Rare, Minty Allgemeine-SS / SS-VT Parade Helmet
$14,750.00
This helmet is an excellent example of a commercial purchase SS Parade helmet, circa 1935. If you have seen the Assmann catalogue excerpts posted in various fora online, you may have run across these parade helmet ads for sale. This is exactly one of those. Beginning in the mid-1930s, an SS officer would outfit himself with his black uniform and kit from a fine tailor such as Holters or Betzler, and be able to order a helmet to go with it. Higher ranking officers preferred these lighter weight helmets for the occasional parade or commemorative duties, or torchlight rallies, etc. (But the combat shells were for the troops of the regiments–this is why you see pictures of Heydrich, Himmler, Berger, etc. in parade quality commercial helmets, rather than in combat shells). This helmet would have been for a higher ranking officer therefore. The helmet itself is reminiscent of the M34 square scallop, with bulged vent holes and no sign of any police comb or fireman’s lugs. It is a private purchase parade helmet, full stop. The minty size 58 liner and strap are the correct configuration for this model. One tab in the liner bears the inked name “Kuper.” The finish is satin black, with the flat, unpolished sheen. The decals are classic CA Pochers. The closeups show the very gentle signs of age of the shields and finish, all of which are textbook (an inevitable gouge to the runes and party shield is present). Recent sales of examples of this exact same type of private purchase helmet include one sold by Jason B militaria (pictured below), and another that can be found in the special SS section of Virtual Grenadier. This helmet overall is a stunning and rare example, and would grace perfectly an SS officer’s black uniform display. COA accompanies this purchase.
