M 39 Helmet Shell

[Bob V.]

Here is a M 39 helmet shell I picked up recently. The red star looks period to me & the exterior is very nice. The liner has been removed & looks like it was done a long time ago. I read somewhere that Soviet troops would at times remove their liners & wear the helmets over their cloth headgear. Does nayone know if this is true? Also, in the reverse of the helmet there is a small self made hook of some type. It too appears to have been done a long time ago. Any idea what this is for? Thanks! Bob

[Bob V.]

Here is a picture of the stamps. Numbers 2 1622 are faintly stamped to the right of the ink stams. Also here is a photo of the hook at the rear of this helmet. Thanks!

[Commissar]

I've not seen a helmet with a hook in it, but I've seen plenty of faked helmets from this era, but I am no expert.
by the looks of it, it seems to be in amazing condition for its age, the star looks great too, I think you have a nice treasure here. :D

[Kim]

My guess is that this one is a Finnish war trophy. It's true that helmets had their liners removed, to make room for a warmer cap. The "hook" is probably Finnish made to make it easier to display on his wall.

The stamp tells us that this helmet was made in 1940 in size 2. Factory was Lysma Metallurgical Factory.

/Kim

[NTAT]

Bob,

Nice helmet. However, you need to be aware it's my understanding there is a cottage industry built up around restoring WW 2 Red Army helmets. They take an old helmet restore it, repaint it and then add a red star.

You then have a helmet that was worth $50-$100 USD that is now worth $800 - $1,000 USD. All you need to do is pass it on to an unsuspecting buyer. Not a bad profit for a days work.

So final commentary...Buyer Beware!

Gerry
NTAT

[Dzerzhinsky]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the date on the inside of this shell looks like it should be 48 not 40. I do not collect Soviet anymore, but when I did, it was rumored then that post 45 shells with 48 dates were being played with to look like wartime pieces. As mentioned before buyer beware!

[Kim]

The stamp is just fine. The stamp that usually turned post war helmets into war time pieces were made in 1948. A bit of partial paint removing and it magically turned into a 1943 example. But the LMZ stamp used after the war is not the same as they used during the war. So that is a give away.

I also would love to see pics of the fakes mentioned in the thread. If you have ever seen the real deal you probaly can tell fake from copy.

[NTAT]

Kim,

Just guessing...but I would say if you go to one of the major internet auction sites and query Soviet or Russian WW 2 helmets...you'd find those pictures. In my feeble opinion they're out there by dozens.

Gerry NTAT

[Bob V.]

Thanks for the comments guys! I certainly know fakes are a problem with almost every imaginable collectible. I don't think this is a postwar copy. When I have it in hand there are solid signs of age (rust, wear etc) that aren't visible in the photos. The paint on the star is not as bright live as the flash makes it appear. The liner was neatly removed and the age where the straps were cut show it was done a long time ago. I have looked at the stamps under bright light and high magnification and cannot see any sign of alteration. I've done several Google & eBay searches & can't find anything that concerns me about this example. I'm certainly a novice on these helmets, but I was always under the impression the M 40s were the ones you really had to watch for altered dates. Wasn't production of the M 39 halted in 41 or 42? I thought the hook in the back was unusual and am curious what others thought the purpose might be. Thanks again for the input! Bob

[bdgfate]

Looks good to me. Nice helmet!