Medieval auctions

[Imperial Dave]

https://www.medievalists.net/2025/03/medieval-great-helm-leads-highlights-at-apollo-auctions-this-weekend/

Bit of a polish and it'll look as good as new

[Erpingham]

Always sceptical when a new helmet apparently without provenance before the 1980s turns up.  However, they have an expert report and a scientific analysis, so who  knows?

Whatever its age, someone seems to have used it for target practice.

Add : A bit of googling shows this particular helmet has failed to sell on two previous occassions, so others may have similar reservations.

[Imperial Dave]

And that's the danger....provenance not the target practice

[Erpingham]

It's a popular style for forging.  Some are old Victorian forgeries, which have an interest of their own, but quite a lot of modern stuff intended to look "as found".