A 1942 Wehrmacht Afrika Korps Pith Helmet

A dated 1942, size 57, Wehrmacht Afrika Korps Summer helmet; solid construction with green felt exterior with red felt interior; dark leather band trim surrounding edge of helmet; matching leather chin strap; tan leather sweatband with maker marking “R” and post-war marked “Germany 7”; interior held in place with period cotter pins; period use with only minimal cracking along the trim; interior and exterior show no mothing; overall shape near very fine. Footnote: Many of these pith helmets are marked “Germany” on the sweatbands, which many collectors find baffling, since this is an all original Third Reich helmet. However, the Germans produced more of these than ended up being needed. Due to the success of 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 from the British Government, shipping them out of Germany to dealers in England and America. However, the requirement was that these helmets had to say “Germany” in them before being exported outside of Germany. (C:79)