behind. This ensures that while the helmet's history has been fully restored at the same time this was done in a way that no permanent changes were made. The decal as it sits now is completely stable and ready to adorn your display shelves for generations to come without sacrificing any of it's original untouched WW2 history.
$5500
Please call, text or email me if interested.
Tel/Text: 1-438-502-5052
Email Us: helmetsofwar@gmail.com
GERMAN HELMET FACTORY PRODUCTION CODES
(Every original German helmet produced from 1935 to 45 had two factory stampings punched into the side and rear or both in the rear. The alpha numeric number refers to the factory location and the inside metric circumference in centimeters. The rear lot number refers to the production run and was used as a quality control measure. The font styles used at each factory were slightly different but highly consistent throughout the war and so fakes or reproductions will either not have these numbers at all or they will use the wrong font style or letter spacing and so are easily identified as post war made.)
(FS or EF)-Emaillierwerke AG, Fulda, Germany
(ET or ckl)-Eisenhuttenwerke, Thale, Germany
(Q)-Quist, Esslingen, Germany
(NS)-Vereinigte Deutsche Nikelwerke, Schwerte, Germany
(SE or hkp)-Sachsische Emaillier u. Stanzwerke, Lauter, Germany
