JGalt
Diamond Member
- Mar 9, 2011
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I sold a Korean War era U.S. Army compass on Ebay a couple months ago. The winning bidder was a collector in the UK and it didn't bring much and didn't cost much to ship. It never arrived to the buyer, even though the tracking number showed it to have arrived in the UK.
So today I get a registered letter from a Hazardous Materials Program Specialist with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, carbon copied to the Inspector in Charge, the Chicago Homeland security Coordinator, and the local Postmaster.
Evidently the compass' dial had Radium in it and set off the alarm at British Customs. Most US military compasses have inscribed on the back, that they have a certain amount of radioactive material in the pointer and markers. This one didn't, and the dial didn't glow in the dark when exposed to light.
The letter was just a warning letter, but you can bet that I probably got my name on a government list somewhere.
So today I get a registered letter from a Hazardous Materials Program Specialist with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, carbon copied to the Inspector in Charge, the Chicago Homeland security Coordinator, and the local Postmaster.
Evidently the compass' dial had Radium in it and set off the alarm at British Customs. Most US military compasses have inscribed on the back, that they have a certain amount of radioactive material in the pointer and markers. This one didn't, and the dial didn't glow in the dark when exposed to light.
The letter was just a warning letter, but you can bet that I probably got my name on a government list somewhere.