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Originally Posted by DavidIEvans
The same thickness all over is a little concerning as that indicates rolled plate, not hammered plate. .
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Info as referenced in Art Gogan,
Fighting Iron: A Metals Handbook for Arms Collectors ( 1999 ):
1. First plate mill for armor production set up in England during reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), as mentioned in a text published 1624.
2. By the mid-1550s, rolling mills to produce silver and gold in sheets of uniform thickness operational in France for the royal mint.
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So it would seem that the concept existed in theory and practice by the time this helmet was made.
Of course, even if the raw material reached its initial format via some sort of machine, in those days the helmet would be given its final form by hammering on various bench stakes since machinery capable of die-stamping the asymmetrical components for large objects like this had to wait for the Industrial Revolution. Thus, tool marks from the shaping processes would still be apparent on the finished product.