Naval Map Pin

These glass objects are shaped like boats. A very sharp pin is embedded in them so that they can be stuck into a wall map to depict the position of a ship or submarine, if you should wish to.

Said to be obtained from a War Surplus Sale in 1946, they are believed to be part of the system used by the U. S. Merchant Marine for keeping track of vessels plying the waters between the U.S. East Coast and Europe. Undoubtedly some sort of system did exist, because they wouldn't have just sent the ships out Willy-Nilly.

It is a matter of record that very few ships were misplaced. Even though to our sophisticated minds the system seems archaic, the fact that so many of these pins still exist seems to prove that the Merchant Marine folk could have kept track of many more ships if they had needed to.

1/4" x 5/8", various colors.