WW1 37mm ammo casing with hand engraving. Help with Identification Please.

MetalDetectinNC · Sep 2, 2013

found this 6" deep in an open field in Franklinton North Carolina.

Any ideas on what the engraving might mean? On one side it says AEF. The other side it might say MJM. My guess is this is a souvenir that a soldier had engraved because this particular round took out the enemy. His initials might be MJM and the AEF stands for his military regiment?

this is some info about the gun that used the round:

The M1916 37mm gun was developed by the French and used primarily by French and American forces in WWI for destroying machine gun emplacements.

does anyone know more info on this item? is it worth $? Thanks

metaladdict · Sep 2, 2013

Cool looking shell!

IA Hawkeye · Sep 2, 2013

I belive the A E F engraving stands for American Expeditionary forces . If I remember right the first american forces sent to france in ww1 was called the American expeditionary forces .

yandosan · Sep 2, 2013

Wow. Pretty elegant embossing for a killing device.

allank · Sep 2, 2013

" Training camps for new soldiers were set up throughout the country, including three in North Carolina: Camp Greene near Charlotte, Camp Bragg near Fayetteville, and Camp Polk near Raleigh."

http://www.archives.ncdcr.gov/wwi/history.htm

Pacivilwarluke · Sep 2, 2013

That's awesome, maybe someone got bored and did some trench art?

turtlefoot · Sep 2, 2013

Pacivilwarluke said:
That's awesome, maybe someone got bored and did some trench art?

I agree. It looks like a very nice trench art find to me! A huge congratulations!

Doug

The Wolf · Sep 2, 2013

That's one big fat shell casing. Nice find!

MetalDetectinNC · Sep 2, 2013

thanks for the info! i really appreciate it.

from an ammo forum website (iaaforum.org) ive learned it was made in May 1917 by Poole Engineering and Machine Company of Baltimore, MD.

and the AEF means Allied Expeditionary Forces.

it was neat to see the engraving after i cleaned it up a little. a nice surprise.

thanks!

Planedoc · Sep 3, 2013

Do a search for the term "Trench Art". Soldiers stuck in the trenches during WW1, and other wars, would pass the time making things out of spent shell casings and what ever else they could get their hands on. Some are quite artistic!!

Great find!

joee5 · Sep 3, 2013

Kool find

matmit · Sep 3, 2013

Very interesting, thanks for posting!
Maybe a soldier brought it back with him and did the work here?

Steve77 · Sep 3, 2013

That is a dandy! Definitely a keeper in my book.

Utahoutdoors · Sep 3, 2013

Wow! What a find, a true part of history.

CTCurt · Sep 3, 2013

Nice find. Congrats..... :yes:

Charlie Tuna · Sep 4, 2013

IA Hawkeye said:
I belive the A E F engraving stands for American Expeditionary forces . If I remember right the first american forces sent to france in ww1 was called the American expeditionary forces .

AEF does stand for American Expeditionary Forces, you are correct.

WW1 37mm ammo casing with hand engraving. Help with Identification Please.

MetalDetectinNC

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