Darkman
Well-Known Member
My mate Ron recently picked up this unusually marked 18pdr case.
My theory is that following the end of WW1 there would have been many unfinished cases and shells in the U.S. and that some entrepreneurial company sold these rounds (I presume there was a projectile as well to make a "shrapnel shell") as a memento to recoup some costs or as a fundraiser. May even have been as a lamp.
Interesting to note the statement "patent applied for in America and foreign countries"! Implies it was something more than just a facsimile shrapnel round.
The primer is just pressed into the pocket. Not sure if the case has a primer thread or not (i.e. how finished the case is) and whether it is contemporary with the case or has been added later. As it has no markings it may have been unused surplus stock also and just used to make it look right, even though it's not the correct primer for the case.
Anyone seen one of these before or got any ideas?
Cheers, Graeme
My theory is that following the end of WW1 there would have been many unfinished cases and shells in the U.S. and that some entrepreneurial company sold these rounds (I presume there was a projectile as well to make a "shrapnel shell") as a memento to recoup some costs or as a fundraiser. May even have been as a lamp.
Interesting to note the statement "patent applied for in America and foreign countries"! Implies it was something more than just a facsimile shrapnel round.
The primer is just pressed into the pocket. Not sure if the case has a primer thread or not (i.e. how finished the case is) and whether it is contemporary with the case or has been added later. As it has no markings it may have been unused surplus stock also and just used to make it look right, even though it's not the correct primer for the case.
Anyone seen one of these before or got any ideas?
Cheers, Graeme
