Greetings fellow hobbyists!

Have you ever browsed for signed or unsigned helmets, and found yourself lost amongst the myriad of such terms as authentic, replica, full size, mini, micro, souvenir, pocket pro, ice cream helmets, etc? Here is a breakdown of some of the most common terms and styles of helmets out there:

We’ll start big and work our way down:

1. Authentic Full Size Helmet (often you’ll see “F/S” in item descriptions) – same as the pros use, produced by either Riddell, Proline, or Schutt. It doesn’t get any better than the real thing, but can be cost prohibitive for most collectors.

2. Replica Full Size Helmet (F/S) – same size as the authentic helmets, and although they look very nice and are much more affordable than authentic, these are cheaper reproductions for autographs/display only!

3. Mini-Helmet – The #1 helmet favored by collectors for autographs due to size, price, quality, etc. These replicas are approximately ½ scale versions for both baseball & football. Within the mini helmet category you have “authentic” mini helmets; the materials used are better, creating a sturdier but more expensive product, and the traditional “replica” mini helmet which is mostly plastic but still looks fantastic and is the most cost effective.

4. Micro Helmet – Much like the traditional mini helmets, but a bit smaller. These are approximately 1/3 the size of a full size helmet. The micro helmets are reportedly no longer in production, and as such may get harder to find.

5. Pocket Pros – These are approximately 2” versions of helmets, and though are very neat to display, are almost too small to get a good autograph on.

6. Souvenir Helmets – These are the plastic full size helmets with no ear flaps sold at every ballpark in the Majors. They have a brown plastic adjustment strap inside the helmet to give the wearer a good fit. These are souvenirs only, and should never be used for protection. Thought not nearly as nice as the mini helmets, they are full size and can make neat items to get signed and can typically be found for around $5 each.

7. Ice Cream Helmets – If you’ve ever been to the ballpark then you probably already know this one. Those neat little plastic helmets filled with ice cream? Many collectors have then washed these little souvenirs and then gotten them signed! These are pure plastic, no ear flaps, and are about 4-5” long, and can usually be purchased for less than 50 cents each by the sleeve.

Other neat variations along the mini helmet lines include mini catcher’s masks, hockey goalie masks, hockey helmets, and NASCAR helmets. Also, there are now throwback helmets of many of your favorite pro and college teams, individual player helmets, Super Bowl helmets, Hall of Fame helmets, chrome helmets, and even light up helmets! The “mini” line of products has also move into such things as bases & home plates! Truly some neat items out there, which when autographed by your favorite athlete and properly displayed, become highlight pieces of your collection!

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Thanks!

Steve & Jen

OceanStateSports