A furious Florida sports-memorabilia collector who shelled out $8,500 for an Eli Manning rookie helmet now fears that it’s a fake — and that he was played by the Giants superstar.
Kris Inchcombe said he bought the signed No. 10 helmet in 2006, around the same time that a new lawsuit claims the quarterback sent a bogus rookie-year helmet to market.
“Now I’m just questioning the authenticity,” Inchcombe, a St. Augustine, Fla., financial professional, said of the purported 2004 helmet.
“If somebody took my money and told me something that they portrayed to be one way and it wasn’t — that’s theft. That’s stealing.”
Inchcombe grew worried after seeing The Post’s report Thursday of a lawsuit by memorabilia collector Eric Inselberg.
Inselberg’s suit claims two-time Super Bowl MVP Manning and Giants officials have passed off “massive” quantities of bogus game-worn team memorabilia — and a 2004 rookie helmet was among the “forgeries.”
“Manning took the helmet, signed it, and placed it into the market, falsely claiming that it was a helmet used during his 2004 rookie season,” the suit states.
Manning dodged questions on whether he’d doctored helmets and jerseys, saying only, “The Giants told me this suit is completely without merit and I have no reason to believe otherwise.
“The Giants are going to fight it, and so will I.”
Inselberg’s lawsuit claims that the 2008 Manning Super Bowl helmet in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is also a fake — allegedly ordered up by Giants Vice President Pat Hanlon after he learned that Inselberg already owned the real deal.
Inselberg’s suit alleges that Manning, Giants officials, team locker-room and equipment managers and even Big Blue’s longtime dry cleaner conspired on such fraudulent deals.
The helmet remained on display at the Canton, Ohio, museum Thursday, but there was no plaque identifying it. Reps for the museum did not return calls.
A former Steiner Sports employee said Thursday that staffers of the memorabilia seller suspected that not all of the “game-used” gear was real.
“Specifically, from Eli we would see it and say, ‘Come on, this is not ‘game used,’ ” the source said.
CEO Brandon Steiner declined to comment.
Manning currently sells his collectibles exclusively through Steiner, but in the past, also sold to Florida dealer Mounted Memories, the company Inchcombe paid for his Manning helmet.
He also paid $14,000 for a 2004 Colts helmet worn by Eli’s big brother, Peyton. Both came with authentication papers, he said.
Inchcombe still hopes both his helmets are real, but admits, “I am questioning whether or not they were used in a game,” which affects their value.
Giants officials blasted Inselberg’s suit as “without merit” and declined to comment further. The NFL declined to comment.
Inselberg still holds his unpaid position as curator of the Giants’ “Legacy Club” at MetLife Stadium, where the team has nearly $1 million worth of his memorabilia on display.