Original German WWII Late Pattern High End Metropolitan Police Shako with Chins Scales & Cockade Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent condition high grade Rural Police 1936 Officers pattern Tschako, with the late pattern green wool body and brown leather trim. It has a very fine quality police officer aluminum eagle front plate, with high grade silvered aluminum chin scales, something we rarely see. From what we can tell these were only worn by high ranking officers, and we have not had an example previously with this type of chin strap. The front top of the helmet has a very nice aluminum cockade, though there is some mothing to the red felt insert. A great Polizei helmet (shako) as used by the police in rural areas of Germany!

Interior is excellent, and this “private purchase” example has a leather liner with a brown colored faux silk skullcap, very much like officer pickelhaube helmets from the first world war era and before. The leather is supple and shows only light age and is completely unmarked except for a hand written “55” at the back, which we assume is the measured size. The skull cap has a lovely color, and the wire supports are fully intact. Vents are in perfect condition with working slide closure for the front vent on both sides.

There is not any maker marking that we can find on the interior of the helmet, so it is most likely a bespoke example. In fantastic condition, this is definitely a great collector’s opportunity that will not be repeated anytime soon. Ready to display!

History of the shako-
The word shako originated from the Hungarian name csákós süveg (“peaked cap”), which was a part of the uniform of the Hungarian hussar of the 18th century. Other spellings include chako, czako, schako and tschako.

From 1800 on the shako became a common military headdress, worn by the majority of regiments in the armies of Europe and the Americas. Replacing in most instances the light bicorne, the shako was initially considered an improvement. Made of heavy felt and leather, it retained its shape and provided some protection for the soldier’s skull, while its visor shaded his eyes. The shako retained this pre-eminence until the mid-19th century, when spiked helmets began to appear in the armies of the various German States, and the more practical kepi replaced it for all but parade wear in the French Army. The Imperial Russian Army substituted a spiked helmet for the shako in 1844-45 but returned to the latter headdress in 1855, before adopting a form of kepi in 1864. Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, military fashions changed and cloth or leather helmets based on the German headdress began to supersede the shako in many armies.

Although the mid-nineteenth century shako was impressive in appearance and added to the height of the wearer, it was also heavy and by itself provided little protection against bad weather as most models were made of cloth or felt material over a leather body and peak. Many armies countered this by utilizing specially designed oilskin covers to protect the shako and the wearer from heavy rain while on campaign. The shako provided little protection from enemy action as the most it could offer was in giving partial shielding of the skull from enemy cavalry sabers.