# ww2 trench art



## NorCalBottleHunter (Jan 16, 2009)

well i traveled to Dayton, NV to help my wifes god mother move back to tahoe and after we had finished she gives me this. the story she told was that her father had fought in world war two for the axis, he was Hungarian, and supposedly he  made this while operating an anti aircraft gun on the fronts of Russia, its an 8 cm shell and beat into it, using various tools, is the Hungarian shield and in Hungarian, the words, "free Hungry", also the dates, 1941-1944. anybody ever seen pieces like this? i'd love to hear some feedback


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## cordilleran (Jan 16, 2009)

NorCal:

 Trench art has been around for a long time and usually has four sources of origination: art actually made by soldiers in combat; prisoners of war; items made from civilians around combat zones; and commercially made objects from military surplus after the conflict. The bulk of trench art dates from World War One and decorating shell casings of various sizes is not uncommon. What you have is a unique piece of memorabilia reflecting Hungarian conscription into military service with the Axis during the last big war. Determining how a piece of trench art was created is the difficult part.


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## beendiggin (Jan 16, 2009)

That shell is awesome.  Thats one unique piece.  I would get a picture of the guy who made that and display it with the shell. Great history.


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## privvydigger (Jan 16, 2009)

History of the battles and locations  will undoubtly give you an insight to where and possible when it was made.  That could have been of great inportance at the time to the men who watched it being made.


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## cc6pack (Jan 16, 2009)

Could you post a pic of the headstamp, (bottom) of the shell. I'm thinking it could be a 75mm shell?


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## GuntherHess (Jan 16, 2009)

I have read that a lot of "trench art" was done by wounded soldiers while recovering.


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## NorCalBottleHunter (Jan 16, 2009)

i could post a picture of the bottom but i dont think it would do any good, its hard to read anything as it is in person. i can tell you it does say 8cm, and the date, 1939, and some type of shield that i cannot make out due to the corrosion. not that i would sell it since it came from a family member but i was afraid to clean it with brasso or something and decrease the value, like a coin. so there is a question, would cleaning it decrease the value?


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## NorCalBottleHunter (Jan 16, 2009)

i dont know lobey, i like the way the ones you posted shine a bit, really catches the eye. so, is it a bad idea to clean it or not?


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## cyberdigger (Jan 16, 2009)

Yours has a beautiful finish just the way it is, I would not touch it!!! VERY NICE!!!Besides, yours is copper, while the ones Lobey posted are brass.. I don't think you would get the same result by polishing it.


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## probe buster (Jan 16, 2009)

If you're ever traveling I-10 in So Cal, about 30 miles east of Indio at the Chiriaco Summit exit you will find the General Patton Museum. This is worth a stop. They have several trench art pieces on display, along with narrative information. Pretty cool stuff!


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## ktbi (Jan 16, 2009)

Hi Nick..I wouldn't clean it.  If you're not sure, it doesn't hurt to hold back.  It's kinda hard to clean it now and try to undo it later....Generally, for most antiques, cleaning decreases value....Ron


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## capsoda (Jan 16, 2009)

The shell is brass so either way it will end up being tarnished BUT your looks as though it was shellaced. If it is shellaced I would leave it because the artist ment for it to be that way. If not it was polished when he did it and it would be a preferance thing.

 It is an 8.8 cm shell most probably from a FLAK 46/47 anti aircraft/anti tank gun. Hungarians and Austrians were considered to be of Germanic back ground and were all the rights of a German soldier. They were also equiped with the better equipment.


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## NorCalBottleHunter (Jan 16, 2009)

thanks guys, for the feedback, i am sure it would look so much better clean but the tarnish does give it character, it could have been cleaned before, i dont know. i know it made it through a displaced  persons camp in Austria, then was left in Hungry with family till 1970 when the person i got it from brought it back in her suit case on a plane to san francisco. anyways, it stays the way it is


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## RED Matthews (Jan 16, 2009)

Hi To all of you.  This is nice stuff and thanks for sharing it with us. Treasure the relative keepsake - I am children will also.  RED Matthews


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## tigue710 (Jan 16, 2009)

wow, that is one of the finest pieces I have ever seen... dont mess with the patina!

 I would bet that one is worth a significant amount...


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## Stardust (Jan 16, 2009)

i was just going to say the same thing as dr.tigue...
 and there it was.... []

 i remember on the antique roadshow..... don't mess with it! []


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## Tony14 (Jan 16, 2009)

https://www.antique-bottles.net/forum/m-34544/mpage-1/key-trench%252Cart/tm.htm#34586

 heres one my cousin posted a long time back.


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## whitefeather (Jan 17, 2009)

Well that was one one the best. I really liked that and again so much information. and I will be down in So. Cal. in 2 days feild trip with the grandaughter. Oh hey roch show is happening there too, well in AZ. not too far.


 Whitefeather


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## Stardust (Jan 17, 2009)

tony that was really nice. if your ever there with your SLR camera you could do that piece some justice and take some new photos...
 I't's a beauty.. with clearer photos like you can take, I can only wonder how much more beauty... Thanks for resharing  with us... stardust


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## phil44 (Jan 17, 2009)

My Uncle had these in his room , when I was a kid growing up I always wanted them. Well he moved and another Uncle took them because the Uncle Dave's new house was smaller. We're talking over the course of 20 years or so. Anyway I was a stamp collector and my Grandmother previously gave me every letter she and her mother ever recieved. Including the ones her brother wrote to the family while he was in France inWW1. It was cool when my Uncle gave me the shells to go with the collection. 

 He was a Sargeant in the Medical Corps and stayed in France during and many years after the war cleaning up. The letters were all censored and don't mention too many specifics. One of the neatest things he mentions is about immunizing the troops with some kind of new vaccination. Don't remember too much off the top of my head.

 These things are really tarnished you can see someone tried to clean them. I was eating an apple on the way home from getting them, you can see where the core brushed up and the acid in it removed a spot of tarnish. Not sure if I should clean it's hard to read.


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## phil44 (Jan 17, 2009)

I have two, maybe he had brought a bunch home for all the kids. Not the typical shell art, more of a commemorative thing for his war service.


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## Stardust (Jan 18, 2009)

They are also beautiful works of art and pieces of history. I would leave them alone. They tell a story, a solder's story. Something no one can ever retell. keep them safe in the family.
 God Bless those who made them and fought for our country!
 Thanks for sharing. 
 stardust


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