Cool Stuff

[David Ireland]

Tell me some cool facts about this note! I would ask specifically, but you don't know exactly what it is you don't know.

My great great grandfather's pocket watch. He fought with the 56th PA Inf. It stayed on his person until a kid hit him on a bike and he fell and hit his head and died as an old man in Binghamton, NY.

 

[mofederal]

That is a very nice looking watch. It is a great thing to still have in the family. Cherish it.

 

[David Ireland]

Absolutely.

My girlfriend and I discovered that we both had male Ancestors from the tiny town that he was drafted in at the same time. And we now live like eight hours away and it is a nothing town

 

[Mike Serpa]

@CW Watch Collector can you tell us anything about the watch?

 

[JOHN42768]

Great keepsake. I imagine the second hand and crystal could be repaired/replaced.

 

[CW Watch & Sword Guy]

@CW Watch Collector can you tell us anything about the watch?

I believe the watch was made after 1936, when the "Longines-Wittnauer" name was created. That's about all I can tell you without seeing the movement.

 

[David Ireland]

I looked up the company and they were formed in the 1890's, so it must be that his son bought it for him towards the end of his life. He died in 1919.

 

[David Ireland]

The watch is a different brand than the box.

 

[David Ireland]

The note says the sum of $20 shall be payable 6 months after the war is over. Is this a $20 bill, the confederate equivalent of a treasury note, or a rebel war bond? Can anyone tell me about the symbolism?

 

[CW Watch & Sword Guy]

The watch is a different brand than the box.

Ah, I couldn't read the name on the dial clearly, so I went by the box. I can tell you though, that stemwind watches with Arabic numeral dials and the general appearance of your watch did not exist at any time remotely close to the Civil War. I could tell that much about it from across a room. Your watch has the general look of an early 20th century item, so a post-1936 date did not seem out of place to me.

However, if you expect anyone to give you really accurate information about a pocket watch, you need to show them the movement, not just the dial. It's almost like you showed someone a blurry picture of the name on a sword without showing them the sword and then asked them to tell you all about it. Presumably you have a cell phone with a camera in it. Can you not get the back of the case open?

 

[David Ireland]

It's a Tavannes. I don't want to tinker with it for fear of breaking it.