Posted 2 years ago
emvales
(1 item)
Found during a house move, with items relating to my parents who had brothers in France and England in WW1 and WW2. Inscription on the reverse is French and is consistent with the route a troop ship from Australia would take. I believe the "AA BREVETE" on the clasp relates to the French makers of the key ring. On the front face, low on the right rim, there are letters which I thought at first might be "AUG15" and would link the medallion to WW1, but on closer inspection may be "AUGIS" and relate to the "AA BREVETE".
The image on the face appears to be an anchor and I can not find meaning for the "NC HP" flanking the shaft.
Any comments will be appreciated. Michael
Brevete means patent in French. Augis Lyon is the keychain’s maker. My guess is the NHCP means Nouvelle Compagnie Havraise Peninsulaire (de Navigation), a ship line formed in 1920 (and later renamed Navale Et Commerciale Havraise Peninsulaire), and that those are its areas of operation listed on the back (Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Middle East).
Thank you MMNJ. I concur, and find examples of this key ring on the NHCP website. A mystery which will remain forever unsolved is how this French item came into my hands. I suspect my parents may have collected it on one of the two occasions they lived in France in the 1970s, but with them now gone and no known mention of this item we will never know. Regards from Sydney