Description:

LUFTWAFFE DAK CAMOUFLAGE DOUBLE-DECAL M35 HELMET GROUPING, MEDALS, ETC
An excellent grouping of artifacts collected by Lt. John M. Shea during his service in Africa and Europe, incudes: a fine example of a German M35 combat helmet, with the exterior of the shell painted overall with a brown-yellow tropical-style or ‘DAK' camouflage scheme, hand applied and brushed over the exterior of the shell. The exterior features a Luftwaffe eagle decal on the left-hand side, with a national tricolor decal on the right, both applied over the paint but heavily abraded to remove large portions. The original bluish-grey Luftwaffe finish remains visible beneath the exterior paint and the painted skirt inside the helmet. The left-hand side of the interior skirt is faintly heat-stamped ‘[E.]T.64', indicating manufacture by the Eisenhuttenwerke at Thale. The eight-finger liner is of dark-brown leather, showing a fair amount of little wear, discoloration and possible mold spots. One of the fingers bears a very faint embossed size stamp, with an equally indistinct name inscribed in the same pot in black ink. The liner band is stamped as being manufactured by D H P Schuberth-Werke of Braunschweig, and dated 1935. The chin strap is brown leather, stamped with an indistinct maker's mark and the date ‘1936'. The exterior paint shows expected chips overall, with some additional chips to the underlying finish and attendant oxidation, otherwise in very good, attractive condition overall. WITH: An Iron Cross, Second Class with ribbon, unmarked, showing slight tarnish to the frame but otherwise in fine condition. WITH: A War Merit Cross, Second Class with Swords, with ribbon, showing some verdigris to the bottom arm and soiling to the ribbon, else very good. WITH: a nickel silver cigarette case, 3.5 x 3 in., hallmarked ‘Kraft Alpacca' and ‘K K', with the hand-incised initials ‘H H' within the monogram space on the lid. In fine condition. WITH: A U.S. Navy Mark 2 ‘ka-bar'-style knife, 7 in. blade, 12 in. overall, marked as such on the blade side of the crossguard and maker-marked ‘Camillus, N. Y. ‘, housed in a grey-blue composite sheath with a grey webbing hanger, showing an indistinct name in black ink on the reverse. WITH: A handwritten letter from the soldier who collected these items, Lt. John M. Shea, dated Aug. 5, 1945, to a friend in the ‘680th', likely the 680th Engineer Company, asking for his assistance in being transferred back to that unit, as Shea was ‘…with the outfit 2 ½ years, came overseas with it , served in Africa, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, and have expressed preference for remaining with it…' WITH: Shea's officer's uniform, clothing and accessory ration card; a detail order for the 66th Ordnance company, dated Oct. 15, 1944 and assigning Shea to guard duty; an Army songbook, and Shea's memorial card. Ten pieces overall. The grouping originated from the collection of noted Idaho collector Glen E. Mattox, and is accompanied by a notarized letter signed by Shea's nephew, also named John M. Shea, listing the above items and several others not presented here, and stating that he received them after the elder Shea's passing in 1996.

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March 26, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $999,999 $10,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $50,000
$2,000,000 + $100,000