What is a Pickelhaube worth?

Updated: October 2026

What decides it is the German state, the arm of service, completeness and condition — not age alone. Cuirassier helmets and Guard helmets with the parade eagle reach four figures, and officers' helmets of the elite regiments occasionally 10,000 euros.

Source: hermann-historica.de (Hermann Historica A102m, Los 571, Bayern Mannschaften Infanterie, Zuschlag 260 €, Nov. 2024); hermann-historica.de (Hermann Historica A100m, Bayern Helm M 1896 Mannschaften/Unteroffiziere der Infanterie, Zuschlag 850 €, Mai 2024); ratisbons.com (ratisbon's, Bayern Helm für Offiziere der Infanterie, Ergebnis 685 €, 2026); hermann-historica.de (Hermann Historica A94m, Los 4474, Württemberg Reserveoffiziere, Zuschlag 2.100 €, 27.10.2022); hermann-historica.de (Hermann Historica A102m, Los 741, Offiziere Leib-Kürassier-Regiment Nr. 1, Zuschlag 10.000 €, Nov. 2024), retrieved 2026-10-01

The honest news first: most Pickelhauben kept in families are Prussian enlisted helmets with a missing cockade or a torn liner — solidly three figures, not a fortune. Whether yours is one of the better ones can be seen by an experienced eye from photos within minutes. Send pictures via WhatsApp to +34 665 164 779 and we'll reply within 24 hours with a free assessment. We buy for our own collection — with no dealer mark-up.

Guide prices by model and condition

Documented auction results (hammer price without buyer's premium unless stated otherwise) and dealer prices, 2022 to 2026. Dealer prices are retail prices including margin and sit well above what auctions achieve:

A single cockade, an eagle plate or a spike base without the helmet is a different market, in two figures; we only buy such parts as part of larger collections.

How to identify your Pickelhaube

Three glances are enough for a first classification:

• The front plate gives away the state. Prussia carries the eagle with the motto "Mit Gott für König und Vaterland" (With God for King and Fatherland), Bavaria the lion arms with "In Treue fest" (Steadfast in loyalty), Saxony a star with the state arms laid on top, Württemberg the arms with stag antlers. An eagle with a large star on its breast means the Guard. Source: weitze.com (Weitze, preußischer Linienadler mit Devise); weitze.net (Weitze, bayerisches Emblem «In Treue Fest»), retrieved 2026-10-01
• The material of the shell gives away the period. Black-lacquered leather is the norm until 1915. Shells of felt or black-lacquered sheet iron are ersatz production of the First World War, when leather ran short. Field-grey painted iron fittings and a removable spike with a bayonet fitting mark the wartime model M1915. Source: weitze.net (Weitze, Merkmale M1915: feldgraue Beschläge, Bajonettverschluss, Ledersturmriemen an Knopf 91), retrieved 2026-10-01
• The inside gives away the rank. Enlisted helmets have a liner of leather tongues and a leather chinstrap or plain chinscales. Officers' helmets have a silk or rep liner with a leather sweatband, colour-lined visors and domed chinscales on rosettes.

A ball instead of the spike means artillery. Also photograph the stamps in the neck guard and in the shell: clothing office, regiment number, year, maker and size are exactly the details collectors look for.

What really determines the value

1. State and regiment: Prussia is the most common version. Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg are scarcer; the Guard and the cuirassiers are a class of their own. A legible regimental stamp turns one helmet among many into a specific piece.
2. Enlisted or officer: officers' helmets were privately owned, better made, and usually worth about double.
3. Completeness: both cockades, chinstrap or chinscales, spike, liner. Missing parts cost money, and so do parts added later — auction houses expressly mark such helmets as "zusammengestellt" (assembled from several).
4. Untouched condition: a helmet nobody has tinkered with for a hundred years is worth more than a polished-up one. Please don't re-blacken it, polish the fittings or swap parts.
5. Originality: reproduction Pickelhauben have been made for decades, some with an aged look. Once recognised as copies, they fetch only a fraction even at the major auction houses. Source: hermann-historica.de (Hermann Historica A108m, Los 6650, «Kopie einer deutschen Mannschafts-Pickelhaube» mit Beigaben, Zuschlag 200 €), retrieved 2026-10-01

Legally, the Pickelhaube is straightforward: it carries no symbols banned under § 86a of the German Criminal Code, and owning, buying and selling one is entirely legal.

How the sale works

1. Take photos: the helmet from the front and both sides, the inside with the liner, the stamps in the neck guard. If you have several helmets, a group photo is enough to start with.
2. WhatsApp to +34 665 164 779: free valuation within 24 hours, with a concrete figure instead of a vague answer.
3. Payment in cash: as soon as we agree on a price. We collect entire collections and estates in person, anywhere in Germany.

To read more about how we buy helmets of every kind, see our page sell a Pickelhaube. We are a Spanish collectors' house based in Madrid; your helmet goes into the collection, not into a shop window.

Frequently asked questions

How much is an old Pickelhaube worth?

A Prussian enlisted leather helmet usually fetches 370 to 465 euros at auction; Bavarian, Saxon and Württemberg helmets 260 to 850 euros. Officers' helmets are around 700 to 2,100 euros, Guard and cuirassier helmets more. We'll give you the concrete price for your helmet within 24 hours of seeing the photos.

Is a felt Pickelhaube worth less than a leather one?

Not necessarily. Felt and sheet-iron helmets are emergency production of the First World War and, because the material is fragile, fewer have survived. Well-preserved pieces are sometimes offered by dealers above a leather helmet of the same state.

How can I tell whether my Pickelhaube is genuine?

By consistent ageing of the leather, lacquer and liner, by stamps from the clothing office or the maker, and by fittings that match each other and the state. A Prussian eagle on a helmet with Bavarian cockades is a warning sign. No single feature is enough on its own — we check the overall picture and tell you the result free of charge.

What do the stamps in the neck guard mean?

Usually the army corps clothing office with the year (for example "B.A.X. 1915" for the X Army Corps in Hanover), often also regiment, battalion and company. A legible stamp ties the helmet to a specific unit and raises its value.

Source: weitze.net (Weitze, Kammerstempel «B.A.X. 1915» und «I.R.74»), retrieved 2026-10-01

Can I sell a Pickelhaube?

Yes. The Pickelhaube is not a weapon and carries no banned symbols. Owning and selling one is permitted in Germany without restriction.

Sell Pickelhaube

More guide values: Steel helmet