Wurtt. Polizei Offizier Pickelhaube

[SARGE]

Gents,

 

This is an Imperial Wurttemberg Polizei Offizier Pickelhaube for a Municipal Police Officer. Specifically, the rather obscure front Wappen indicates Stadt Crailsheim (the small City of Crailsheim), in Landkreis Crailsheim, located in Wurttemberg. The interesting front Wappen bears the city crest of three pothooks upon a plain shield surmounted by a crown and surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves. The articulated officer style nickel chin strap has a single Wurttemberg officer style cockade on the right side and a Nationale cockade on the left as is correct. The tall spike ends with a small round ball and has a pearl ring at its base. The base attaches to four scalloped lobes that secure the spike with star shaped rivets. The corpus is the usual black leather body with fore and aft visors. The front visor is bound in nickel edging and has a sharp angle on the side edges. This helmet is uncleaned and has an attractive even patina on the nickel fittings. The interior has the often seen tan leather sweatband with a number of fingers to provide size adjustment.

 

Crailsheim is interesting in that during WWII the city repeatedly changed hands between the Germans and Americans as it was heavily defended by the Waffen-SS who had a barrack situated there.

 

 

[trixie123]

Wow very nice !

[patches]

I'm stunned on the excellent condition of all these Haube's members have been posting so far, the only one's I ever seen up close for sale over the long years have been shrunken warped examples with lousy condition liners and spider web effects on the domes and visors

[Mons1914]

What a fantastic pickelhaube.

[SARGE]

Thanks Gentlemen.

 

One of the things I like about this spike helmet is that it is untouched with over 100 years of patina. Personally, I rather like the undisturbed patina as I think it gives it a wartime look of the grey pewter color painted steel fittings of the WWI Pickelhaube. I know what it would look like if the nickel fittings were polished bright but I feel no compulsion to polish it. I also like the fact that it has this city Wappen on the front. It took me awhile, and the help of a German friend, to figure out what city it represented but that is all the fun of collecting.

 

According to Erich Radecke, "Polizei-Abzeichen  Helme - Heraldik - Historie" 1. Band - bis 1918, p. 69 this style of front plate indicates a Junior Officer (subalterne Offizier).  He states the Wappenshielde with the surrounding wreath is the style designed for Junior Officers.  

 

 

[Nack]

Fantastic indeed!