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The book Gear Fanatic posted is a decent reference, a little dated but it has good information. If you are looking for an Army Type 90 helmet, you may want to look into finding this reference book. Heitai: Uniforms and Equipment and personal items of the Japanese Soldier 1931-1945 by Augustin Saiz. https://rzm.com/products/heitai-uniforms-equipment-and-personal-items-of-the-japanese-soldier-1931a1945 Leigh

The liner without the pads are two pieces which are sewn together under the front pad and at the very back of the liner where the arrow is pointing, these are called "liner bridges". Scott made a good point about the liner material and the IJN helmets are a little bit darker in color than the IJA, you'll see the differences after you've handled a few of each.

Addendum: I think this is a good list of all the "Commonwealth" nations which issued the British World War Two campaign stars officially named to the recipients on the reverse: Australia, Canada, India/Burma, New Zealand, & South Africa.

I think this is a WW2 US collar brass made in the UK. Can't find anything on the hallmark. Any info is appreciated.

Thanks very much. Great pics.

Here is a photo of mine, NOTE it is stamped Germany Some additional research info found the skull and bones have many symbolic meanings. All Catholics are encouraged to meditate on the “Four Last Things - Death and Judgment, Heaven and Hell”, so that they will live in a state of grace and prepare themselves for Heaven. The skull is a great reminder of human mortality. Jesus Christ was crucified on Golgotha - “the place of the skull”. There is a legend that Christ, the New Adam, who conquered sin and death, was crucified on the gravesite of the first man, Adam, who brought sin and death into the world through his disobedience to God. The skull is a symbol of Adam’s grave. Most important of all, the skull and bones are placed beneath Jesus’ feet, to show that He triumphed over death and sin on our behalf.

Shemp - this is very interesting for me to have these differences pointed out. But I need to ask, what is the "liner bridge"? Thanks, Steve

The top engraving on the reverse of the medal is the soldier's army service number. I think the "C" prefix indicates a Canadian. From "Google A.I.": "Canada did participate in the North African Campaign during World War II, but its involvement was somewhat limited compared to other Allied nations like the United Kingdom and the United States. Here are some key points regarding Canada's role: Initial Focus on Europe: At the onset of the war, Canada prioritized its military efforts in Europe, particularly in defending Britain and participating in campaigns like the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic. First Major Deployment: The first significant Canadian deployment to North Africa occurred with the arrival of the 1st Canadian Division in late 1942, during the Second Battle of El Alamein. This battle was critical for the Allies and marked a turning point in the North African Campaign." https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/b-at-the-beginning-of-a-wwii-canadian-service-number.95624/ https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/procedures/regimentalnumber.htm https://canadiansatarms.ca/canadians-in-north-africa/ https://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/newspapers/operations/northafrican_e.html Found this... I think your Africa Star was issued to an Australian. I apologize for my errors in post #3. I don't collect or really have any knowledge about British medals, and know even less about "Commonwealth" awards. Source: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/145006414738?_skw=africa+star+named&itmmeta=01JY6Z00Y0N0MMVVGBFX2H93RK&hash=item21c30e4b92:g:fAYAAOSw9mVkIXPS&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1f4nwWxSuB%2BeLeOqTIrlg%2BQ7H%2BzqxI%2FEA1plNrCfhfDpf76iRVAHlrhSvY1M6jXxYRjAIEY2XbwSX5fGrNiw25r1XiWg%2FW7TuGklDeU9pEWXIIhwGXX%2BtiZQnb48ULRZiHovqavySLcw1nK37GDWwFtLnulLuEsEyrCsa%2FkeXLVYsih0Cll4ARiCKtKKpNFg%2BpzUDwBmfP3pYjsmsv2gkf7bYpLdgqnEmvrLyBW%2FOL6USQexKqOuFajdi5TlucrMG4%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5aPgN_xZQ

Africa Star given to British soldiers who served in the WW2 Africa Campaign.

my question is if someone can tell anything from reading on the backside of the medal maby what type of soldier this medal was awarded to

The Knight’s Cross worn by Luftwaffe Major Graf von der Schulenburg, who was killed at St. Lo, France, on July 14, 1944. At the time he was Kommandeur, Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 13. He was posthumously promoted to Oberstleutnant. The bullet hole is from a machine gun. Sources: http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2021/10/foto-wolf-werner-von-der-schulenburg.html?m=1 https://de-academic.com/dic.nsf/dewiki/1523635

Source: https://www.emedals.com/products/germany-wehrmacht-a-1939-grand-cross-of-the-iron-cross-by-deutsche-goldschmiedekunst-werkstatten-g38240 Germany, Wehrmacht. A 1939 Grand Cross Of The Iron Cross By Deutsche Goldschmiedekunst-Werkstätten SKU:ITEM: G38240 Sold for $112,000 SOLD Description (Großkreutz des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939). Instituted 1 September 1939 by A.H. (1939-1945 Issue). This is an extremely rare and well-preserved example of a 1939 Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, presenting as a Cross Pattée constructed of a black onyx core within a ribbed platinum frame. The obverse bears a central mobile swastika, constructed of a separate piece of black onyx fastened to the main body of the core, with an engraved reinstitution date of “1939” on the lower arm. The reverse is plain with the exception of an engraved initial institution date of “1813” on the lower arm. Engraved on the platinum frame of the reverse upper arm is a platinum mark of “950” along with the ornately-engraved crown logo and initials of Deutsche Goldschmiedekunst-Werkstätten, Berlin. Set into the top arm is a loop which bears an oval suspension ring, similarly engraved with a platinum mark of “950”. Measuring 62.7 mm (w) x 62.4 mm (h) and weighing 67.5 grams. The cross is in a near mint condition and is accompanied by an authentication certificate issued by Dietrich Maerz, dated 27 October 2017. Footnote: The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was reinstituted on 1 September 1939 along with the other classes of the Order, and constituted its highest level with the abandonment of the Star to the Grand Cross. The only recipient of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, who was awarded the decoration on 17 July 1940 following the Luftwaffe’s impressive performances during the invasions of Poland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. While the only authorized manufacturer of the Grand Cross was the firm of C.E. Juncker, Berlin, Göring, who was renowned for keeping spare decorations at his various residences, had several vanity pieces commissioned, including examples in white gold and platinum. Göring’s original Juncker Grand Cross was destroyed in an Allied air raid in 1943, but he continued to wear his custom pieces, and was photographed with either a white gold or platinum variant hanging from his neck upon surrendering to US forces on 6 May 1945. The example offered is one of the two platinum pieces produced for Göring by Deutsche Goldschmiedekunst-Werkstätten. This cross, offered here by eMedals INC., will feature prominently in the upcoming Novemeber issue of Militaria Collector published by Dietrich Maerz.

Great advice from Shemp H. In addition to what he said, and for simplicity sake, if you find what you think is a navy helmet, look for the liner to be leather and not pigskin and more often than not, to have some nice markings in the helmet or even on the pads. This isn't a perfect method, but this combined with what Shemp H has pointed out will be very helpful to you. Scott

Don’t sweat pacific, like shemp said we all go through this at some point. Whether it be M1’s which are. A lot more simple or German and Japanese. Or British. They all have there differences and niches and it’s a real learning curve. Also, good to buy from a reputable dealer especially with these IJN helmets. I recommend Ruptured Duck, because they always have great stuff and it’s guaranteed to be original. Plus there easy to work with and very professional. I may be biased. But aren’t we all 🤣. Good luck finding a helmet and have bunkering. Remember books are your best friend! Gear Fan Also if I remember correctly this book has some good info on IJN helmets, it’s more of a broad overview, but I’m pretty sure it has some images and explains the difference info helmets.

Yup, a good helmet will definitely run $1,000 + My Luftwaffe helmet ran $1,250. Hate to spend that much on a lookalike. My GI helmet & liner was $100. That was years ago for both. Anyone know of a good book please LMK -Mike

Interested in further reading? This is the best book I've read. Product information Publisher: New York University Press Publication date: January 1, 1964 Language: ‎English Print length: 365 pages ISBN-10 0814702694 ISBN-13 978-0814702697 Item Weight: ‎1.58 pounds About the author: Radomír Luža Born on 17 October 1922 in Prague, CSR Died on 26 November 2009 in Philadelphia, PA Radomír Václav Luža, Dr. iur. (Masaryk University of Brno, CSR), PhD (New York University), was a resistance fighter against Nazi dictatorship in occupied Czechoslovakia 1939-1945, US historian and author of the first comprehensive history of resistance in Austria 1938-1945. Radomír Luža was born into a patriotic soldier’s family in Prague. His father was the renowned Czechoslovak general Vojtěch Boris Luža. During the First World War Luža’s father had been member of Tomáš Masaryk’s “Czech Legion”, an army of more than 70,000 soldiers in Russia, which fought for the re-birth of Czech statehood. Because of his father’s prominent role in the inter-war Czechoslovak army, Radomír Luža’s birthplace was the Štefánik barracks in Prague, nowadays the Czech Ministry of Justice. Later the family moved to Brno where Radomír attended the high school (“gymnázium”). After the annexation of the “Sudetenland” by Nazi Germany in October 1938 and the occupation of the other Bohemian lands in March 1939, father and son stayed in the then “Reichsprotektorat” in order to organize clandestine resistance networks. In summer 1941, after his father had gone underground, Radomír was arrested by the Gestapo, but eventually released. His father became one of the most important figures in the Czechoslovak resistance and had responsible positions in several non-communist partisan groups like “Obrana Národa” (“Defense of the Nation”). 1944 he was shot by a police patrol in an inn near Přibyslav. Luža jun. stayed undetected. In 2002, Radomír Luža wrote, together with a colleague at Tulane university, the late Christina Vella, about these crucial years of his life: The Hitler Kiss: A Memoir of the Czech Resistance (Louisiana State University Press). After the liberation Radomír Luža studied jurisprudence at the Masaryk University in Brno. He joined the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party, and was engaged in the restoration of the party’s youth organization. He also became member of the local board of the association of non-communist partisan groups, the Union of National Revolution (“Svaz národní revoluce”) in Brno. After the communist takeover in Prague in February 1948 he was, as an “enemy of the people’s democracy”, deprived of all his leading positions. Together with his wife Libuše he fled to Austria in March 1948. Whereas the party in Czechoslovakia (“Československá sociální demokracie”) was incorporated into the Communist Party, emigrants like Luža established in London a Czech Social Democracy in Exile. From Vienna the couple moved to France, where Luža started to study history at Sorbonne University. 1954 they emigrated to the United States. Radomír Luža continued his studies at New York University. Also from the US he took part in political actions in Europe. His field of activities was the International Union of Socialist Youth, which he had joined already in 1948 in Vienna; his Austrian friend Peter Strasser was president of the IUSY until 1954. In 1960 the Lužas returned to Europe. In Vienna he started working about the complicated German-Czech relations during the Nazi era and its aftermath. His book “The Transfer of the Sudeten Germans: A Study of Czech-German Relations, 1933-1962” was published in 1964 by the New York University Press. In Vienna he maintained close relations with Austrian Social Democratic politicians and with ex-resistance fighters who, at this very time, founded the Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance. But only in the 1970s and 1980s he wrote his two books about Austrian Nazism and its foes: “Austro-German Relations in the Anschluss Era” (Princeton University Press 1975, German edition 1977 under the title “Österreich und die großdeutsche Idee in der NS-Zeit”) and “The resistance in Austria, 1938-1945” (University of Minnesota Press 1984, German edition 1985 under the title “Der Widerstand in Österreich 1938-1945”). Because of his continuous anti-communist engagement Czechoslovak, Polish and Hungarian secret services had been watching his political activities since he had left Czechoslovakia in 1948. After 1989 he found out that 23 intelligence agents had written non less than 538 reports about him. 1966 the Lužas went back to the US and settled in New Orleans. From 1967 through 1993 Radomír Luža was professor for European and German history at Tulane University. Invited by Václav Havel, the Czech president after 1989, Luža returned part-time to the Czech Republic to give lectures there and to support the re-establishment of the Social Democratic Party. He was appointed professor for global history at the Masaryk University in his home town Brno. Both in the Czech Republic and in Austria he received awards for his life time achievements. When he finally retired from teaching, the couple moved back to the US, where they lived close to Philadelphia. On 8 August 2001 Libuše Luža died in New York at the age of 72. Radomír Luža lived to the age of 87. Source: https://www.austrianresistance.org/?page_id=66

Mike, first look for the break in the liner bridge (photo), then look for the size pinholes next to this bridge ( you will only find these size holes on IJA liners, not Navy) and two stitches for IJA and three stitches for IJN (I might have that backwards) that hold the liner together. And also look for the liner to be folded or semi rolled down between the liner pads, Navy rivets are USUALLY flat like a nail head, Army pins will look like a thumb tack head. These are not one hundred percent because some repros also have them, but new liners could smell like leather and in thirty plus years of collecting I've never seen an original lid WITHOUT a split liner bridge. Don't worry about asking as long as your trying to help yourself,you won't learn overnight and we all went through what you're going through Scott, nice first pattern cover 👍 Bill

Thanks Preppy. Fortunately for me my German Luftwaffe helmet wasn't all that difficult. However I was thru a reputable dealer. These Type 90s are tough. Ya, I'll crack that nut, it'll be from the sidelines while doing my homework. Definitely will touch back once I know more, thank you for all your input - Mike

Easterneagle,did you order through USPS?, if so, did you track it, and if you went through the mail my understanding is it is a felony to commit mail fraud. If you have this guys address go the Post office and tell them. I'm just an old retired collector trying to help. Good Luck, Bill

@Bill in VA don’t mean to ruffle any feathers, but we’re here on this forum to build each other up and to have friendly conversations. And quite honestly you’re doing none of That and just being rude. Clearly your sarcasm is not appreciated and I suggest you move on just as eastern eagle has.

You sir, have missed the point. I'm done. Why are you still picking the scab? And "why" does it need to help you? A picture of the item, a name and a general area where it was found. To break it down for your simplistic reality .. If you see this pickle, don't trust the seller. IT, was my mistake (and I own it) from an internet search. I do not need to give you a forensic break down of the whole transaction, yet here I am. And you are the one who brings the sarcasm to this thread from your posts. It is my opinion (and nothing good comes from opinions). You so hungry to find this item that you are perpetuating this thread. On May 21st, I said I was .. done, yet I keep getting sucked into your obsession with it. LET IT GO.

From "Google A.I."... Take it for what it may or may not be worth... "While the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces during WWII) did not issue crucifixes as a standard part of their uniform or equipment, evidence suggests that Catholic chaplains serving with the Wehrmacht would have used their own religious items, including crucifixes. For example, one source mentions a "WEHRMACHT CATHOLIC CHAPLAIN'S CROSS AND PHOTO ALBUM," describing a chaplain's cross with a dark wood insert and an image of the crucified Christ." Source: https://www.alexautographs.com/auction-lot/wehrmacht-catholic-chaplain-s-cross-and-photo-al_AB44B3D831

Same for the police. Just add a cap badge.

Awards from 18 October 1938 - 31 December 1939: 1,162,617 to include 134,563 Prague Castle Bars. Personnel strength: 1939 1940 Heer 3,737,000 4,550,000 Luftwaffe 400,000 1,200,000 Kriegsmarine 50,000 250,000 Waffen-ᛋᛋ 35,000 50,000 Total 4,220,000 6,050,000 An award ratio of one medal to approximately every 3.63 personnel in 1939, and one medal to approximately every 5.2 personnel in 1940! Source (Wehrmacht strength): Müller, Rolf-Dieter (2016). Hitler's Wehrmacht, 1935–1945. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-81316-738-1.

I would imagine a Catholic German soldier could have one of these. I know WW1 US vets brought crucifixes home both German and French made but usually smaller size.