Lot 692

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Description:

AFRIKA KORPS TROPICAL PITH HELMET
Second Pattern Tropical Pith Helmet, size 58, solid construction with green felt exterior and red felt interior with air vents and a metal air vent finial. The right side of the crown bears a zinc tri-colour shield, and the left side bears a shield of a German eagle clutching a swastika. The piece has a olive green leather trim around the rim of the hat, with a matching olive green leather chin strap. The tan leather sweatband is unmarked on the outside, yet ink stamped 'RF 1942' and '58' on the interior. Very fine condition, much better than usually seen. Most of these pith helmets (not this example) are marked 'Germany' on the sweatband. Due to Rommel's Afrika Korps early in the war, supply depots were jam-packed with these helmets to supply German occupation forces after the war. After Rommel's failure, with supply depots full of these helmets, a British entrepreneur bought the whole lot of surplus helmets from the British Government, and shipped them out of Germany to dealers in England and America. However, the requirement was that these surplus helmets must say 'Germany' in them before being exported outside of Germany. Since this helmet does not say 'Germany' on the inside, this helmet may have once belonged to a German DAK soldier and was sent home as war booty.

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August 24, 2021 10:00 AM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000