WWI or WWII Trench Art ?

[painter777]

Couldn't find the correct forum here to ask this in, so maybe someone could help.
While looking thru some more stuff I found this lighter.
It has a English Half Penny dated 1936 on it.
I see some earlier ones, somewhat like it on Ebay listed as WWI trench art.
Here's some links to those......

This first one looks the same just dated 3 years later 1939...
VINTAGE WORLD WAR TWO TRENCH ART PENNY COIN LIGHTER - eBay (item 260606467174 end time May-30-10 02:14:46 PDT)

Just about the same except both coins show the face.....
Vintage WW1 Trench Art Cigarette Lighter- Works great!! - eBay (item 280505298505 end time Jun-09-10 19:35:07 PDT)

Different case.........
World War 1 Trench Art Lighter British & French Coins - eBay (item 130393123203 end time May-27-10 11:11:03 PDT)

Here are some pictures of the one I have. It's brass and about 3/8" thick with the base being about 1 1/8' tall not counting the striker. It sparks when clicked but dry. No markings on the case, just the coin.

Any Thoughts?

Thx,
Charlie-painter777

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[browningautorifle]

You've got a couple of neat pieces there Charlie! (This and the tube)

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

Charlie,

I think those are cool. I have seen a lot of trench lighters at gun shows. But I already collect mechanical razor blade sharpeners and since I don't smoke didn't want to pick up another theme.

Makes me think of the old line "Three on a Match" being bad luck. A supposed superstition among soldiers during the Crimean War to World War I

There was in fact no such superstition during the First World War.

The superstition was alleged to have been invented about a decade later by the Swedish match tycoon Ivar Kreuger in an attempt to get people to use more matches but it appears he merely made very shrewd use of the already existing belief which may date to the Boer War.

Jim

[INLAND44]

The enemy sees the first flare of the match at night as it lights, which alerts him. The second flare as the next guy lights from it allows him to get his rifle ready. As the third guy lights and the match flares again, the sniper fires - bad luck for the #3 guy!

[Skip]

That is so cool.

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

The enemy sees the first flare of the match at night as it lights, which alerts him. The second flare as the next guy lights from it allows him to get his rifle ready. As the third guy lights and the match flares again, the sniper fires - bad luck for the #3 guy!

Sounds good, and maybe would work. But it is a superstition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_o..._(superstition)

[painter777]

Well they always say trouble comes in 3's.

So what do you think about the lighter?
WWII?

TIA,
Charlie-painter777

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

It looks just like the lighters I see at gun shows, advertized as trench lighters.

There is one on eBay right now.

VINTAGE WORLD WAR TWO TRENCH ART PENNY COIN LIGHTER - eBay (item 260606467174 end time May-30-10 02:14:46 PDT)

[painter777]

I know my whole Post is Off Topic, but just to stir things up.
The lighter looks pretty cool with some of his other Nic Nacs I've found.
I'll have to put a small showcase together and include this 1943 Steel Cents collection.
These remind me of the brass shortage, that led me to finding quite a few steel C tipped/ snaps/finials slings. Many would pass on bidding on the blackened steel C tips... thinking they weren't real.

Cheers,
Charlie-painter777

[DaveHH]

They also made silver nickels during the war as nickel was a strategic metal. The silver five cents are marked with a large "S" under Monticello.