M1 McCord Helmet

This is an M1 helmet produced by the McCord factory in WW2. I picked this up, with another helmet, at Swinderby for £25. This example has the seam in the rim at the front, and the rim itself is made of stainless steel- both characteristics of WW2 helmets. The bales, bails or loops for the chinstrap (whatever they're called) are the later swivel type. I assumed the other helmet was junk; however it too turned out to be WW2, made by the Schleuter factory. Both are rusty, with little of the original paint left (in the case of the McCord helmet it had been repainted at least twice). They must have been dumped somewhere for the last 65 years- a barn or somewhere like that. Looks like the bright shiny rim is something to scan for- most of the helmets for sale at antiques fairs are post-WW2 or Belgian or French and difficult to distinguish from the originals at a glance.