Original Items: Only One Lot of 4 Available. This is a wonderful opportunity to add (4) crucial items to a soldier's kit, the dog tag also known as an identity disc. All 4 are in good condition with their respective stamping/markings still identifiable. No collection is complete without a few of these and they make for wonderful research projects!

The Identity Disc (Erkennungsmarke) had a long history in the German Army; being first adopted during the 1870-71 war between Prussia and France. One gentleman with many sons serving in the Army noted that since dogs in the city of Berlin were tagged, it would be a good idea to do the same for soldiers. Wilhelm I did not like the idea of his men being compared to dogs, but he adopted the system anyway. The term "dog tags" may seem to some today to be uniquely American, but the Germans referred to them widely as Hundemarke by 1939 as well.

According to Clive Law's article "Use of the Identity Disc in the Imperial German Army" in Volume 2, Issue 3 of "Military Artifact", the forces of Imperial Germany utilized three types of identity disc during the Great War. All three patterns were oval in shape, with two holes through which a cord was run and which allowed the disc to be worn around the soldier's neck. The tag was used to identify the soldier, especially in the event of his death.

The initial pattern measured 2 by 1-1/2 inches, and listed the man's regiment, company, and roster number. This is the only information that was contained on the disc - to ascertain a soldier's name, one would have to either check the soldier's paybook, or physically check the roster number on the tag with the actual company roster.

The second pattern, introduced in September of 1915, was made of zinc and was larger, measuring 2-3/4 by 2 inches. For the first time, a two part disc was used. When a man was enlisted into a depot unit, the upper portion of this disc was stamped with the soldier's name (first and last), last residence (for large towns this included the street and number), date of birth, depot unit, subunit (company, squadron or battery), and the soldier's roster number. Upon posting to a field unit, the lower part of the disc was stamped with the soldier's unit, subunit, and the roster number assigned to him by his new unit (officers were identified by a number in the Army List rather than individual unit rosters). If a man transferred to another field unit, the old markings were struck out and new stamps placed below.

In November 1916 the final pattern saw the disc divided in two by a perforated line, and markings on each half were identical. On the upper portion, the name, address and depot unit was stamped (as before) and on the back the field unit. If the soldier became a fatality, the lower half of the disc was snapped off and sent back to the depot unit in Germany, while the upper half was buried with the soldier's remains.