I received this lighter from someone, and was told that it belonged to their grandfather who was in the US Navy during WWI. I received an image of his obituary, and he passed away in 1970. The owner told me that she found it in a box that belonged to her father, which had some belongings from his father. The only information that she was able to provide was that her grandfather’s tour of duty took him to many European countries, and that his ship was at the signing of Versailles. After he returned home, he worked as an assistant postmaster in New Hampshire.

That is the only information that I have.

The lighter seems genuine and the story seems accurate. Its just over one inch large, and has some weight to it. The wheel still spins, there are small little chain links on the side, and has two screws at the bottom. The hole where I believe the wick or flame would come from has a very small thread (about 3 of them). One side has the American eagle, the other side has the Polish eagle. According to my quick Wikipedia research, the style of the eagle on the coat of arms is from 1927-1939, which is the part that does not make sense. WWI ended in 1918, and according to the article, the eagle had somewhat of a resemblance to the coat of arms that existed in 1918, but it looks identical to the one that existed from 1927-1939.

Does anyone have any idea on the history of this lighter? I know its not one of a kind because I’ve seen them float around on eBay. So it must have been issued at some point.

Click to enlarge the picture