WWI Helmet Chromed & Numbered: Is the chrome original?

Picked this up today. The chrome is stamped ZC202 underneath the lid.

Do you think his was chromed after the fact? Or was it chromed originally?

Simply a souvenir? If so, why is it numbered?

Thanks again for all of your help!

 

I would think you sure as Hell wouldn't want to be running in the battlefield with a Chrome plated helmet. So if it was an original then the chroming would surely lower it's value. possibly a parade helmet?????

 

Just a thought: is it possible it has just been polished, for whatever reason, rather than being chromed? If actually chromed, perhaps the parade helmet idea makes sense.

 

Looks like construction foreman or engineer to me

 

Hard to tell - the "innards sure do look good"
https://www.bytheswordinc.com/images/product/medium/26-720036_3_.jpg

 

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/original-wwi-helmet-chromed-plated-1866367919 parade helmet is what most people identify them as. there have been a number listed, so I don't see it being a one off or specialty piece.

 

Chrome plating didn't come about until after WWI

There were many more of these made than saw service. Many ended up in surplus stores.

Decades later they were being taken out of storage for Civil Defense use.

 

Nickle Plated? I know that goes back further. Not really an expert in how to tell them apart.

 

Yeah - it really doesn't look like a WW1 helmet - Poor "shell shocked guy! Don't know if that is US though!

 

Shinier than nickel. Looks thick. Could be tin, recently repolished. I doubt the military made it look that way.

 

http://brendonshelmets.weebly.com/us-m1917.html

 

Looks like American manufacturer. Isn’t tin. See the photo showing a spot where the was no chrome...maybe nickel silver? The numbering looks consistent. Looks like a parade helmet then. THANK YOU, everyone, for your valuable help!

 

often found with bikers.