Imperial Coronation Helmet

The Imperial Coronation Helmet was an elaborate ancient helmet and a part of the Imperial Treasury.
Its spherical bowl was constructed of several iron plates riveted together, and elaborately decorated iron cheek-pieces were hinged to its sides. It also possessed a large nasal guard and a peculiar aventail: instead of usually employed riveting, the links were forge welded. The crest and the nasal guard were furnished with brass decorative elements, engraved with animal motifs and words that imperial scholars haven't been able to decipher, for the language in which they were inscribed had long been forgotten, consigned to oblivion.
The imperial history states that before emperor Wigbold the Founder came and won the land by sword, there stood a rich and opulent kingdom. The folk of that kingdom was mighty and arrogant, and they imposed harsh obligations upon the principalities that dotted the borders, including the one ruled by Wigbold. Incensed, the proud Wigbold made war on that kingdom, the name of which is damned by the Imperial Cult and forgotten, and brought it down, and slew the king, likewise damned and forgotten, and stripped him of his armour, and claimed his helmet.
History also states that in that helmet he entered the king's burning capital, and in that helmet he was proclaimed emperor by his retinue, which gave birth to a part of the current coronation ceremony.
Since the founding the helmet had been kept in the vaults of the Imperial Treasury in Isenburg, used in coronations. The emperor habitually donned the more appropriate Imperial Crown, when he was crowned by the Diet, but merely being elected to the office didn't give the incumbent the full extent of his power, for the tradition mandated a confirmation by the army.
In adherence to that ancient tradition, the emperors then switched their heavy vestments for ancient mail, also attributed to Wigbold himself, and the coronation helmet that symbolized the first and greatest imperial victory, and went to commune with the troops, usually of the Praesental army or the Household Guard. Only upon being raised on a shield by them did the emperor obtain his right to rule.
Unfortunately, like many other valuable artifacts, the original Coronation Helmet was lost in the fire in the Imperial Palace during the sack of Isenburg by the pretender Atanarich von Steinbrücken in 1211. Since then a copy, devoid of many decorative inscriptions, is used for coronation purposes.