German Canteen help

[Indy]

Hello everyone. I have a german canteen I'd like some info about, if you don't mind.

It is marked W.A.L. 43 on the neck of the bottle, and inside the strap that surrounds the canteen.
The wool cover doesn't quite stretch enough as is, so all the buttons (2 of 4) don't snap correctly. There is some oxidation on the snaps as well. Is there anything that can be done to maybe stretch the wool, so the snaps would all work, or should I leave it as is?
There is a small dent, maybe the size of a nickel, on the bottom of the canteen. Would this decrease the value? Not that I'd try to un-dent it...
I have seen others that are similar, but some say paratrooper, others do not, some have the outer straps, some do not, etc. What is it that I have here? What's it worth? Who used it? Where'd it come from? SOOO many questions! Lol!

Thanks for humoring me!
Indy

[JPhilip]

Hello,
It is a Sanitäter canteen that lacks its carrying strap, with a probably replaced cup
Thanks

[Neil Hever]

It is a 1 liter canteen issued to Medics as noted above. WAL is a three letter manufacturer's code and 43 is the date of the manufacture. It has a small cup made of a bakelite type of material. It probably had a more robust metal cup originally. The harness appears to be intact but as noted the carry strap is missing. It will be difficult to find an original replacement carry strap but there are vendors who make reproductions. The missing strap affects value. The small dent in the canteen is not detrimental. Regarding worth - we do not provide appraisals. However, with these new details you should be able to look up similar types on the internet for value range. NH

[Indy]

Cool! Thank you both. This stuff is fascinating. I honestly had no idea.
Indy