I noticed recently that return of "Feed" under the My eBay/Saved section. Was this not the very feature that eBay removed some years ago to the annoyance of many (including myself)? Perhaps my memory fails me but this was a classic case of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'.
Whilst eBay has it's critics, you can't deny that it can throw up some items which you might otherwise never have tracked down elsewhere. Of course the down side is that anything desirable does not escape the eagle eyed collector and you can be sure of a frenzied bidding war.
However, don't despair. Whilst generally nothing goes unnoticed on eBay with so may buyers, there can occasionally be items which are listed incorrectly and escape the attention of the majority. I've seen some items of vintage Police uniform listed under Fancy dress or bundled with other items under a different category. So you can get lucky.
Bidding comes down to how much you can afford and how much you really want something. If you really want something then be prepared to bid at least twice the value of the most recent bid which has been reached in the final hour of the auction. I prefer to set my highest bid in the final 24 hours and then leave it and see what happens. If someone bids more then they obviously want it more than me and prepared to pay more than the market value.
When not to bid? Red flag warning signs include poor communication from the seller. If you ask questions and they don’t reply or they only provide ‘yes/no’ answers I would walk away. This combined with the profile showing a new seller with little or no feedback are indicators of a high risk seller you shouldn’t buy from, no matter how tempting.
If you know the value of items then you might get lucky with a 'buy it now' offer. I've purchased a few items over the years in this way because I knew the items were rare and would almost certainly have gone for more with a bidding auction. This is why I can't imagine many occasions where I would use a 'buy it now' format if I was selling something. Letting an auction run to the end is almost always going to give you the best selling price. Another tip for sellers is only use a 99p or low starting bid price if you know it's something which will attract lots of interest. For items which may have a very limited buyers market you're better off setting the initial price closer to what you hope to get, otherwise you risk under-selling something.
It often amazes me how many people are prepared to buy something from eBay and then relist it themselves in the hope of making a profit. Generally speaking, items sell on eBay for their true value. That being the case, there are very few opportunities to resale something for a profit.
Going 'off-topic' for a moment, I once had a Master Replicas collectable Star Wars lightsabre which I sold on eBay in 2009 for about £80. The buyer took some delight in making me aware he had then resold it on eBay for a ridiculous amount around £400. I checked his advert and he wrote an over-inflated exaggerated description of it being a rare 'warehouse find'. Well, I feel sorry for the subsequent buyer who could have bought it directly from me for £80. I suppose there are still people with more money than sense and these are just the ones who are likely to fall for this kind of thing. Some might say it's good salesmanship but in my book it's dishonest and misleading. However, I'm pleased to say this kind of behaviour is in the minority on eBay.
It can also be easy to fall into the trap of convincing yourself something is what you want it to be.
The functionality of eBay generally works well. I noticed recently the return of 'Feed' under My eBay. Is this not the same feature which existed some years ago and was withdrawn? I can remember feeling quite frustrated when the feature went following some 'enhancements'. It use to work perfectly well and gave me what I wanted so why remove it in the first place? It never ceases to amaze me often I see software 'improvements' which don't offer anything useful but seem to justify the existence of the developers. Whilst the digital sector can't always stand still, making changes just for the sake of it is never a good thing for the customer. I often wonder what real user testing takes place before such 'improvements' are rolled out regardless.
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November 2024
Sold for £125 plus £5.50 p&p (three bidders with a starting price of £79.95)
City of Bath Police helmet. This is a fine example with little signs of use. The only minor flaw being a missing rose stud on the side. It's possible to find an almost identical replacement since they were also used on Bristol Constabulary helmets and continued with Avon & Somerset Constabulary for many years. I believe I've even got one or two in my spare parts box!
This helmet has a six panel design which was typical of helmets issued by the City of Bath Police.
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November 2024
A Port of Bristol Police cap badge sold for £114 plus £2.50 on eBay. These are indeed rare and the sale price reflects this. Rare badges like this certainly favour the seller on an auction bidding format.
Several years ago one of these was advertised online by Cultman Collectables for £30. Needless to say it was quickly snapped up by an eagled eyed collector.
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This single Bristol Constabulary collar badge sold for £33 plus £4.95 p&p on 26 September. I've seen another example sold by a dealer for £65.
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September 2024
This one is from a dealer and not eBay but I've included it because it's a rarely seen peaked cap. It's perhaps the first Somerset & Bath Constabulary peaked cap I recall seeing in the last 15 years. It can be almost possible to know if a cap has it's original cap badge but this looks authentic in my opinion. At the time of writing, it's being offered for sale by the dealer Cultman Collectables. I've purchased from this dealer in the past and found they source good items for reasonable prices with a reliable service. They're also one of the few to provide very good detailed photos so you can see exactly what you're paying for. This peaked cap is being offered for £32.
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September 2024.
An early 1980's Avon & Somerset Constabulary helmet. This style of helmet was one of the first of the ABS (plastic) helmets to be issued. This was listed with a buy-it-now price of £50 or best offer. I would be surprised if if it sells near that price due to the condition.
The condition is quite poor. The paint has almost completely worn off from the brass helmet band and is missing the front securing stud, just below the helmet plate.
The inside should have a cork 'liner insert' which is missing. The remaining liner has extensive wear and in poor condition. Both chin strap and cotton web harness strap are intact.
This style of helmet was issued with a chrome plated plastic helmet plate. The black plastic securing screw can be seen inside the helmet.
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| The single black plastic screw for securing the helmet plate is highlighted here |
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Featured archive from 2011
Two Bristol Constabulary ball top chain helmets were listed on eBay back in December of 2011. What made this sale rather interesting was the fact that these were very rare helmets and they sold for £976 and £908 each. See comments at the bottom of this page.
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August 2024
This Bristol Constabulary belt buckle sold for £105.71.
It's often the case that when an item sells for a high price, then others see an opportunity to 'cash in' and more of the same appear on eBay. This can also lead to a price drop which is good for subsequent buyers. This next one was listed on eBay shortly afterwards with a 'buy it now' price of £100. Some years ago I saw a complete belt and buckle sell for just £50. It may be the case that some collectors prefer to have just the buckle rather than the complete belt.
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August 2024
Wooden plaques often appear on eBay but this example is one of the better ones I've seen, which sold for a 'buy-it-now' price of £48. I would expect a standard plaque to be worth about £15. This one comes from the small Bristol Constabulary mounted horse section which makes it rarer. The helmet plate has also been nicely hand-painted. I have a similar one with unpainted helmet plate in my personal collection, shown in my blog under Bristol Constabulary.
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August 2024
This is perhaps one of the most unusual items of Police memorabilia I've come acrosss. A solid oak Avon & Somerset Constabulary badge. Height: 81cm x Width: 67cm. Seems strange that the Police would commission such a piece only to sell it. Offered with a 'buy-it-now' price of £1,290.
I received an update on this (comments below) that this was sold at auction for £140 on 25 July. Something such as this is perhaps of limited appeal and I would think it unlikely someone would be willing to pay too much such a piece.
This was in fact, one of many items sold at the Clevedon Salerooms auction in July/August - see my separate post for a more comprehensive listing of the lots sold.
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| The wooden pegs securing the helmet rose are visible |
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May 2024
This Bristol Constabulary tunic along with trousers, helmet, truncheon and whistle sold for £104.
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May 2024
A pair of porcelain Somerset Constabulary ashtrays failed to sell on eBay with a starting bid of just £5.
I've had several pieces of Police branded porcelein in my collection, including a Somerset & Bath Constabulary ashtray. These Somerset Constabulary ashtrays are pre-1967. The maker is Hargreaves. Interesting memorabilia but sadly not so collectable.
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May 2024
Two Kings crown City of Bath helmet plates. The chrome version sold for £59.88 and the blackened version just £39.88. In this case the blackened version was a chrome helmet plate painted black. I've seen this before with a Bath helmet plate and inclined to think this was in fact done 'in service' when a blackened brass helmet plate was not available. All rear lugs were intact.
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May 2024
Someset & Bath Constabulary tunic made by Hobsons of Bristol (see my other blog post on this maker). These tunics are quite rare but unfortunately aren't so collectable therefore values remain low. This example was being offered with a starting price of just £10 having been re-listed.
It's very rare to find such a vintage Police tunic with makers label still intact. This also provides the owners collar number.
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May 2024
After a brief drought of any noteworthy items on eBay, here comes several at the same time.
A good example of a Bristol Constabulary 'A' Division 1960's era cork helmet. It has the red drawstring and leather chinstrap consistent with helmets issued by Bristol Constabulary during this time. It has the owners collar number 45A written inside. This sold for £49.95, which is a resonable value.
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May 2024
Here's a nice and somewhat rare example of a Somerset & Bath Constabulary helmet. This wóuld have previously been issued by the City of Bath Police as they used the six panel helmet like this one. It's stamped with size 6 5/8 on the leather sweatband and has the Christies makers mark.
It sold for a somewhat surprising £85. Although quite rare, I would have expected this example to sell for about £50.
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May 2024
This brass token sold for £15. These were issued by the Bristol Constabulary in exchange for a spare set of property keys, which were deposited at the Police station in case entry was needed outside working hours.
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March 2024
This small selection of Bristol Constabulary badges and Port of Bristol helmet plate plus a few buttons sold for £79.77.
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March 2024
An Avon & Somerset Constabulary custodian helmet. From the photographs, this appears to be genuine. The £60 asking price is rather optimistic and I would value this around £40-£50.
Some years ago, any Avon & Somerset Police helmet listed on eBay which resembled their current issue helmet, was removed by eBay. It could be argued that this example is now obsolete since all newly issued helmets have a silver metal band around the outside. Having said that, there are, and will be plenty of these earlier versions with black band still in Police service for years to come.
There are often helmets appearing on eBay which are described as Avon & Somerset but these are usually not, but have simply had an Avon & Someset helmet badge added to another helmet.
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| Avon & Somerset helmets have a leather chin strap and web harness strap |
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March 2024
A rare Avon & Somerset tunic and trousers set from the 1970's era. This was listed with a buy-it-now price of £100 and sold for £89 plus £6.49 postage. There's generally not much demand for such vintage Police uniforms but this nice example found a home. The seller provided lots of good photographs which verify this as being issued by Avon & Somerset Constabulary, probably 1970's. The sergeants stripes and medal ribbon add to it's appeal. It's very hard to find such items of unform which were issued by Avon & Somerset Constabulary. This one may have gone to a collector or even perhaps for theatre/re-enactment.
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| Standard Grantham makers label used on tunics 1970's-80's |
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September 2023
A nice selection of items belonging to a Bristol Constabulary Victorian era officer sold for £157.75. This collection included the officers notebook, helmet plate, photograph and some newspaper clippings.
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July 2023
One of the first Avon & Somerset Constabulary helmets sold for just £17.90 plus £6.50 p&p.
This example is missing the cotton web harness chin strap. The helmet plate is the same metal version used on the cork helmets. This version of ABS helmet would have been issued with a plastic version of the helmet plate fitted with a single screw fixing. To fit the metal version with three lugs would mean someone had to make three additional holes into the helmet shell. It's possible this 'conversion' was done by a serving officer who wanted to retain his metal helmet plate, or post service by a dealer or collector. I would imagine any such 'customisation' of a police officers own helmet was forbidden.
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June 2023
A collection of 58 Bristol Constabulary helmet plates and badges offered for a 'buy it now' price of £1,000. That equates to about £17 per badge. Whilst most collectors couldn't stretch to this amount of money, it does represent a potential profit for a dealer if sold seperately. Some of these helmet plates are blanks or have numbers missing, but there's still enough desirable plates like the A division ones which would easily sell.
These were sold following an offer, which would make a re-sale even more attractive for a dealer. It's possible a collector purchased these, even if only to keep the best ones and re-sale the others.
The helmet plates were King and Queens crown, both night and day.
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Update:
It seems that somebody saw an oppertunity for a quick profit as these badges were soon being re-listed individually on eBay with prices ranging from £19.99 to £54.99. Something the original seller could also have done.
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April 2023
An Avon & Somerset Constabulary peaked cap. This looks to be a cap from the early 1970's. The cap badge is mounted above the 'diced' or chequered band which was common on the earlier caps. The badge was mounted onto the chequered band from the 1980's. This cap badge would have been fitted with a slider fixing.
Curiously, notice on the back of the chequered band, you can see two holes
where a cap badge was mounted. The band has been turned round so you
can't see this from the front. This could be because the owner served
with Somerset & Bath Constabulary before Avon & Somerset was
formed in 1974. Cap badges used by Somerset & Bath Constabulary used
two metal prongs which would mean making two holes in the cap band. Alternatively, it was 'old new stock' from the stores and 're-purposed' by removing the Somerset & Bath Constabulary badge and turning the band around so the holes could not be seen from the front.
It's interesting to see there's still a typed paper note from that era on the inside of the cap.
There are few caps in original condition from the early 1970's which makes this relatively rare. However, the buy-it-now price of £70 is rather optimistic. I would value this around £30.
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April 2023
A 1970's cork Avon & Somerset Constabulary helmet with an asking price of £70. This appears to have one of the plastic style head sweatbands seen on some helmets of this time.
Curiously, the shape has become badly distorted and narrow. Perhaps a result of being beneath something heavy for a long period. The cork helmets are surprisingly strong, but can lose their shape. For this reason I would value the helmet around £30. The seller also listed a peaked cap which belonged to the same person as the helmet. See above.
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February 2023
This 'Bristol Constabulary' J Hudson 'Metropolitan Police' whistle sold for £25 plus £6 p&p.
This appears to have been 'personalised' since it's a standard generic Police whistle with a small Bristol Constabulary tunic button soldered onto it. Whistles issued by Bristol Constabulary were stamped with the Police Force name. It's possible this could even have been a retirement gift. Those stamped with "Bristol Constabulary" are more desirable and will sell for at least twice as much.
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February 2023
- Avon and Somerset Constabulary china teacup
- Somerset and Bath Constabulary saucer
- Somerset and Bath Constabulary small side plate.
These do appear on eBay occasionally so it can be possible to build up your own tea set, albeit over several years!
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December 2022
This Bristol Constabulary helmet sold for £51.
It looks to be what could be described as an 'attic find'. The condition is not the best with some holes in the covering around the helmet band and some damage to the rim on the rear. Probably the biggest disappointment is the missing Divisional letter on the helmet plate. Knowing the Divisional number would have made it possible to trace the original owner. Sometimes it's possible to see the outline of the missing letter on closer inspection. However, it does still retain the original chin strap and makers label. Fortunately, this seller provided plenty of photographs to assess the condition. The black underside is consistent with helmets issued in the 1930's. Interestingly, it's a six panel design identical to those used by the City of Bath Police.
See also the comments from a reader at the bottom of this page which identify this as having had an ‘A’ Division helmet plate.
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December 2022
Somerset Constabulary 'journal' dated 1896, belonging to PC 34 Broome. This genuinely scarce item sold for £100.
Initially it was offered at an unrealistic £500. Such an item would appeal mostly to a historian or museum. Despite it's scarcity and historic value, it's unlikely anyone would be prepared to pay much more than £100. Another example of an item which holds more historical value than monetary.
This Avon & Somerset Constabulary helmet sold on eBay for £29 in January 2020. It has all the correct attributes which are typical of an early 1980's issue helmet from Avon & Somerset Constabulary. Firstly, the helmet plate is correct for that period (assuming it's the plastic version). It has two chin straps, one of which is a narrow patent leather. The second more practical chin strap is cotton webbing. The inner liner is white, which was used until about 1985 when it was changed to black. All subsequent helmets have used a black foam inner helmet liner. The small rose stud seen on the side to hold on the metal band is made of brass and the paint has rubbed off to reveal the brass metal underneath.
This example of a 1970's issue cork helmet sold on eBay for a mere £10 in December 2020. I would have expected it to have sold for around £30 so it just shows how eBay can sometimes be fickle. From looking at the photos I would consider it to be an authentic Avon & Somerset Constabulary helmet. These early cork examples are relatively rare. I only hope it was purchased by a collector and not for a child to use as a play hat!
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| Avon & Somerset Constabulary cork helmet eBay December 2020 |
This Somerset & Bath Constabulary metal badge die appeared on eBay at the end of 2020. It sold for £24.99 plus £8.99 postage and packing. Such an item is genuinely rare and no doubt one of just a few used to make the badges. It holds historical value but perhaps surprisingly does not tend to attract much interest from badge collectors. The item was sold and subsequently relisted with a group of five other badge die stamps for £249.99 but failed to sell. The Somerset and Bath Constabulary die stamp was then relisted once more individually for £49.99 in February 2021 but I don't think it has yet found a buyer.
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| Somerset & Bath Constabulary metal badge die |
Update: This same Somerset & Bath Constabulary badge die was listed again on eBay in October 2024 for £60.
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| Group of Police badge dies |
In February 2021 this collection of Bristol Special Constabulary enamel badges appeared on eBay. What's remarkable is that I counted a total of 70 badges listed and graded as either A (£6.99), B (£4.99), or C (£2.99) grades. This collection was being sold following a family bereavement. Ebay can still throw up some surprises like this. Of course with this many badges flooding the market at the same time, the value will inevitably drop. These were relatively rare and at one time were fetching about £30 each time they appeared. It's unusual for a collector to have so many identical badges. Having said that, they're all unique in that they are individually numbered on the back. It could be this collector like to acquire as many as possible or somehow acquired the whole batch from when they were originally withdrawn from service.
It's hard to believe this could have been acquired individually. I would think it would take a lifetime to accumulate so many if they were purchased individually.
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| Just some of the Bristol Special Constabulary badges on eBay February 2021 |
In April 2021 this WW2 British Police steel helmet sold for £101. This was one of the best examples I've seen for sale on eBay for a while. This was an early issue helmets with oval centre pad. The helmet was in very good original untouched condition. It didn't look like anyone had attempted to clean it which is always good. The paintwork was very good with only minor signs of wear.
This next one isn't from eBay but noteworthy nevertheless. Here we have a very rare Avon & Somerset Constabulary mounted Police ceremonial plume helmet. This was sold at an Australian auction in August 2021.
I've never seen such an example with a red plume, rather than white. The chain metal chin strap is missing.
I'm not sure of the sold price but the auction estimate was 300-400 Australian dollars (approx £158-£211/$218-$291). The last Avon & Somerset example I saw for sale was in 2010. That was offered at £450 ($327) by a collector and had a white plume.
This Somersetshire Constabulary senior officers enamel cap badge sold for £122 on eBay in August 2021.
These are relatively rare but I would not have expected it to sell for over £100. It seems there were a few very eager collectors wanting this example.
A fine example of one of the first Avon & Somerset Constabulary ABS helmets issued in the early 1980's, with it's distinctive red liner. This example is in unissued condition and the best I've seen over the last 10 years. The correct helmet plate for this helmet would be made of plastic. Very few of these early 1980's Avon & Somerset Constabulary helmets exist in such good condition. This helmet sold for a 'buy it now' price of £49.99 in September 2021. The seller was charging a very reasonable £6.50 p&p within the UK. This represents the best example a collector can hope to find.
Another non-eBay item but worthy of inclusion. This was from an auction house in Bristol, September 2021. The same version of helmet as above but in used condition. The photos reveal it has the original plastic helmet plate so this appears to be an original Avon & Somerset Constabulary helmet from the early 1980's.
This one sold for £40 (£52 with fees/taxes). P&P would be £17. So the total cost for this helmet could have been a hefty £69. Not viable for making a profit from reselling. The mint example featured previously sold for £49.99 plus p&p on eBay.
Here's a cork Port of Bristol Police helmet circa. 1930's from eBay USA, September 2021. This had a buy-it-now price of $220 (approx £160). What makes this helmet particularly interesting and unique is the original name label. Whilst it would be possible to research this helmet using the unique helmet number, it's much easier with the name. Bearing this in mind the price is reasonable, although importing to the UK for example would increase the cost considerably. Port of Bristol helmets appear on eBay surprisingly frequently, considering how few of these helmets were produced.
Here we have a cork helmet with a Somerset & Bath Constabulary helmet plate. The use of black 'night' helmet plates had already ceased by the time this Constabulary was formed in 1967. This means that the helmet plate has been painted black more recently. On close inspection you can see the helmet plate is chrome underneath due to the uneven black paint. It's unclear from the photographs if the rose top has also been painted black or it was an original black rose top which had the original helmet plate removed.
The helmet shell itself does date from the 1960's period. This helmet sold for £50 on eBay in October 2021.
This Port of Bristol cork helmet sold at an auction house in 2016. Although the number is missing from the helmet plate, the outline number 21 is still visible. This style helmet plate was typically used on the older style six panel ball top helmets used by the Port of Bristol Police. When the helmets changed, the helmet plate also changed to the star shape without a crown, used during the 1970's. It's possible this was a transitional helmet combination used before the newer style star helmet plate was introduced. See my page on Port of Bristol Police for more information.
At first glance the example below may appear to have the wrong helmet since these helmet plates were not generally used on the later custodian helmet. However, I have seen period photographs of these and the liner is typical of those used by Avon & Somerset Constabulary, who have supplied the Port of Bristol Police with their helmets.
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| Number 21 is still visible |
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| 1970's era plastic style liner |
This next Port of Bristol helmet, plate No. 22 was listed on eBay in October 2021 with a starting bid of £69 or buy-it-now price of £120. The helmet liner uses a red drawstring on the liner which is consistent with those issued by Bristol Constabulary during the 1960's. Since the Port of Bristol used helmets supplied by Bristol Constabulary (or direct from the same maker), it adds weight to this being an authentic Port of Bristol Police helmet. A nice example and priced around it's true value. It sold for £103.11 on 24 October 2021.
In October 2021 this Victorian era City of Bath Police cap badge was sold by a French seller for £93.54 +£18.71 VAT and £9.05 p&p. Victorian era badges are genuinely scarce and can easily sell for hundreds of pounds.
This Avon & Somerset Constabulary tea set was for sale in December 2021 with a 'buy it now' price of £20.
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A 1980's issue ABS helmet with the distinctive red liner. This well used example appears to be all original as issued. Whilst the liner is very worn, it still represents a good example and sold for a realistic price of £29.99 in May 2022.
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In May 2022 a very interesting collection of 1960's/1970's Port of Bristol Police named items were listed. They had belonged to a Kenneth Bartlett. The items inlcuded two Police ties, two tunics, two pairs of trousers, two Port of Bristol 'star' helmet plates and one No.47 helmet plate. One of the tunics also had the original metal No. 47 on each eppaulette. This was certainly a rare collection with the added interest of being attributed to a named officer. The ties had a starting bid of £25 and all the other items £50 starting bid.
The initial listing did not attract any bids except for the two 'star' helmet plates, which often sell for more. Even though a Port of Bristol tunic is undoubtedly rare, there are few collectors willing to pay more than £30 but in most cases even less. The trousers are the older style with buttons to retain braces so probably 1960's issue. It's also very rare to find un-issued items of clothing with their original makers labels.
It's unfortunate that these items will almost certainly be seperated and over time the name of their original owner lost.
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This helmet appears to be a good example of an early 1970's cork issue and sold for £80 in May 2022. However, on close examination the centre stud which holds the metal band in place, is missing (bottom tip of helmet plate). Also, it appears as if the scratched helmet band is made of steel. All these early cork helmets had metal bands made of brass and painted black. This could suggest it's not the original band for this helmet and perhaps replaced by a collector/dealer.
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| Missing metal band stud |
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| Correct style liner with red drawstring, chinstrap and wooden pegs used to secure the rosetop |
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A Chief Constable peaked cap sold for £82 in April 2022. Unusually, this example does not have the 'diced' cap band which was being introduced around the time Avon & Somerset Constabulary was formed in 1974.
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