M40 Stahlhelm; how much is it worth?

RocketmanTan

Well-Known Member
Hi guys! So while we were docked in Trieste, I purchased an M40 Stahlhelm with what appears to be in its original condition (original paints/decal, liner, etc.). I trust the man who sold it to me; his shop contained all manner of relics ranging from WWII items (like, y'know, the helm) to objets d'art from the 1800s and earlier.

However, the main question I have is, how much is this guy worth? Hopefully there's some of you on this forum who have more knowledge on the subject than I and can give me a quick and dirty 'appraisal' of sorts, haha.

Anyways, the helmet is in pretty decent condition, all things considered. About ~50% of its original paint is still on the outer shell, perhaps 70% on the inside. No signs of it being a double-decal, and the Wehrmacht decal seems to be authentic. The Maker's Mark reads ET 66 (not sure about the last digit), meaning it's a Thale helmet. Lotnummer appears to be 1361, and I couldn't find much info on the chinstrap markings, so I can't really tell if it's original or a replacement.

I'm inclined to think that the Helmet is completely intact - save for the missing liner cord which has since been replaced with some sort of twine - since there's obvious signs of wear stemming from, well, wear...

Anyways, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, with some comments by myself:

Left side of helmet; note the crack running down to the vent hole. Might have occurred post-war/use:
3DjvQJo.jpg


Right side:
L0rDrkP.jpg


View of the interior, liner and chinstrap. Note the obvious wear-marks; not sure where the '57' is from or what it signifies. The thread around the tongues is obviously 'aftermarket'; I have some tarred twine lying about that closer matches the original thread used, so I might use that instead. Also I really hope that's not a bloodstain...though it might explain the crack.
D1ujaow.jpg


Close up of the Lotnummer; thought at first it might have said '1561', though upon closer inspection it might be nr. 1361?
BcCDy81.jpg


'Esslingen, Thale, 66cm':
tTeskYn.jpg


Some sort of dent; doesn't seem like a high-velocity impact, but then again, I'm a sailor, not a metallurgist. No idea where this came from; coulda been combat, coulda been Mr. '57' bumped his head on something.
WvslA4e.jpg


Other side of the 'dent':
yZZ0cnc.jpg


Crack running down the right side:
sBC327m.jpg


Close-up of the decal; glare kinda obscures the Eagle's head, but the rest of the decal should provide enough info:
FJNgU7s.jpg


If you guys would like more pics, either to help out in this thread or for reference, don't hesitate to ask.

I'm afraid this helmet is NOT for sale, however, so please don't ask... (well, unless it's quite a sum ;))
 
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Revell-Fan

Co-Administrator
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A very interesting piece of history. For about being 75 years old it still looks good. I too think the lot number is 1361. :)
 

zathros

*****SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR*****
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I believe that crack started up top and the hole stopped it!! He may have suffered a very hard fall, or hit by a large object. It's a keeper for sure!!
 

Gandolf50

Researcher of obscure between war vehicles...
Staff member
Moderator
Most selling are refurbished and sell for around 400.00 $ in good shape...with the crack, start dropping the amount by about half...
 

subnuke

Banned
Wow, just noticed. If you look at the pic that shows the closeup of the decal, you can see just below and a little to the right, like maybe someone tried to carve a swastika in the helmet. This thing definitely shows signs of being used by a bored young soldier. I would advise not to do any restoration on it at all and leave it in this condition. Every imperfection tells a story, and sometimes that is key to a collector.
 
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