Going Once Going Twice Ordnance Almost Sold At Auction

Quogue, New York Two brothers working with an auctioneer preparing for an upcoming auction of their late parents' estate came across an old artillery shell among the items to be sold. The brothers explained to the auctioneer that the shell came from their late father who brought it back as a souvenir from WWI. Reportedly the late father kept the shell in his back yard for all those years. Since the two brothers could not verify that the shell was inert, the auctioneer opted not to include it in the items for sale and also decided to call the local police to have the munition inspected for possible explosives.

The Suffolk County Police Department bomb squad responded to investigate the munition. Upon x-raying the item, the bomb squad determined that the shell was inert and that it did not pose an explosive safety hazard. The two brothers were allowed to keep the inert munition but the auctioneer decided not to include the item in the auction due to concerns that a similar issue could arise in the future with the new owners especially if it changed hands a few times.