'Priceless' letter opener handmade by WW I solider goes missing

A mysterious World War I handmade letter opener has gone missing from theMilitary Museumsin Calgary.

The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Museum and Archives posted a photo of the blade on Facebook this week, hoping someone may have seen it.

The military police are investigating its disappearance, which is believed to have happened sometime in the past two months.

But while officers investigate that mystery, the knife's own history remains unclear.

'Pretty hard to come by'

It's a small blade, likely fashioned by a Canadian soldier in a trench in Europe. Known as trench art, soldiers would use shrapnel and scrap metal from bullet casings and ammunition boxes to make trinkets.

"Given the age and the type of art that it is, these things are pretty hard to come by,"3rd Canadian Division Support Group spokesperson Capt. GrahamKallossaid Thursday.

"And that's one of the unique things about trench art, is that each piece is unique. So this is something we would like to have back."

This artifact looks like a sword and has a bronze handle with a cross-shaped cross-guard. The blade has a large inscription engraved on it which reads"19 Vimy 17."They don't know who made it or who originally own it.

"I honestly don't know how you would place a value on that other than the history and heritage of our Canadian Armed Forces members," Kallos said.

"I would say it's priceless."

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