Lobster tailed helmet circa 1640

[AHorsa]

Let me add something to this old thread:

Here we have an example with a "modern" calotte dated 1652 and marked a with an "M". As this piece is from the arsenal of Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg, it is one more hint that the marks "L", "M" etc. is not an arsenal but a makers mark.

https://www.hermann-historica.de/de/.../lot/id/138656

[Victrix]

Originally Posted by AHorsa

Let me add something to this old thread:

Here we have an example with a "modern" calotte dated 1652 and marked a with an "M". As this piece is from the arsenal of Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg, it is one more hint that the marks "L", "M" etc. is not an arsenal but a makers mark.

https://www.hermann-historica.de/de/.../lot/id/138656

Is it a “M” or a “W”?

I think at the very least it might be a batchmaker’s mark. These helmets seem to have been fairly mass produced.

Interestingly the lames on the neck guard look like they are bolted together to stay in place as the leather straps are gone. The question is whether they were bolted together when the leather fell off, but it looks the lames were bolted together from the beginning. Otherwise presumably there would be additional holes.

[AHorsa]

I think it is an M taking into account the direction of the "F" and "L"s from the other examples.
The lames were not boltet together. Those center bolts / rivets are for decoration. The rivets on the inside did hold the leather that has gone. But this central leather strip didn't had an important function.