WWI ID Tag Stamping Kit

WWI soldier identification tags were hand-stamped. Stamping kits like this one were issued to a company’s supply sergeant and kept under tight control. This kit was used to replace and repair lost or damaged identification tags. It was also used to mark silverware or other metal items belonging to a soldier. The kit came complete with a brass anvil, hammer, and tin plates.

Identification tags originated in the Civil War as simple notes soldiers pinned to their uniforms with their name and hometown. Others engraved their names into belt plates or wrote their names on their knapsacks. In 1906 the U.S. Army began issuing pairs of aluminum tags. In the event of a soldier’s death, one tag stayed with the body and the second tag was given to the individual in charge of the burial. In 1918 the Army added a serial number along with the soldier’s name and any medical alerts.