WWI era hexagonal metal cigarette lighter decorated with two British coins

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Overview

World War One era hexagonal metal cigarette lighter decorated with two British One Penny coins.
The lighter features the obverse of a coin with the bare (uncrowned) head of King George VI facing left surrounded by a Latin inscription on one side. The opposite side has the very well worn reverse of a coin showing what remains of a seated figure of Britannia facing right on the other. The date '1918' appears below.
The cotton wick is missing.

Historical information

Lighters such as this one are commonly referred to as trench art, due to addition of the military souvenirs - badges, buttons and coins - and their use during wartime by servicemen and women.
This lighter is one of a large number of items in the collection made from coins. These include jewellery such as brooches and bracelets, small photo frames,and other bric a brac.
Many of these items were made by servicemen and could be called trench art. This is sometimes confirmed by engraving on the reverse side of the coins.

The date on the coins is towards the end of World War One, but the lighter can only be said to have been made after 1918.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW00843

Item type

Coins

Collectibles

Decorative Objects

Domestic Objects

Ephemera

Souvenirs

Themes