100% MUSEUM PIECE CIVIL WAR \"AMES\" \"US\" SOLDIERS SHOVEL, 1862-63 For Sale

Here is a early in the civil war made 1862-63 \"Ames\" soldiers trench shovel. What makes this shovel much harder to find than many others is the stamping on the shaft of the shovel. It has the \"US\" on the handle like a lot you see, but this has the \"O.AMES 2\" \"SOLINGEN STEEL\" stamped on the steel neck. When the war broke out, President Lincoln reached out to Oliver Ames to make a shovel for his soldiers. When Ames started production, these marking\'s were used for less than one year. In addition to the rare stamping and the overall perfect patina, if you look at the wooden handle, you will see the finger impressions (see pic) from many years of hard use. The reason this shovel is in such incredible condition is my step dad was adding an addition to home he owns in PA and found two of these shovels in the wooden rafters wrapped in rags, getting little to no exposure. It was done way before he bought this home, and we still do not know why it was wrapped in such a way that it had minimal damage. Of the two, this one has a better overall patina, both have the stamps, but this one is a bit clearer. It\'s hard to get good pics of the stamping, but it\'s there. There is only a few that have made it from this period, Ames museum has a couple but most never survived, a lot were the common ones you see come up for sale.