aeneas01
04-13-2009, 08:16 AM
heritage:
in one breath heritage describes this lid as a "circa 1990 deion sanders game worn helmet..." and in the very next breath tabs it "rookie-era". given that sanders' rookie year was 1989 (not 1990) and the falcons wore red helmets (not black) during his rookie season, how does this thing become rookie related? talk about an embarrassingly self-serving stretch! especially considering that this thing is a complete mess - wrong facemask (actually the fm date code appears to be 1995, sanders left in '93), wrong high-snap positioning, wrong clips, suspect rear number decals, etc... anyone want to ask heritage what the shell date code is? not that it would really matter...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/zds2.jpg
talk about a very expensive leap of faith - this lid is described as a 1920 jim thorpe gamer with an estimated value of $15k-$25k. "thorpe" is scratched into the inside leather and there seems to be a story that accompanies it. it's the third or fourth "thorpe gamer" i've come across in the last couple of years. fwiw this style/era of leather helmet is pretty common and can be had on ebay for around $300-$600. heritage "thorpe gamer" on the left, similar type of helmets sold at auction in the past few years on the right...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/jt1.jpg
this 2003 ray lewis "gamer" has made the rounds - in fact an auction house asked me about it a few months ago and they ended up passing on it, but it looks like heritage is running with it. not much to say about this helmet other than forum member "helmets" can make you an identical one for a fraction of the cost - and so can several ebayers (although it wouldn't be as nice as what helmets could put together!). for those interested, check out the interior of the heritage lid and compare it to the 2003 lewis game photo below...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/rl1.jpg
this is a great looking rt helmet attributed to the 1955 and 1956 national champion sooners, to all-american clendon thomas to be exact (given that it sports number 35 on the back). if it is indeed an ou gamer, i would say that there's a better chance it belonged to heisman trophy winner billy vessels (also number 35) who preceded clendon thomas. below is a photo of the 1955 national championship game, oklahoma vs maryland, played at the orange bowl. every player that can be seen in the photo appears to be holding an rk helmet which was the next model after the rt. this makes sense given that riddell stopped making rt helmets in 1953 (although many teams continued to wear them). it appears that oklahoma was an early rk adopter which riddell introduced in 1954....
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ou1.jpg
american memorabilia:
very slim helmet pickings on the ami front with the bulk of their offering consisting of the store/retail variety. however i find ami's claim that these helmets "originated from the collection of a former nfl equipment manager" to be misleading even though ami also states they are not game used - times are tough i suppose....
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/pl1.jpg
vintage authentics (past auction):
ebayer dalcowbill has been trying to sell this lid for years on ebay, for around $800 or so. it was featured at hunt's last auction but didn't sell and went back on ebay. va then listed it in their past auction and it sold for about $200. yet, low and behold, right after the va auction it was immediately relisted on ebay for $700 by dalcowbill. did he win his own helmet?
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/sl1.jpg
this thing was listed as a late '60 georgia gamer - it had previously sold on ebay for about $250. a complete wreck - intentionally manipulated center striping to make it appear factory installed and a very goofy "g" logo with a black border (georgia has never used helmet logos with black borders according to photos, film frames and the georgia sports museum curator).
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ug1.jpg
grey flannel:
great looking redskins "lombardi r" rk helmet with factory installed decals and striping. the guys at gf got the story wrong on this lid but fixed it with a blurb i sent them. anyway just a great helmet that is still featured at helmet hut's fantastic website / virtual helmet museum...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/gh1-1.jpg
o.k. so i may be a little biased on this one given that i live and breathe rams... circa 70-72 tk2 rams helmet attributed to bob klein (hey gf, his name is bob not ron!). just a great looking vintage rams lid, classic navy/white. btw if you ever come across a navy/white rams helmet with decal horns it's a wooden nickel - the rams didn't start using decals until 1973, when they went back to yellow horns - the horns on this helmet are authentically painted. two-bar facemask (bd9) is not correct for the era and the u-bar appears to be somewhat high for klein's pre-wildcat bumper helmet. nonetheless there's a lot to like about this beauty...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/zbk1.jpg
this keith jackson "gamer" has made the rounds before and i've never liked it. looks to be an authentic eagles gamer but afaik jackson didn't sport an af2 helmet when with the eagles (which is what's been presented) - compare the air valves of the auction helmet (left) to the game photo...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/kjj01.jpg
just a great looking kelley clear shell lions helmet, very rare. decals are typically applied to the inside of the clear shell helmets but it wasn't uncommon to see them applied to the exterior as well (as can be seen in the 1980 photo on the right)...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/dl1.jpg
some nice looking lids - on the left a classic (and rare) rawlings hnd, in the center what appears to be a classic gladiator "water helmet" fitted with very rare dungard facemask clips (especially the top facemask clip), and on the right a good looking bengals pac3...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/var.jpg
here's that jack "hacksaw" reynolds "gamer" again that i brought up last year. it was first listed by ami as a late 70's reynolds gamer with original decals, facemask, etc... i wrote about the problems with this helmet (reynolds left the rams before they switched to blue facemasks, the "rams" bumper decal wasn't correct for a reynolds helmet, etc.) and then it resurfaced again months later at ami with a changed story based on what i had mentioned - this time around the story claimed that the decals and facemask were added later, that they had been added/changed when it was issued to an incoming player for the 1981 season. yet the "reynolds" dymo identifier remained - i guess the rams equipment manager thought that the incoming player would rather have reynolds' name on the inside of the helmet than his! good grief... compare the reynolds "gamer" (left) to the circa 1979/80 game photo of reynolds on the right - notice the dual facemask clips in the game photo...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/jr1.jpg
here are a couple of nice early to mid 80s patriots helmets - a few patriots helmets from this era very much like these, perhaps even the same ones, made the rounds on ebay last year and fetched solid prices of about $1,500 each. not sure what gf was thinking when they wrote the lot description for these lids.... they state that one is a 1981 bruce armstrong lid - armstrong didn't joint the pats until 1987 and in 1981 the pats didn't use this type of logo. the other one is said to be a circa 1990 pats helmet - the pats wore red facemasks in 1990 and the facemask style, clips, etc. are not from that era. anyway, lot description aside, a couple of nice looking helmets...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ne1.jpg
here's that hornung "gamer" again that's fetched $11k in the past. very nice helmet but it strikes me as very contrived in terms of it belonging to hornung - imo the rear number "5" has been faked. is there a stencil in the world that could yield such perfect results using a magic marker free hand? can you imagine how long it would have taken a packers' em to produce such perfect results on every player's helmet? mama mia! the photo on the right is a better example of what the packers' number looked like back in the day....
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/zph1.jpg
anyway, some very, very nice lids at gf imo although i still haven't figured out the lot strategy i.e. lumping so many together. nor do i understand how an auction house could offer a lot of 16 helmets (check out the usfl/wfl helmet lot) and include photos of only five of the helmets. but after speaking with gf it appears that this is what the consignor wanted - hard to imagine...
.....
in one breath heritage describes this lid as a "circa 1990 deion sanders game worn helmet..." and in the very next breath tabs it "rookie-era". given that sanders' rookie year was 1989 (not 1990) and the falcons wore red helmets (not black) during his rookie season, how does this thing become rookie related? talk about an embarrassingly self-serving stretch! especially considering that this thing is a complete mess - wrong facemask (actually the fm date code appears to be 1995, sanders left in '93), wrong high-snap positioning, wrong clips, suspect rear number decals, etc... anyone want to ask heritage what the shell date code is? not that it would really matter...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/zds2.jpg
talk about a very expensive leap of faith - this lid is described as a 1920 jim thorpe gamer with an estimated value of $15k-$25k. "thorpe" is scratched into the inside leather and there seems to be a story that accompanies it. it's the third or fourth "thorpe gamer" i've come across in the last couple of years. fwiw this style/era of leather helmet is pretty common and can be had on ebay for around $300-$600. heritage "thorpe gamer" on the left, similar type of helmets sold at auction in the past few years on the right...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/jt1.jpg
this 2003 ray lewis "gamer" has made the rounds - in fact an auction house asked me about it a few months ago and they ended up passing on it, but it looks like heritage is running with it. not much to say about this helmet other than forum member "helmets" can make you an identical one for a fraction of the cost - and so can several ebayers (although it wouldn't be as nice as what helmets could put together!). for those interested, check out the interior of the heritage lid and compare it to the 2003 lewis game photo below...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/rl1.jpg
this is a great looking rt helmet attributed to the 1955 and 1956 national champion sooners, to all-american clendon thomas to be exact (given that it sports number 35 on the back). if it is indeed an ou gamer, i would say that there's a better chance it belonged to heisman trophy winner billy vessels (also number 35) who preceded clendon thomas. below is a photo of the 1955 national championship game, oklahoma vs maryland, played at the orange bowl. every player that can be seen in the photo appears to be holding an rk helmet which was the next model after the rt. this makes sense given that riddell stopped making rt helmets in 1953 (although many teams continued to wear them). it appears that oklahoma was an early rk adopter which riddell introduced in 1954....
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ou1.jpg
american memorabilia:
very slim helmet pickings on the ami front with the bulk of their offering consisting of the store/retail variety. however i find ami's claim that these helmets "originated from the collection of a former nfl equipment manager" to be misleading even though ami also states they are not game used - times are tough i suppose....
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/pl1.jpg
vintage authentics (past auction):
ebayer dalcowbill has been trying to sell this lid for years on ebay, for around $800 or so. it was featured at hunt's last auction but didn't sell and went back on ebay. va then listed it in their past auction and it sold for about $200. yet, low and behold, right after the va auction it was immediately relisted on ebay for $700 by dalcowbill. did he win his own helmet?
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/sl1.jpg
this thing was listed as a late '60 georgia gamer - it had previously sold on ebay for about $250. a complete wreck - intentionally manipulated center striping to make it appear factory installed and a very goofy "g" logo with a black border (georgia has never used helmet logos with black borders according to photos, film frames and the georgia sports museum curator).
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ug1.jpg
grey flannel:
great looking redskins "lombardi r" rk helmet with factory installed decals and striping. the guys at gf got the story wrong on this lid but fixed it with a blurb i sent them. anyway just a great helmet that is still featured at helmet hut's fantastic website / virtual helmet museum...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/gh1-1.jpg
o.k. so i may be a little biased on this one given that i live and breathe rams... circa 70-72 tk2 rams helmet attributed to bob klein (hey gf, his name is bob not ron!). just a great looking vintage rams lid, classic navy/white. btw if you ever come across a navy/white rams helmet with decal horns it's a wooden nickel - the rams didn't start using decals until 1973, when they went back to yellow horns - the horns on this helmet are authentically painted. two-bar facemask (bd9) is not correct for the era and the u-bar appears to be somewhat high for klein's pre-wildcat bumper helmet. nonetheless there's a lot to like about this beauty...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/zbk1.jpg
this keith jackson "gamer" has made the rounds before and i've never liked it. looks to be an authentic eagles gamer but afaik jackson didn't sport an af2 helmet when with the eagles (which is what's been presented) - compare the air valves of the auction helmet (left) to the game photo...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/kjj01.jpg
just a great looking kelley clear shell lions helmet, very rare. decals are typically applied to the inside of the clear shell helmets but it wasn't uncommon to see them applied to the exterior as well (as can be seen in the 1980 photo on the right)...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/dl1.jpg
some nice looking lids - on the left a classic (and rare) rawlings hnd, in the center what appears to be a classic gladiator "water helmet" fitted with very rare dungard facemask clips (especially the top facemask clip), and on the right a good looking bengals pac3...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/var.jpg
here's that jack "hacksaw" reynolds "gamer" again that i brought up last year. it was first listed by ami as a late 70's reynolds gamer with original decals, facemask, etc... i wrote about the problems with this helmet (reynolds left the rams before they switched to blue facemasks, the "rams" bumper decal wasn't correct for a reynolds helmet, etc.) and then it resurfaced again months later at ami with a changed story based on what i had mentioned - this time around the story claimed that the decals and facemask were added later, that they had been added/changed when it was issued to an incoming player for the 1981 season. yet the "reynolds" dymo identifier remained - i guess the rams equipment manager thought that the incoming player would rather have reynolds' name on the inside of the helmet than his! good grief... compare the reynolds "gamer" (left) to the circa 1979/80 game photo of reynolds on the right - notice the dual facemask clips in the game photo...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/jr1.jpg
here are a couple of nice early to mid 80s patriots helmets - a few patriots helmets from this era very much like these, perhaps even the same ones, made the rounds on ebay last year and fetched solid prices of about $1,500 each. not sure what gf was thinking when they wrote the lot description for these lids.... they state that one is a 1981 bruce armstrong lid - armstrong didn't joint the pats until 1987 and in 1981 the pats didn't use this type of logo. the other one is said to be a circa 1990 pats helmet - the pats wore red facemasks in 1990 and the facemask style, clips, etc. are not from that era. anyway, lot description aside, a couple of nice looking helmets...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ne1.jpg
here's that hornung "gamer" again that's fetched $11k in the past. very nice helmet but it strikes me as very contrived in terms of it belonging to hornung - imo the rear number "5" has been faked. is there a stencil in the world that could yield such perfect results using a magic marker free hand? can you imagine how long it would have taken a packers' em to produce such perfect results on every player's helmet? mama mia! the photo on the right is a better example of what the packers' number looked like back in the day....
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/zph1.jpg
anyway, some very, very nice lids at gf imo although i still haven't figured out the lot strategy i.e. lumping so many together. nor do i understand how an auction house could offer a lot of 16 helmets (check out the usfl/wfl helmet lot) and include photos of only five of the helmets. but after speaking with gf it appears that this is what the consignor wanted - hard to imagine...
.....