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German Shotglasses...and lots Of them!
I thought that I'd show you a fun collection that I began many years ago at a time these things looked to be endless. Unfortunately, today, the Eastern fakers have begun to notice them and have been cranking out some pretty decent looking fakes, so I'm thinking that I may have to say Adieu to these interesting shotglasses. When I first saw these things, they were just interesting little pieces and were reasonably inexpensive to pick up and so I began getting more and more of them together. One of the fascinating things about them, is that they are All Different! As with all trench art, Some, as you'll see, are Very crude and simple. Their engravings are applied with tips of nails, knife blades and various tools, etc. And, some are Extremely well done and look almost professionally made. Their inscriptions vary from just a town name where they were camped to anywhere from Division emblems, dates, and you name it. Most are from Stalingrad, but many are not. Stalingrad is, perhaps, the world's largest and oldest battlefield excavation site, so, naturally, things have been coming from it for many decades now. Remember, 850,000 Soldats finished up their military careers here(not to mention many of their Lives as well..). The shell cases they are made from are usually anti-aircraft shells, but can Also be flare gun cases and larger brass shell cases. Sadly, the aluminum flare gun rounds have a tendency to corrode and deteriorate in the soil and so some of the odd bits I've found are nearly illegible today. The brass rounds, though, are much more durable and come from any number of places. Some exhibit battlefield damage or signs of fire and burial damage. Some have been over-cleaned by the diggers who found them, while some are nearly as they came from the ground. But, as I said, they are all different and all have come from absolutely reliable diggers-which is the key, of course, to collecting Any battlefield relics. Unfortunately, there have been more and more of the fakes coming out of Eastern Europe and so there ends an era of collecting. I'll probably continue to pick up pieces from my known diggers if and when they come up with something new, but one by one, they change or disappear over time and the new ones are nearly impossible to have trust in now. At any rate, I just thought that I'd post the collection of them and see what you guys think of them!
William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
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09-13-2013 09:00 PM
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William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
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Wagriff
15.Dug in Stalingrad. A small flare gun cartridge decorated with dot punches and base is toothed. Note the base is not Finished. One can only imagine why it was never finished.
Great stuff Will, I love them. I might start hunting them down myself. If you would ever like to sell a few of your Stalingrad related glasses I'd definitely be interested.
Regarding the unfinished base on the flare cartridge example. The saw tooth edge is actually a factory standard effect. It is used to ID the colour of the cartridge by touch alone, one colour has 1/4 sawtoothed, another colour 1/2 etc.
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William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
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