Original Item: Only One Set of 3 Available. Trench art is any decorative item made by soldiers, prisoners of war, or civilians where the manufacture is directly linked to armed conflict or its consequences. It offers an insight not only to their feelings and emotions about the war, but also their surroundings and the materials they had available to them.

Not limited to the World Wars, the history of trench art spans conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day. Although the practice flourished during World War I, the term 'trench art' is also used to describe souvenirs manufactured by service personnel during World War II. Some items manufactured by soldiers, prisoners of war or civilians during earlier conflicts have been retrospectively described as trench art.

Each ring is a U.S. Serviceman's souvenir from their time in World War Two. These were often made from coins, as they were relatively easy to turn into rings. Included in this set are the following rings:

- Engraved Large 43rd Division, 169th Field Artillery Ring: Now this is a fantastic piece of history. The ring appears to have been machine made and hand engraved. The face of the ring features the initials HJK and the year 1941. The sides of the ring has USA, 43 DIV, 169 FA and Army Service Number 20152894. After a quick search we successfully identified the ring as having belonged to Staff Sergeant Harold J. Kee who was born on February 13, 1916 and passed away on December 22, 2009 at the age of 93! Staff Sergeant Kee enlisted on February 24, 1941 and served honorably until July 26, 1946.

Staff Sergeant Kee would have served during the New Guinea, Northern Solomons, Luzon and Guadalcanal Campaigns. We cannot confirm this as we have not been able to locate service information for him, but having enlisted before the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, it is almost guaranteed he took part in all of these battles.

- Battle of Noemfoor New Guinea Campaign Australian Florin Ring: Now this is another incredible ring. The ring was constructed entirely out of an Australian Florin. The florin was worth 24 pence (two shillings, or one-tenth of a pound). Florins minted from 1910 to 1945 were produced with a .925 sterling silver content, weighing 11.31 grams (0.3636 troy ounces) with an actual silver weight (ASW) of 10.46 grams (0.3363 ozt). We can confirm that the ring is an Australian Florin and can be partially read on the inside of the band, however we cannot confirm the year, but it definitely dates to the 1940s meaning it does have that silver content.

The front of the ring also appears to be constructed of the same Florin and features the following text: NOEMFOOR NEW GUINEA 1944. The Battle of Noemfoor was part of the New Guinea campaign of World War II. It took place on the island of Noemfoor, in Dutch New Guinea (now Papua, in Indonesia), between 2 July and 31 August 1944. During the battle, American and Australian forces landed on the island to capture Japanese bases as part of their advance through the Pacific towards the Philippines. The initial landing was largely unopposed and the Japanese defenders withdrew inland as the US troops came ashore. Sporadic fighting took place over the course of two months as the Allies secured the three airfields on the island and pushed the surviving Japanese troops to the southeastern coast. The island was later used by the Allies to support operations around Sansapor and on Morotai.

- Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Company 2 Year Service Pin Ring: The ring consists of a small band with the 2 year pin affixed to the face of it. Consolidated produced important aircraft in the early years of World War II, especially the B-24 Liberator heavy bomber and the PBY Catalina seaplane for the U.S. armed forces and their allies. The Catalina remained in production through May 1945, and more than 4,000 were built. What was soon called "Convair" (first unofficially, and then officially), was created in 1943 by the merger of the Consolidated Aircraft Company and the Vultee Aircraft Company. This merger produced a large airplane company, ranked fourth among United States corporations by value of wartime production contracts, higher than the giants like Douglas Aircraft, Boeing, and Lockheed. Convair always had most of its research, design, and manufacturing operations in San Diego County of Southern California, and nearby counties, though other locations were involved as well.

This is an incredible trio of rings with great research potential. It's not often that we encounter rings that can be fully identified, so you do not want to miss out on these ones! Comes more than ready for further research and display.