I originally bought this eagle-snap cover because of the 'IND' stencil on the front.It apparently was acquired,marked and used by the Indiana National Guard at some point,so for this old Hoosier collector, it not only filled the bill for an eagle-snap cover, it was also marked with my home state N.G. stencil to boot. While not the nicest looking cover I'd seen, that IND stencil made it irresistible for me. A closer examination of it makes it even more interesting than just the eagle-snaps or the stencil. The hanger strap has the early sleeve or bushing in the strap for the hanger wire, and the hanger wire itself is steel, not brass. I'm familiar with the USMC items(canteen covers, F.A. pouches, scabbards etc.) using steel hanger wire, but not Army eagle-snap covers. The snaps are rimless and the female part is marked Pat. Oct. 3,'05 Pat. Pending. Oddly, the same patent date info. also appears on the backside of the snaps of a USMC-Phila. Depot 1914 marked canteen cover I have, which makes me believe that the snap hardware was procured from probably the same source and similar time. The IND stenciled cover has no date that I can find, just the patent info on the snaps. Could anyone tell me about what date this cover was possibly made and hazard a guess as to who made it?(RIA or ?). Was the steel hanger wire used for all covers made around this time? I've searched most all the posts on M-1910 canteen covers here, but possibly may have missed the one that covers the information I'm looking for. Thanks in advance for any help you might provide.
Steve