Serial numbers

The last Siebe, Gorman & Co Ltd. helmet?

The first helmets by this company were built by german immigrant Augustus Siebe, the company founder. His helmets had part numbers only to keep the parts for a helmet together when a batch was built or used together, they had no serial numbers. The first helmets with serial numbers were probably built in the era that the company was called Siebe & Gorman ( 1870 - 1880 ) I do not know what the lowest known serial number on a Siebe & Gorman helmet is but in the magazine HISTORICAL DIVER No 18 of 1999 a helmet is shown which has the number 5 stamped in both neck rings, this is believed to be a serial number and not parts numbers. The youngest Siebe, Gorman & Co Ltd. 12 bolt helmet I recently purchased in Belgium: this helmet has serial number 19904. Do you have or know a Siebe & Gorman helmet with a serial number lower then 5, or a Siebe, Gorman & Co Ltd. 12 bolt helmet with a serial number higher then 19904, or a Siebe, Gorman & Co Ldt. 6 bolt helmet with a serial number higher then 19921 then please let us know. 

Photograph above: currently the youngest Siebe Gorman 12 bolt helmet around: number 19904. The helmet was built somewhere late 1970’s / 1980. The highest serial number of a Siebe Gorman 6 bolt helmet is even a bit higher: 19921.

Accurate information of helmets supplied to customers, dates of manufacture, serial-numbers and client sources are rarely known. However, with the help of my database and the knowledge of certain changes in the design of helmets, estimations can often be made. If you have a helmet which you would like to know more about, then send a few photographs to the email address indicated below, and I shall try to reply as soon as I am able.