Yard Sale Find - WWII German Helmet + WWI(?) Field Glasses Signed

Discussion in 'Militaria' started by journeymagazine, Jan 28, 2023.

  1. journeymagazine

    journeymagazine Well-Known Member

    I found these this morning at a yard sale - it was the same one I bought a Mauser(?) rifle mounted on wood with a VIETNAM '64 - '65 plaque.They were all being sold by a lady who said they were her ex husband's & she wanted to get her garage back.
    The helmet is a RL2? (the lady has 2 more - 1 she said was a RMZ? she wanted $450 for & I wasn't sure if that was too much - I don't collect German stuff; I buy it to resell it) in very good condition - but the unusual/cool thing was a pair of (I believe) military field glasses/binoculars!
    They are signed/etched Surgeon A.C. Morson. When I googled 'Surgeon A. C. Morson' I found this link which says a Doc A.C. Morson joined the war in London in 1914; which would make these binoculars WWI ?

    Clifford Morson | The British Association of Urological Surgeons Limited (baus.org.uk)

    Any thoughts would be appreciated!

    WWII HELMET GERMAN 1AA.jpg WWII BINOCULARS 1AA.jpg WWII BINOCULARS 2AA.jpg WWII BINOCULARS 3AA.jpg WWII BINOCULARS 5AAA.jpg WWII HELMET GERMAN 1AAA.jpg WWII HELMET GERMAN 2AAC.jpg WWII HELMET GERMAN 4AA.jpg WWII HELMET GERMAN 3AA.jpg WWII HELMET GERMAN 5AA.jpg
     
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  2. journeymagazine

    journeymagazine Well-Known Member

    Close up of inside of helmet:

    WWII HELMET GERMAN 6AAAC.jpg
     
  3. 916Bulldogs123

    916Bulldogs123 Well-Known Member

  4. bobsyouruncle

    bobsyouruncle Well-Known Member

    I think for luftschutz helmet you are correct 450 would have been too much. RMZ was there registration code for all military items RMZ + a number which would indicate helmet or dagger, cloth material etc
     
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  5. Houseful

    Houseful Well-Known Member

    I think the leather around the main body grip area is missing from the binoculars.
     
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  6. journeymagazine

    journeymagazine Well-Known Member

    I called her about a metal toolkit I passed on but now think may be for a Matchless motorcycle and she still has the other 2 helmets - but 450 seemed like a lot to me; is it worth it(I buy to resell - not a collector)? What marks or stamp should I look for?
    PS - for the Luftschutz I paid $175?
     
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  7. journeymagazine

    journeymagazine Well-Known Member

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  8. bobsyouruncle

    bobsyouruncle Well-Known Member

    Did I misunderstand..are the other helmets not luftschutz? If not they could well be worth more than the 450. I think the 175 was fine. If you have any interest this is a great site but beware...it is a military ww2 site. Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums
     
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  9. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    The helmets seem to range on Ebay for a median of $80-$300 )avg price.The Binocs would take some research-WWI stuff prices are all over the place.
     
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  10. journeymagazine

    journeymagazine Well-Known Member

    No this is only one with Luftschutz on it?
     
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  11. bobsyouruncle

    bobsyouruncle Well-Known Member

    I believe luftschutz followed by police are the least valuable of the ww2 German helmets, If you are able I would visit the Militaria site just for interest.
     
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  12. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    This is just an opinion...but I call those field glasses rather than binoculars.
    Within my vernacular, binoculars have prisms in the light path; field glasses are simply a pair of telescopes ganged and collimated together.
    Following those you show there are very similar glasses, but with inter-pupillary distance adjustment.
    I'll add pics of a WWI pair I have with that feature...they also had badly deteriorated leather covering on the barrels, which I have whittled off, a bit at a time.
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2023
  13. charlie cheswick

    charlie cheswick Well-Known Member

    Lower end I would imagine given the look of the lining

    55 is quite a small head size as well
     
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  14. bobsyouruncle

    bobsyouruncle Well-Known Member

    Luftschutz often composed of hitler youth quite young
     
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  15. charlie cheswick

    charlie cheswick Well-Known Member

    Ahh interesting, makes sense
     
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  16. charlie cheswick

    charlie cheswick Well-Known Member

    If I'm buying a Nazi helmet, I want one to fit when I'm going down to the supermarket buying groceries :)
     
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  17. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    As promised. They're not quite as ugly as they were before the crummy leather got striped...but the view through them is really fine. Jena glass, Zeiss optics...pretty advanced for its day. I use 'em a bit, and like 'em a lot!
    No prisms, individual focus an' adjustable inter-pupillary distance that is lockable, a feature I've not seen elsewhere.

    51FF5C1C-EBAD-4FF7-97E1-6960F7F460A4_1_201_a.jpeg D8D45624-89A7-4EA5-B995-0AFF453CC11E_1_201_a.jpeg E01C8D0D-2368-4DFB-8834-D730B50E9845_1_201_a.jpeg E8F56FA0-F5F5-44E1-8393-B606654123A0_1_201_a.jpeg 7A99408A-982E-40C5-A33A-526DB24FB914_1_201_a.jpeg
     
  18. bosko69

    bosko69 Well-Known Member

    Whit-Yr optical knowledge's impressive...'adjustable inter-pupillary distance that is lockable'.(?)
     
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  19. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Thanks, bosco...
    The knurled knob with Zeiss Jena mark must be loosened before moving the barrels around the central hinge-mount. When adjusted for an individual's eye-spacing, it may be tightened to preserve that setting. Probably an officer's pair of glasses; such convenience wouldn't be offered to rank & file soldiers, I'm thinking.
     
  20. wlwhittier

    wlwhittier Well-Known Member

    Not so much...it's just that I've collected individual-focus binoculars for 50 years. I've sold most of them, down to a fat half-dozen now. Only got two eyes, an' two hands...how many pair does a fella need?
     
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