RING in 2026! Bigly, historific WW2 sub Bell from USS GRAYLING (SS-209) lost 9/43, sells for $2300 on eBay!!!

[aerialbridge]

Tell me there aren't amazing,  uber-rare, one of a kind,  navaltaria to be had for (relatively) peanuts, that are just sittin' on the dock of the eBay, for the whole world to have a crack at.    On 14 December 2025, an incredibly historic Naval relic from WW2 sold on eBay with only three bids:  the  ORIGINAL, solid brass,  75- pound (based on advertised 16" diameter at the base and USN Artificer manual) ship's bell from USS Grayling, a Tambor-class submarine commissioned on 3/1/41 and after earning six combat stars, was  lost off Manila on her 8th patrol with 76 men, sometime around  9/9/43.  Less than a month before this historic bell sold on a 10- day eBay auction,  the ship's bell from another WW2 submarine lost with all hands,  USS Trigger (SS-237) sold at a physical and online auction out of MA for $12,500.   

 

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/submarine-bell-from-uss-trigger-of-1942-2296a-c-4bbaa1fc3f

 

Considering that three weeks before the Grayling auction, the ship's bell from USS Adroit (AM-82), an obscure minesweeper with little historical significance,  sold for $3,200 on a BIN after sitting on eBay for many, many months, some dude got himself one sweet  Christmas present and must still be pinching his arm with the Grayling bell in his cave.   Whoa, Nelly.  The USS Grayling bell erroneously listed on the eBay auction from last month as a "REPLICA" is indubitably and inarguably  the ORIGINAL one and only engraved ship's bell from the doomed sub, despite not being engraved with the 1941 year of  commissioning as ships bells are supposed to be.    The bell, like the one from USS Trigger and probably every other WW2 sub,  was removed before  they went on combat patrols and probably sold as surplus, like the USS Trigger  bell and bells from scores if not hundreds of other naval ships,  decades before  Navy bureaucrats not yet born, cared about such stuff.  This self-same bell that just sold on eBay for the virtual steal, hammer price of  2,300 bucks is clearly seen in the background of AMAZING, historic photos (that were published in Life Magazine at the time)  from Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii,  when Grayling  (which arrived at Pearl on Christmas Eve 1941)  was selected  as the ship for the  Pacific Fleet change of command ceremony on New Year's Eve 1941,  84 years and 3 days ago, since all of the fleet's battleships were either sunk or damaged during the Japanese attack three weeks before.     

 

On  USS Grayling,  Admiral Chester Nimitz hoisted his flag as Commander, Pacific Fleet and began the United States Navy's long fighting road back to victory in the Pacific, assuming command from Admiral Husband Kimmel, the unfortunate fleet commander during the Japanese attack.    Check out the resolute, determined look on Nimitz's face compared to the dejected and beaten  expression on Kimmel, gazing at the deck,  in the photos below.  

 

Navy collectors--- can you imagine anything more neato torpedo than having the 85- year-old ship's bell from USS Grayling in your War Room, on a solid,  dark-stained, wooden display table about 40" height,  and hanging behind and above it,  a wood framed (same stain), poster sized blow up of the change of command ceremony  photo, clearly showing the bell in the background?  That's the very moment that  BEGAN the 4 year vanquishing of Imperial Japan from Pearl Harbor, the spot where the dastardly deed was dealt, with Nimitz and Kimmel, the avenger and the  beaten,  standing on the sub deck, probably  closer to the ship's bell than the distance to traverse your living room.   If the new owner stumbles on this thread, there's your free, decorating tip.   The expression on both men's faces is worth 1,000 words.  Personally, I've felt that Hub Kimmel was wrongly scape-goated ever since I saw "Tora, Tora, Tora" at a Seattle drive-in summer of 1971, and reinforced by what I've read over the past 55 years, but that's a different topic.  It blows my mind that this amazing bell sold for much less than a new concrete driveway, to put it in perspective.  Don't  rare helmets, patches  and WW2 rifles or automatic weapons carried by unknown soldiers sometimes sell for north of $2,300?   

 

So, congrats to the lucky Navy collector that ended up with this  WW2 submarine bell.   Talk about a conversation piece.  LET FREEDOM RING,  this 250th year of American Independence and evermore.   Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Private Property.   In the immortal words of the chaplain on USS New Orleans (CA-32) while under attack on December 7, 1941, "Praise the Lord..."     Amen.

 

https://ussnautilus.org/the-loss-of-uss-grayling-ss-209/

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Grayling_(SS-209)

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/297809304162

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/335161168958

 

[Legion72]

Thanks for taking the time to post all of this information.  What a great story and a great buy.

[hink441]

Awesome bells‼️

 

I love those bells. 

[aerialbridge]

I love seeing these bells, too, particularly when there's amazing history to go with the innate greatness of these seagoing, brass clarions used to tell time, render honor and call to action.   It was my pleasure to put this post together, to share with the collecting community here and those who simply enjoy American History.  I wanted to post every picture from the auction, for posterity.   The timing I think was perfect, particularly falling close to the anniversary of the history, and to RING IN the 250th year of our great nation.    There was no way, I was not going to share this on the USMF, the best virtual museum out there and made  possible only by its members who take the time to post content for matters of collecting and historic interest.    As a collector going back to the 70s,  this bell is by a country mile, the BEST BUY of US WW2 naval history that I'm aware of and I've seen some neat stuff over the years.    In fact, that would make a great collecting post-  "AMAZING NAVY COLLECTING BUYS".    Great things are out there and always will be for those who look and go for it.    The free market, the way this bell sold, out there for all the world to see, and running the full 10 day auction course where anyone with internet and an eBay account around the world was free to bid on it, is a beautiful thing and among the core freedoms, that I believe we Americans should  be grateful for and never take for granted.    

 

God bless, and Happy, Healthy and Prosperous  New Year, all.

[hink441]

I wonder if anyone on the forum got either one of these bells?
 

I also wondered why there is no date on the Grayling bell. The period pictures you provided definitely show that same bell on the sub with no date. 
 

I would imagine the buyers might want to keep their recent purchases low key. 

[aerialbridge]

I'd be surprised if a forum member, or at least one of the hundreds of "lurkers" that visit the USMF website regularly,  but don't sign up "for free",  wasn't the high bidder on eBay for the USS Grayling bell.  And I'd be surprised if that guy hasn't seen this post.    I'd be more surprised if he came forward and shared  his joy for being the new owner.   We all get that.   That said, I believe he'll be just fine and able to enjoy owning the bell  in his house for the rest of his life.    And good for him, he was the anonymous high bidder on a public auction, platformed by the world's largest, internet auction site, the magnificent and much  maligned eBay, that as a buyer for 25+ years has enabled me to buy things that I never would have otherwise found or had an opportunity to own.   A glorious consumer site  where anyone could have bid,  Including individuals or organizations with literally hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.   On eBay Just last night,  I BINed the mate to something I owned in the 1960s and lost in the early 1970's, that I had on a saved search for 15 years and you won't even find pictured on the internet.   And now it's on it's merry way to my house.  And the high bidder for the USS Grayling bell was the only guy on God's green earth who was willing to spend $2300 and whatever it cost him to get it to his house from around Houston, TX where it was in a storage space, judging  from the pix.   I'm simply glad to have seen pictures of this great bell and being able to share the pictures and story with others who similarly would enjoy this bell's amazing and huge spot  in WW2 history.    I don't have a need to own or possess the bell to want to share the story,  just like things that are  in a museum.   And that's the great part about the internet IMO. 
 

[aerialbridge]

 

 

[ludwigh1980]

I am sure, some-one, somewhere is "dropping a dime" to the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command. I would think this is one that they would deem their property, just not in their possession....yet. 

[aerialbridge]

That may be, but the NHHC declaring name engraved Navy Ship Bells are forever  Navy property,  and so, unlike any other property on earth that can be lost, abandoned or sold, and where they can't prove theft or rebut the presumption these bells were sold as government surplus decades ago (like the USS Trigger bell) is not "law".     If whoever won this bell on eBay has any legal training or resources to fight the Navy in court, and the spine to do it, this would be the test case.  There are also legal foundations out there that have a mission statement to protect American's property rights and if it came to that,  that person might well enlist one of them to take their case with their lawyers.   IMO, not a good fact pattern for the Navy to just bully seize this bell.  For starters,  I'm still waiting to see the black letter law where Congress which makes the laws (other than the US Constitution and it's not in there) passed some legislation (aka Act of Congress) that declared this bit about engraved Navy Ship bells being irrefutably  the perpetual  property of the US Navy going back to the formation of the Navy.    Others can have at it and repeat,  "The Navy says it's their property and so they can take it.  They've done it before, here, here and here.  End of story",  But that's all I care to speculate or discuss on this for now,  absent hearing the Navy strongarms this bell from the eBay high bidder, which is supposition at this point.   Interesting that eBay's lawyers, unlike how they treat CMOH and other high level valor medals, where there is clear law prohibiting their sale, does not ban auctions of engraved Navy ship's bells.   Perhaps they,  as I have,  found no enforceable law declaring these bells inarguably Navy property in perpetuity without any regard to the facts of each case.  

[Brian Dentino]

On 1/4/2026 at 8:27 PM, aerialbridge said:

That may be, but the NHHC declaring name engraved Navy Ship Bells are forever  Navy property,  and so, unlike any other property on earth that can be lost, abandoned or sold, and where they can't prove theft or rebut the presumption these bells were sold as government surplus decades ago (like the USS Trigger bell) is not "law".     If whoever won this bell on eBay has any legal training or resources to fight the Navy in court, and the spine to do it, this would be the test case.  There are also legal foundations out there that have a mission statement to protect American's property rights and if it came to that,  that person might well enlist one of them to take their case with their lawyers.   IMO, not a good fact pattern for the Navy to just bully seize this bell.  For starters,  I'm still waiting to see the black letter law where Congress which makes the laws (other than the US Constitution and it's not in there) passed some legislation (aka Act of Congress) that declared this bit about engraved Navy Ship bells being irrefutably  the perpetual  property of the US Navy going back to the formation of the Navy.    Others can have at it and repeat,  "The Navy says it's their property and so they can take it.  They've done it before, here, here and here.  End of story",  But that's all I care to speculate or discuss on this for now,  absent hearing the Navy strongarms this bell from the eBay high bidder, which is supposition at this point.   Interesting that eBay's lawyers, unlike how they treat CMOH and other high level valor medals, where there is clear law prohibiting their sale, does not ban auctions of engraved Navy ship's bells.   Perhaps they,  as I have,  found no enforceable law declaring these bells inarguably Navy property in perpetuity without any regard to the facts of each case.  

Great post and I couldn't agree more, aerialbridge.  Well said and your points are valid and on point.  Now, that being said, not to say that something couldn't/wouldn't change in the future depending on possible pressure by the Navy to get something passed to state just what you stated.  Think CMOH bill when that was passed.  Lots of collectors who were known to have real/authentic CMOH in their personal collections received that infamous "knock on the door" by the authorities.

[ludwigh1980]

I agree with you however as is often the case with former U.S. Navy property (which has included among other things to include Ships Bells and ocean recovered aircraft) opponents or defendants simply are run out of financial resources to continue the case. One such example that comes to mind is the bell from C.S.S. Alabama. This was of course the famous CONFEDERATE raider however the Navy asserted that they own even those items officially processed by the Confederate Navy. Supposedly recovered in the 1980's from the English Channel and then came into the procession of an American antiques dealer. The Navy asserted ownership in court and won: 

Mark Schaefer, a Justice Department lawyer, argued in court that the government owns the wreck as successor to the Confederacy's property and because it defeated the Alabama in battle. quote "The United States cannot abandon property except by an act of Congress or by rule or regulation," Schaefer said. "The government never affirmed that it abandoned the Alabama." Fascinating story and worth googling (C.S.S. Alabama Bell). Interestingly enough the wreck of the Alabama was found off the coast of France and its ships bell was recovered by the Navy in 2002. Was the first one a fake? A bell from the U.S.S. Grayling would certainly be of great interest to them as well. Unfortunately, the concept and definition of what is "sacred" comes to mind especially when it comes to an artifacts of National or tribal significance.

[aerialbridge]

That CSS Alabama Fed. Crt. case was discussed in a post about the auction of the USS Trigger bell a couple months ago out of MA, see comments #5-11.

 

Basically completely different legal theory for a sunken wreck that was a "spoil of war" with no contention of ever being sold to a "good faith purchaser for value" (a legal concept they teach in law school) in an ebay auction of a bell from a ship that was REMOVED by the Navy before it was lost in battle, and if like the USS Trigger bell, sold at a surplus auction  in 1946 or shortly after the war.   Do you figure that was the only WW2 sub bell taken off before war patrols that the Navy sold in the 1940s or 50s as surplus?   I doubt it. 

 

And as for the CSS Alabama bell, the Navy let the guy keep the bell, even after he offered to sell it to them which the Navy declined.   And then he owned it for years and they only claimed ownership after he consigned it for auction to make a buck.   A smart lawyer would have raised the defenses of waiver and estoppel, which unlike abandonment, the government can run afoul of and make viable defenses for the other side.    It's not abandonment if the Navy sells surplus property as they have with a lot of WW2 bells  OR that they didn't care enough to remove the bell 80 years ago when they sold hundreds or thousands of vessels to ship breakers.   Another inconvenient truth for the Navy is all the bells on eBay they have let get sold.   Too busy or not enough in their bazillion dollar budget if it matters to them to have an office clerk monitor eBay and take action when bells come up?  As the court in the CSS Alabama case pointed out,  it was bound by the law but observed,   

 

"The Navy notes that a sunken naval vessel is not only a repository of our nation's naval heritage, it is also a sacred place, a watery grave containing the bodies of the officers and men who went down with their ship. These vessels, though government property, are subject to disturbance from both amateur and professional divers and from fortune and souvenir hunters. To discourage this kind of desecration and to preserve these vessels for historical and public use, the Navy, as a matter of policy, refuses to pay for artifacts taken from its sunken vessels.

The Navy's concerns are both understandable and laudable. One would think, however, that in the unusual circumstances of this case some way could have been devised to make Mr. Steinmetz whole. But that, apparently, was more than the bureaucratic mind could accomplish."    (ouch)

 

United States v. Steinmetz, 763 F. Supp. 1293 (D.N.J. 1991)
US District Court for the District of New Jersey - 763 F. Supp. 1293 (D.N.J. 1991)
June 3, 1991
763 F. Supp. 1293 (1991)

 

Since this bell was removed before the USS Grayling sunk with all hands, the concept of it being akin to sacred burial ground, like the CSS Alabama bell retrieved from the sunken ship, is missing.   Historical yes,  sacred like the Shroud of Turin or an acre of Gettysburg battlefield, I don't think so.  

.