Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 31:
Description
NAMED WWII GI GROUP: Nolan Dog Tags, Engraved Nassau Watch & 10K/14K Legion Pins. WWII U.S. Army named identification and personal effects grouping to Joseph J. Nolan, ASN 32227442 – notched dog tags, a personally engraved Nassau wristwatch, a monogrammed tie clasp, and postwar 10K and 14K gold American Legion tenure pins. This lot preserves the identity and later civic life of an enlisted soldier named Joseph J. Nolan. His Army serial number, prefixed ’32,’ places his induction within the Second Corps Area, which processed enlisted men from New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. No separate published biography for Mr. Nolan has been located; his record here rests in the objects themselves – the steel he wore in service and the gold he earned decades later. The pair of notched stainless steel dog tags follow the standard configuration adopted Army-wide in 1943: surname and initial, service number, tetanus inoculation code ‘T44 43,’ blood type ‘AB, ‘ and religious designation ‘C’ for Catholic – a format designed to speed battlefield medical treatment and evacuation. Consistent with common wartime practice, Nolan also had his personal wristwatch engraved with his name and serial number, both as a theft deterrent and a secondary means of identification should tags be lost. After his discharge, Nolan’s connection to service continued through the American Legion, founded in 1919 for veterans of the nation’s wars; his 25- and 30-year tenure pins document sustained membership stretching from the immediate postwar years into at least the 1970s, a quieter but genuine record of a life shaped by service. The grouping is led by a vintage Nassau cushion-case wristwatch, its yellowed dial signed ‘NASSAU’ with a red-tipped seconds hand, the stainless caseback hand-engraved in period script ‘Joseph J. Nolan / 32227442’; case wear and light oxidation are noted at the lugs, and the leather strap is aged and crazed, with movement functionality unverified. The two dog tags are die-stamped ‘NOLAN JOSEPH J., ‘ ‘32227442,’ ‘T44 43 AB, ‘ and ‘C, ‘ strung on their original ball chain with light service patina. The 10K yellow gold and blue enamel American Legion ’30 Year Member’ screw-back pin is backmarked ’10K, ‘ ‘PAT. DE. 54296,’ and ‘LB BCO’ for L.G. Balfour Company, its clutch stamped ‘1/20 10K GOLD FILLED.’ A companion 14K yellow gold and enamel ’25 Year Member’ pin carries the same patent design number on its reverse. Additional items include a smaller enamel Legion lapel tack, an original carded ‘Official Gold Plated Emblem’ Legion pin with age-toned card, and a nickel-finish tie clasp bearing a dangling ‘JJN’ monogram fob on a chain. Condition overall is good to very good: the tags and chain show light handling wear typical of military issue, the gold pins retain bright, undamaged enamel with fully functional threaded posts, and the tie clasp shows minor surface tarnish. Gold content and weight are unverified beyond the maker’s stamped karat marks. A tightly named veteran’s grouping – dog tags, a personally engraved timepiece, and decades of Legion service pins – that together trace one soldier’s identity from wartime issue through a lifetime of remembrance.
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