If you are a collector of military items that are authentic to the WWII era, make sure you know exactly what you are bidding on before you bid.  There are more repro's out there than I care to mention, and it is not always mentioned in the ad. A lot of items actually have dates.  Items that have patent numbers can actually be researched on the Web to find out exactly when that item was produced. You can even find Canadian patent numbers. If you have any questions about the authenticity of the item, ask the seller more questions or ask for more pictures.  Unfortunately, I have seen many items that are thrown together to form a "lot" and supposedly belonged to one certain person....if the story sounds too good to be true..then it probably is. I hope this helps. Thank you! IF YOU READ THIS, PLEASE CLICK AT THE BOTTOM AS TO WHETHER YOU THOUGHT IT WAS HELPFUL OR NOT. THANK YOU, I APPRECIATE IT!