Medic canteen, 60 USD!

**Nathan362** · 10-18-2012, 08:58 PM

My mom actually let me know about this thing at a local antique store. The story behind it is that the owners father had brought it back after the war. I payed $60 US for it, and was happy to get it home and study to find it was a Medic canteen. I keep meaning to get back over there and see if any more stuff pops up, and get more details on the soldier that brought it back. Tell me your thoughts on this one, any more I can learn the better!

Nathan

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 10-18-2012 08:58 PM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**Adrian Stevenson** · 10-18-2012, 09:01 PM

You made a very nice buy.

Cheers, Ade.

**Nathan362** · 10-18-2012, 09:10 PM

Thanks Ade!

**JPhilip** · 10-19-2012, 04:18 PM

Hello,
Yes that's a nice item for a very good price....congrats.
None of the cups shown in the thread is the special type used for Sanitäter canteens. It should be shaped like the bakelite one but made of aluminium...
Thanks

**Nathan362** · 10-19-2012, 06:46 PM

Thanks JPhilip! While that may be the case, this is how it was apparently picked up, I guess I will not alter it in any way. The items look to have been paired for quite some time. Is it possible the original owner made the changes after losing the original aluminum cup? Also, does the paint on the metal cup appear original to you? I had seen several pictures of this type of canteen with the smaller cup. Since the larger cup doesn't seem to sit well on the canteen I just assumed it was added by the Soldat. Thanks for the info JPhilip, I will have to go looking at more of these now!

Nathan

**gnadenlose** · 10-20-2012, 08:47 AM

The alloy cup may be repro or postwar piece.

**Nathan362** · 10-20-2012, 04:14 PM

What makes you say that? Im just curious when two pretty experienced people didn't mention it. JPhilip said it was the wrong cup for the canteen, but made no mention of it being repro, or post war.

**gnadenlose** · 10-22-2012, 04:31 PM

by Nathan362

What makes you say that? Im just curious when two pretty experienced people didn't mention it. JPhilip said it was the wrong cup for the canteen, but made no mention of it being repro, or post war.

I'm just quessing here, it's just my experience with such unmarked cups. I have approx. 70 alu cups in my collection and none of them are unmarked. But I have had some unmarked cups that were 100% post-war, all typical BGS dark green. I'm not saying that yours IS post war, but it certainly looks like one. The repros are usually marked with some fantasy maker marks. Also when you take a closer look on your cup, the paint is coming down in large pieces, but original period paint usually just fades away (unless the cup was rotting in the ground for 60-70 years).

**James N** · 11-09-2012, 02:13 AM

Nathan,

This is a beautiful canteen, in unusally good condition, but something besides the "extra" cup strikes me as odd: it seems very loose in the strap harness. These canteens were manufactired in a wide variety of sizes, but a few became "standard": .7 litre for most troops ( therefore the most common size ), and 1 litre for medics ( also for tropical and mountain use ). How much does this actually hold? If less than a litre as it looks, it may have been "mated" with the strap assembly. Of course, it could just be the photographs, but you might check and make sure.

**Nathan362** · 11-09-2012, 05:42 AM

I am under the impression that the quickest way to ID a larger canteen is the fact that it has 4 buttons instead of three. Also the straps have many adjustments that can be made, tightening the fit. I have a nice local show coming up, I will make sure to pay attention to these to compare sizes. I still dont think I will make any changes with the canteen unless someone comes flat out and says they know for a fact its wrong, and a few people back that up. From my very limited experience the canteen matches all medic traits, the strap seems to have been on there a while, and the bakelite cup is an original. It may have been added, but who knows. Im still out on the other cup, but its so easy to remove, I might as well leave it until I am confident its wrong. Thanks for the comments and suggestions guys!