Engraved and holed Walker.
SanctionII
Posts: 12,120 ✭✭✭✭✭
Picked up some time ago from a teller's coin tray at a local bank.
The obverse is engraved with G. R. and J. or T. The reverse is engraved with Honolulu.
I assume the coins was engraved and holed during WWII and was used,with a chain that ran through the hole, as a key ring.
A nice artifact.
7
Comments
Hate to be the party pooper, but its J.R.T.
the first character is a J. the big bottom loop on the last has me wondering. all the other loops are small. if it were a clear and simple middle bar then it'd definitely be an F. So, i'm confused - T or F
I’m sure you are right. My Uncle Paul spent four years in the Pacific with a few million of his closest friends and most of their ships passed through Pearl now and then. It is human nature to bring back souvenirs of something monumental.
At first I thought the the first engraved letter on the obverse was a lower case g. After reading the above replies and looking at the coin again I now believe the first engraved letter on the obverse is an upper case J. As for the third engraved letter on the obverse I now think it is either an upper case F or T (it can't be a J because it does not look like the first letter).
I am considering using this half dollar as my own key chain.
Should I or shouldn't I?
It's a nice attention getter for thieves who don't know the value of coins.
Neat inscriptions. Unfortunately reverse was written in an unintelligble script these days. lol
Here are the photos to make it easier.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
I vote for JRF.
It could be J.R.F. as well
It is J. R. F. No doubt in my never-humble mind.
Next challenge - find the service member who had it engraved. You have the initials and the place they served, and can assume late in the war or shortly hereafter. Probably Navy.
As to the wear on the 44 walker, I would think it to be possibly a service member who was there far later than 1944 and wanted it for a keepsake. Had it been done in 44 I would expect the coin to be far more pristine. Anything is possible and may have been done years later to reminisce the war era they served in. Just an opinion.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Pearl Harbor was a fueling/repair/supply stop, both coming and going, for nearly every US ship in the Pacific during WWII.
My dad turned 18 in 1943 and joined the Navy, He stopped at Pearl on his way to Guam, which was then under US control and was a major Navy forward supply hub.
He ended up in Shanghai after the war, his enlistment not being up yet. On his way back to the States, he had a week in Pearl Harbor and finally had some ‘real’ R&R.
By the time he mustered out and got back home to Georgia, it was 1947.
30+ years coin shop experience (ret.) Coins, bullion, currency, scrap & interesting folks. Loved every minute!
Not every ship stopped at Pearl. My Dad boarded a troop ship in San Francisco Bay and got off on Guadalcanal, and after serving Occupation duty in Japan sailed from Tokyo Bay to New York City via the Panama Canal!
Agreed!
“nearly every ship”, therefore, ‘not every ship.’
Maybe ours dads crossed paths.
When my Dad made it back to San Francisco, the Navy put him and dozens of others on a train to Jacksonville, Florida to muster out.
A couple of Louisiana sailors didn’t get back on the train after the short mealstop in New Orleans. They had already sworn to everyone on the train who would listen:
Final pay be damned - they’d had enough, and were heading home.
30+ years coin shop experience (ret.) Coins, bullion, currency, scrap & interesting folks. Loved every minute!