I've long been a military history enthusiast and recently become interested in Trench Art. I picked up an item I was hoping someone here could tell me more about. Specifically what type of shell it is made from and what type of weapon system would have fired it. The artwork includes the word 'Verdun' and what appears to be a peace dove. If it was made by a soldier who participated in that battle, that gives me a potential year of 1916 and would indicate a French or German make. I found the item here in America though and if it came back with an American Soldier, that could indicate a later creation date since we did not officially enter the war until 1917. If it was made later in a homage to the battle of Verdun, then it could have been made from the shell of any nation that used artillery during the war and then traded to the soldier who brought it here. So even though this is specifically a British Ordnance collectors site I thought their would be enough cross over in collections that someone here might at least point me in the right direction for some answers. Since I'm just getting into the field I'm a bit lost as to where I can find the best information. Here are some pics of the item:
Bottom of Shell:
There is a small 'F' at the top above a small curved line.
Below that is '75 DE C.'
Along the bottom is listed 'D, 62L, 15, D'
Off to the right side there are some more letters, some of which are hard to make out due to (ejection?) markings.
An 'L' followed by what looks like an underlined 'n' can be seen. There is also a 'B' after that of the same size.
Then a bit smaller lettering exist below that that looks like 'PD.' followed by another 'P' and underlined 's'.
It looks like a rim shell design but no 'R' is present indicating such. I was thinking the 'D, 62L, 15, D' was indicating diameter & length but when I measure the diameter of the shell's bottom it measures 8.6 cm across while the top is 7.6 cm across. It measure 34.8 cm from top to bottom.
There is also a crack in the shell that I don't really have any plans to repair but I would also like to keep from spreading. Is their anything I can/should do to help preserve this shell? Thanks in advance for any info or insight anyone can provide on this.
Bottom of Shell:
There is a small 'F' at the top above a small curved line.
Below that is '75 DE C.'
Along the bottom is listed 'D, 62L, 15, D'
Off to the right side there are some more letters, some of which are hard to make out due to (ejection?) markings.
An 'L' followed by what looks like an underlined 'n' can be seen. There is also a 'B' after that of the same size.
Then a bit smaller lettering exist below that that looks like 'PD.' followed by another 'P' and underlined 's'.
It looks like a rim shell design but no 'R' is present indicating such. I was thinking the 'D, 62L, 15, D' was indicating diameter & length but when I measure the diameter of the shell's bottom it measures 8.6 cm across while the top is 7.6 cm across. It measure 34.8 cm from top to bottom.
There is also a crack in the shell that I don't really have any plans to repair but I would also like to keep from spreading. Is their anything I can/should do to help preserve this shell? Thanks in advance for any info or insight anyone can provide on this.
