Counterstamped coins used as military dog tags

[brandm24]

Thanks for the information, guys. Looking forward to learning more about Tellett.

BTW, my fingers are the size of sausages...BIG ones.

Bruce

[FosseWay]

I've found a couple of military medal records that definitely match this guy, and tell us that he was Private Charles Tellett, formerly no. 1098, later 240269, of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and he received the campaign medals for the actions he was involved in, but none for conspicuous gallantry.

He has a page on the Imperial War Museum's exploration of lives of the First World War: https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/4386808. Go to the "Media" tab: you may be interested to see what's illustrated there

What follows is informed guesswork, in that I've not been able to conclusively link the soldier described above with the family described below. But Charles Tellett is an unusual name, and the one I've investigated is one of two who would have been of an age to fight in WW1, and the only one born in Wales. (The other I think ended up in the Canadian Army.)

If I'm right, your Charles Tellett was born 4 December 1893 in Ewloe, Hawarden, Flintshire (in north Wales, very close to the English border). In the 1901, 1911 and 1921 censuses he is living in Ewloe (indeed, at the same address on Stamford Way in all three). In 1911 he is a coal miner's labourer and in 1921 an unemployed coal miner.

In the 1939 register he is recorded as living at 30 Yowley Road, Ewloe, with his wife Minnie and one or more children (some of the names are redacted because they're still alive). He is a general labourer.

He died in the second quarter of 1982 aged 88 in Wrexham registration district, which includes Ewloe.

So apart from his war service, he doesn't seem to have moved around much.

[brandm24]

Thanks for the great story about Tellett. As do you, I've always been interested in the whole story about anyone I'm researching. The family members, occupation, place of residence, and anything else. It makes for an interesting story.

Bruce

[Figleaf]

@FosseWay: we have more details about the host coin as welll as Tellet's life than the Imperial War Museum. Is there a way to submit these details?

Peter

[FosseWay]

There doesn't seem to be on the Lives of the First World War site. I suspect that exhibition was created in connection with the centenaries of the war in 2014-2018 and is no longer being actively extended. It may be that an email to the wider IWM would clarify this.

[brandm24]

James G. Robinson enlisted in New York's 13th Heavy Artillery Regiment in August, 1863 as a corporal. He was only 18 years old and hailed from Rutherford, NY. The reference to Jersey Shore, Pa. is curious unless the information about Rutherford in Civil War records is incorrect.

While details of his war experiences are mostly undocumented, Civil War records tell us that when the 13th disbanded in early 1865 he transferred to the 6th Artillery and spent the remainder of the war with the regiment.

This tag is interesting in that it's likely an example of a sutler issue. Some regimental sutlers would stamp tags on  prepared discs with blank reverses. This opposed to homemade tags or those bought from a manufacturer. While looking through regimental images, I noticed several others that had the same look...small crudely struck legends.

The tin type attached is an image of Robinson.

(all attachments courtesy of Steve Hayden)

Bruce   

[Figleaf]

While the reverse looks like a coin, I am not aware that this type exists in brass. Could be a prepared flan, the more so as the punches are visible on the eagle side, but why make the flans more expensive? Giving it a more military look?

What's our Jimmy holding, you think? It's not a rifle with bayonet. They tend not to be squarish   My first impression was a swab stick, to clean and cool cannon barrels, but sometimes, I see a hook near the top and a grappling hook for a landlubber doesn't seem right.

Peter

[brandm24]

The tags were manufactured by companies in the north and sold in bulk or individually. Any text would have been added later by sutlers, individual soldiers, or others. I suspect that they were struck and sold by the same people who made Civil War tokens as some examples mimic known token dies.

While this one is a "blue-collar" brass piece, some were struck in silver and even gold for those who could afford them.

I hadn't looked at the object that he was holding closely thinking that it was a rifle. But now that I am, maybe not. It could be something used by an artilleryman as Robinson was in a heavy artillery regiment.

Bruce

[FosseWay]

It could be a wossname that you shove down the barrel of an artillery piece to push the shell and other stuff in properly.

You will note from my choice of vocabulary that military terminology is not a speciality of mine... 

[Figleaf]

  Wossname is a rammer . No, it ain't a rammer. You use rammers for muzzle-loaded cannons, like the ones on board three-masted sailing ships.

In the US civil war, cannons were breech-loading, but most did not yet have rifled barrels, so you do still need swab sticks to cool them (always a splendid idea) and get rid of remnants of combustible material in the barrel (preventing same from coming out red hot and flying in all directions at the next shot) Murphy's law says a general will be close by and burn his reproductive apparatus, which is not good for your army career prospects.

Field guns were not too impressive at the time, unless you never heard of the first rule of the artilleryman: never at any time ever stand or walk in front of the muzzle.

Peter

[brandm24]

Not many generals were hanging around the artillerymen during battle, so not much chance of them getting their package toasted. Most of them didn't have the "canon balls" to do it anyway.

Bruce

[brandm24]

This is a picture taken at a Civil War reenactment at the Springfield Armory. The pole on the left would be a rammer but obviously it's not what Robinson is holding. The tool held by the man on the right looks very similar to it but there's no description of what it is...wossname, maybe.

Bruce