Michigan Helmet on Ebay

[andyt7499]

Hi,
I don't post here very often but I do read this forum everyday. I found this Michigan helmet on ebay and am very interested in it. I am aware that Michigan uses Capitol Varsity to refurbish their helmets. This one was refurbished by All American. The maize wings appear to be painted on just as official game helmets are. Is there anything else I should be aware of before going after this helmet? What are your opinions on this helmet? Thank you for your help.

Andy

[andyt7499]

Re: Michigan Helmet on Ebay

sorry forgot the link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MICHIGAN-Football-Game-Helmet-Bo-Era_W0QQitemZ230271888807QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230271888807&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318

[aeneas01]

Re: Michigan Helmet on Ebay

andy, based on the photos the seller provided the helmet could very well be the real deal imo - but there's a catch (more about this later). btw, great heads up observation as far as the all-american recon decal is concerned.

as the seller stated, michigan does in fact use two different reconditioners. they send their riddell helmets to all-american for reconditioning and they send their schutt helmets (and any others) to capital varsity. given that the ebay helmet is a schutt and not a riddell, one would not expect to see an aa decal attached to it. but helmets do get mixed up, or miss the pick up date, and riddell lids end up getting reconditioned by capital and schutts by riddell. in short, the aa decal on a schutt helmet is not a deal breaker.

however from a collecting stand point i believe there's an enormous difference between a michigan gamer reconditioned by riddell and a michigan gamer reconditioned by capital - and the difference has a name. russ hawkins.

russ hawkins has worked for capital varsity for over 50 years and has been painting michigan helmets for over 40. now in his 70s and still going strong, hawkins hand masks (with off the shelf masking tape) each and every helmet by eye before personally painting them. as such, no two helmets he paints are exactly the same. hawkins is an icon, a sports memorabilia national treasure and one of the nicest guys in the world.

riddell, on the other hand, uses a "wing" template and has automated the process as much as humanly possible. in the end, regardless if russ does the job or riddell, they are all gamers and are rare, special collectibles. but for my money i would want a michigan gamer painted by russ.

now for the "catch" - as i mentioned earlier, imo the helmet for sale could very well be an authentic michigan gamer but, if so, i believe that it's one that was taken out of old inventory (read: taken out of the no longer usable or obsolete bin) and reconditioned to "like new" condition for the sake of a benefit, a gift or an award - something that michigan frequently does. michigan is notorious for keeping track of their lids - all helmets that are rejected by reconditioners must be returned to the team and seniors, for the most part, are no longer allowed to keep their helmets unless they buy them. as such, authentic game-used michigan lids are all but unavailable. except for the type mentioned above - those that are taken from old inventory and made to look "fresh" for the purpose of a gift.

the reason i believe this to be the case with the helmet in question is because its condition appears far too good for a helmet that finished a long season of hard battle which the many, many award decals suggest. also, 1985 was the last year the "bike" logo appeared which would make the facemask and clips inconsistent to the era. consequently if it is in fact an authentic michigan gamer, it strikes me as an older michigan helmet that was reconditioned long after its playing days and fitted with award decals and newer (available) clips and facemask.

----------------------------------------------

speaking of michigan helmets, how about these doozies....

here's an "official" michigan gamer sold at heritage for $1,000++; navy blue shell with wing decals - unbelievable. what, no lampson loa?







here's another obvious fake (navy shell, wing decals) that sold on ebay for $1,500++




here's one of the nicest michigan gamers i've ever seen at auction - the real deal - it sold for $750+ on ebay...








........

[andyt7499]

Re: Michigan Helmet on Ebay

WOW thank you so much for the lesson. I have always wanted a Michigan Helmet as I am a huge fan. I was at the 2004 national (my first one) and saw a dealer who had only helmets and had a few Michigan ones for $285 each. I didn't buy one as I wanted to do more research. Thankfully I found this web site and its great members. I am feel more comfortable in purchasing one. The information you provided me will help me greatly.

Thank you again.

[halzeus]

Re: Michigan Helmet on Ebay

Great thread! Thanks for all of the info on Michigan helmets.

I bought a retail helmet from the MDen and have it displayed in my living room.

Gotta love the maize wings!

[karamaxjoe]

Re: Michigan Helmet on Ebay

Robert,
Your informative posts are still top notch and really what GUU should be about.

I've felt in the past few months most of the rambling on GUU is about stuff that has nothing to do with research or educating fellow collectors. I know guys like to talk about who should be in Hall or who's juiced, but I'm pretty sure the web has other places for that. We all should read the bottom line of this website and take note of the real reason it's here:

This forum was originally created by Eric Stangel as a way to bring game used collectors together and help hobbyists educate each other.

I'm finished now.......

Mike

[aeneas01]

Re: Michigan Helmet on Ebay

I bought a retail helmet from the MDen and have it displayed in my living room. Gotta love the maize wings!

along with the 100+ gamers russ hawkins paints for michigan each year, he also paints about two dozen for the den - in other words the helmets that are available at the den (while they last) are exactly what michigan uses on the field and painted by russ. the only difference between the den lids and actual gamers is that the den lids are brand new, have never seen game action, i.e. were not "reconditioned". as a matter of fact, when in a pinch, michigan has actually been known to grab a helmet or two from the den for game use.

as far as the ebay helmet is concerned, it appears that it was painted by russ which would normally be the case for an older gamer that was "reconditioned" for gift/presentation purposes.

fwiw it's difficult to say for certain that a michigan lid is the real deal based solely on photos because of michigan's unique colors - for example i have never seen a photo of a "game used" michigan helmet at auction that accurately captures the "maize" yellow. when seen in person the "maize" color used by michigan is shockingly light - a very soft/cream yellow. not even close to "green bay gold".

here are some photos from my database of michigan lids sold at auction throughout the last few years, along with their selling prices. some look to be the real thing, some are obvious fakes and a few were sold as michigan "non-gamers" - although most were listed as "game used" michigan lids...

[halzeus]

Re: Michigan Helmet on Ebay

along with the 100+ gamers russ hawkins paints for michigan each year, he also paints about two dozen for the den - in other words the helmets that are available at the den (while they last) are exactly what michigan uses on the field and painted by russ. the only difference between the den lids and actual gamers is that the den lids are brand new, have never seen game action, i.e. were not "reconditioned". as a matter of fact, when in a pinch, michigan has actually been known to grab a helmet or two from the den for game use.

Thanks for the extra info on the den helmets. I put it on my Christmas list two years ago and my wife bought one for me.

It sounds like it was worth the extra money now. After I saw all of the full size helmets on ebay, I thought I must have gotten a bad deal.

Dan

[andyt7499]

Re: Michigan Helmet on Ebay

Aeneas01, if you get a chance can please tell me which ones are fake and which ones are real in the pictures you provided. I can see that some of the wings are decals and are fakes but others it is hard to tell which are real and not.

Thanks,
Andy

[Larry Pelliccioni]

Re: Michigan Helmet on Ebay

Andy,
Shoot me an email if you are interested in Michigan helmets, thanks.
llpell@wowway.com
Larry Pelliccioni