WWI 3rd Division Group - 10th F.A. Dog Tags & German POW Made Trench Knife - Letter Opener

WWI 3rd Division Group - 10th F.A. Dog Tags & German POW Made Trench Knife - Letter Opener
World War One group belonging to John Werner of Battery F, 10th Field Artillery, 3rd Division. Included are his set of dog tags and a trench art knife - letter opener that was made for him by a German Prisoner of War. The German soldier engraved "Weltkrieg" (World War) on the blade and 1914 1918 on the crossguard. An Austrian 10 Heller Coin is affixed to the center of the crossguard. John Werner engraved the other side of the knife. The blade reads, "J.R. Werner "F" 10th F.A.". He added a 3rd Division insignia at the tip. The handle is engraved "Made by German Prisoner" and the cross guard is engraved "Chateau Thierry" "St. Mihiel" and (Meuse Argonne 1918). An examination of how each man engraved the number "1" shows that a different hand engraved each side. The "1" in 1914 1918 on the obverse crossguard has the typical European style of an upward curve at the top of the number while the number 1 in 1918 on the reverse crossguard is engraved in the North American manner of a straight line. We have not untied the dog tags from the knife because the the knot at the end of the rope is tightly melded and has most likely been displayed that way for decades, perhaps by John Werner himself. Length of knife is 10.25". Crossguard is 3.5". In-house shipping is available. Open pickup is Tuesday, Oct. 29 from Noon to 7 pm at our offices in Carroll, OH 43112 or we will provide in-house shipping for this item. We charge $5/lot if you want to pick up a different day. Once packed up we will send you an invoice for shipping & handling. Shipping questions: shipping@burnsbid.com. Sales tax will be collected on all bidders. If tax exempt, make sure your certification is submitted with the bid platform.