Yard Sales, Flea Markets and Antique Shops 2023

[Aragorn243]

Today was a very good day. Flea Markets. First item is a pair of Israeli 106mm recoilless rifle practice rounds. Two different types. The first is one piece with the exception of the base and possibly the fuze. This is the one with writing painted on it. I believe this one was made in 1975. The second is two piece with the shell portion being separate from the base. It looks like it is held in place by two allen screws with the base secured the same way. This one appears to have been made in 1959 but I don't read Hebrew so not sure on the dates. $100 for the pair with the crate which is for 105mm tank rounds. Each shell weighs about 80lbs. It appears the crate actually holds three shells if you swap the ends. The second item is an early WWII Astra 400 holster i very good condition, soft, flexible and complete for $25. I have two of these that are in bad condition that I paid more for. Ebay currently has a couple listed for over $200. Shocked to find the cleaning rod still inside it's pocket. The Astra I had. Third item appears to be a military issue Kukri but it is unmarked. Got it for $30. And the wife didn't complain about any of it. LOL.























































---------- Post added at 02:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:20 PM ----------

You surely excel in this sort of thing. The kit you come up with, and what you score it for impresses the likes of me, at least.

This is how I spend my free time and I've been pretty lucky so far this year. I can get in dry spells where I don't find anything for a month. I am lucky to live in an area very heavy with antique shops and flea markets. The yard sales haven't been so good the past few years but I still find things from time to time.

[Daan Kemp]

Kukri doesn't look military issue. Looks home made.

[Aragorn243]

It isn't British, no marks, most of them are locally handmade out of spring steel. It's also a little on the small side but it is well made, very tight.

[Aragorn243]

Yard sales were a bust this weekend. Everything good came from antique shops. I got a cut down Turkish bayonet which I already posted on the blade forum. It was originally a JAC British 1907 bayonet. Today I went back to the same shop as I saw it yesterday and picked up a 75mm shell which has been identified as either a US WWI 75mm shell with a home made projectile point on it or a French 75mm Drill round with a tip put on by the French. That still needs cleaning. Two US mess kits, one from 1945 and the other from 1960, nothing exciting about either, just different makers and years that I didn't have. In the toy department, I got a very early Tootsietoy Renault tank, a Tootsietoy artillery piece and another larger, unknown maker artillery piece. I still have tomorrow yet, extravaganza weekend for the antique places and rain hurt the one outdoor flea market.

[Aragorn243]

Here's the shell I got yesterday. It does appear to be an actual shell with a copper band and gold paint on it. The issue is the top piece. Several seem to think it is a home made cap made to take the place of the fuse on a US 75mm HE shell. One individual says this is an actual cap but makes it a French drill round. Another fellow claimed it wasn't a real round but changed his tune when informed it has a copper band on it. All pretty much agree that it is a US or French WWI 75mm HE shell, it's the cap that is in question. I can't get it off by hand and don't want to put a wrench on it. It also seems to be peened in place.







Today I picked up a noncombatant gas mask, a child size mask in an adult bag. The canister is a little rougher than I like and I may end up replacing it. These were issued to civilians in areas where gas attacks were expected or feared.

[browningautorifle]

Can you not find a single marking on the projectile? The nose may well be hammered on, swage fit.

[Aragorn243]

No. I cleaned the bottom pretty good, nothing. I checked the band and nothing there either. I haven't really worked much on the paint but it's very thin. I would think if there were a mark, I would see it. I can say if fits very tight in a US WWI 75mm shell casing. I got it halfway in and figured if I ever wanted to get it back out, I needed to stop. Not quite ready to mate the two yet.

[browningautorifle]

I've since learned to pick up every decent projectile I see, the brass will make it's self available eventually.

[Aragorn243]

Must be my time for gas masks. Found a pair of M9A2 masks, one still in the can, the other still with it's packing. These were produced from 1947 to the early 1960's. Jackets seem to be popping up also. I think the air force jacket is the first official blue jacket for the air force accepted in 1949, this one made in time for Korea. Got this off the same guy I bought the Roper shotgun shell off of. I also picked up a companion to the white navy jacket, same rating, same ship, USS Enterprise.

[Aragorn243]

Yard sales were a bust this weekend. Did get some flea market items and antique shop items, the prize being an unblemished US porcelain Canteen. Also two complete sets of WWII US Navy "Cracker Jack" uniforms with one cap and a neckerchief. Army Navy story had a Finnish SA marked WWII shovel. And I got a book on a little covered aspect of the BF 109 and another model it's unlikely I'll ever build.