US Grenade.. Good one?

[CombatEng44]

I found this grenade at an antique show last weekend but have some questions.
Any idea what the red stripes are? Sure look "period". Also, I found two markings on the side "AF" and "J". No markings on the spoon and no demil hole in the bottom. True blue U.S.??
Ok...I'm going to try my first photos here. Hope the system doesn't blow!

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Steve, have a look at this site:

American Mk.II Hand Grenade - Inert-Ord.Net

Cheers, Ade.

[drmessimer]

Combatengr44: Is there a hole in the bottom of the casing? Dwight

[CombatEng44]

Ade, great site! Thanks. Looks like it's the MKII. Maybe the red stripes are for practice?
Dwight, solid botton, wide base.
I have another one that my father brought back from WWII but I'll have to dig it out to compare.
Thanks!
Value?? I paid $15 and thought that was good. Can't believe no one had grabbed it. They grabbed everything else(except the Doolittle Raiders Stationary!)
Steve

[Walkwolf]

$15 is a really great bargain ! - It is a WWII U.S. 'MKII'. I am unsure
as to why the stripes are painted in this way, but these
sell for around $200.........

[Dirt Detective]

Nice MKII Grenade...from the looks of it, it seems to have a M200A1 fuze on it. These style fuzes were used on WWII smoke grenades and such. The back of the fuze sticks out a little more as seen in one of your pics.

here is a pic of a M200A1 fuze on a can.

- - Updated - -

Oh..forgot to add. The AF on the body means it was made by the " American Fireworks" company.

Rgds, Mike

[Walkwolf]

Mike is correct. The fact that it is not a complete original will affect
the value quite a lot, but it is still a great find.........!