Joesocal Posted 5 May , 2022 Share Posted 5 May , 2022 Hello. I'm new here, thanks in advance for your time. I just recently bought this shell casing from an individual near palm springs California. He didn't have any info on where it came from except for "it may be from Prussia". I see by limited research I learned it was made in German town of Dusseldorf in 1907. Anything else someone can add? It's 9 inches tall by 3 inches in diameter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 5 May , 2022 Share Posted 5 May , 2022 Welcome to the GWForum! Made by Rheinische Munitionsfabrik, Düsseldorf, January 1907, and with the 'St' marking for a strengthened case used for more powerful propellants. Others will be able to add more regarding what gun it was for! Trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awjdthumper Posted 5 May , 2022 Share Posted 5 May , 2022 It is a shell case for a 7.7 cm Feldkanone 96 n.A which was the light field gun used by Germany at the start of WW1, the equivent of the British 18-pdr or French '75'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joesocal Posted 5 May , 2022 Author Share Posted 5 May , 2022 Thank you all so much what if anything does the symbol before the number 27 mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awjdthumper Posted 5 May , 2022 Share Posted 5 May , 2022 The crown next to it is an inspection mark and I assume the '27' identifies the inspector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joesocal Posted 6 May , 2022 Author Share Posted 6 May , 2022 That makes sense about the "crown 27" being from an inspection because it appears to be more shallow engraved than the other engravings. Thank you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joesocal Posted 6 May , 2022 Author Share Posted 6 May , 2022 I paid 40 usd for the shell casing. Is that a fair value to estimate it at? I'm also curious about where the majority of this forum members are from? Mostly Europe or USA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awjdthumper Posted 6 May , 2022 Share Posted 6 May , 2022 I think the equivalent of 40 USD is a very good price and I would be prepared to pay much more than that in the UK for this shell case. Interestingly, I just had a look on the web and there was a similar Fk 96 n.A shell case for sale for £40 and it also had the crown + 27 inspection mark on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joesocal Posted 6 May , 2022 Author Share Posted 6 May , 2022 Oh wow was it from also from Dusseldorf?1907? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awjdthumper Posted 6 May , 2022 Share Posted 6 May , 2022 Yes but 1909! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 6 May , 2022 Share Posted 6 May , 2022 awjdthumper, Was that one also a 'St' marked case? Julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awjdthumper Posted 6 May , 2022 Share Posted 6 May , 2022 It was this one on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1202440075/german-wwi-trench-art-vase-brass-shell?click_key=a74c6b7c0acff8d83c8ce8d0b16bc58d6187e352%3A1202440075&click_sum=76d33194&ref=market_rv-1&frs=1&sts=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 6 May , 2022 Share Posted 6 May , 2022 Interesting! Worth mentioning, though, that German shells were also used in the Balkan Wars. I have seen here in Turkey examples of Greek 'trench art' using German shell cases of pre WW1 date that are inscribed with references to those campaigns. Julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joesocal Posted 6 May , 2022 Author Share Posted 6 May , 2022 Wow that is nearly identical except for the date Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joesocal Posted 10 May , 2022 Author Share Posted 10 May , 2022 So it could of been used in balkan wars. Is 1907 too early to have been used in WW1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 11 May , 2022 Share Posted 11 May , 2022 (edited) On 10/05/2022 at 04:52, Joesocal said: So it could of been used in balkan wars. Is 1907 too early to have been used in WW1? Yes, it could have been used out there - the problem is in getting a secure provenance or original place of origin for the case. When buying militaria especially this is a problem... I sometimes find in the Ankara shops bayonets that were never used in Turkey (e.g., Swedish M.96's) even though they are often sold as 'Gallipoli' bayonets! Of course, shell cases could be re-used and this could be an old case hanging around in the German stocks in WW1. If you want to be reasonably certain that you have a WW1 German-used case then stick to the dates 1914-1918, while remembering that all of the Central Powers used German munitions... By the way, looking at odd notes of mine, I believe that these strenghtened cases started to be produced around 1902 when Germany adopted the use of Amatol - but somebody will quite possibly / probably correct me on that! Julian Edited 11 May , 2022 by trajan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16thBNCanScotJim Posted 11 May , 2022 Share Posted 11 May , 2022 On 05/05/2022 at 17:25, Joesocal said: I paid 40 usd for the shell casing. Is that a fair value to estimate it at? I'm also curious about where the majority of this forum members are from? Mostly Europe or USA? A bunch from Canada, Australia, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 11 May , 2022 Share Posted 11 May , 2022 15 minutes ago, 16thBNCanScotJim said: A bunch from Canada, Australia, etc Plus Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, France, Turkey (I am one of at least two here, and while English born the other is a Turk!)... My overall impression is that the core membership is certainly UK, I would guess followed by ANZAC countries, USA/Canada. Sadly too few people write their location otherwise GWForum would have a better idea. MOD's, perhaps this should be obligatory, at least in terms of country? Juian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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