What to do with silver identification bracelet?

I found a sterling silver identification bracelet in a bag of thrift store costume jewelry today. It has the person's 8-digit identification number. When I searched the AAD database, I couldn't find him in the system. Honestly, I'm not even sure if it's a military service number or not. It's over an ounce of silver, but I don't want to melt it, and I feel guilty selling it. Any thoughts?

 

I had put an answer, but decided to think about it more.

 

@Barn Owl

What is an ADD database? If it was US military it would have a SSN as ID# which is 9 numbers and used after 1970,Army started slightly before. Previous used numbers after WW2 used a letter and 6 numbers I believe.

 

the person could be dead.....
show us the bracelet..

 

Sorry, I meant AAD: https://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=893&tf=F

Weird that it's 8 digits then

 

I'll post photos in a bit

 

WW2 Army draftees had 8 numbers ................. https://www.wwiidogtags.com/brief-dog-tag-history/army-serial-numbers/

 

The number starts with 3, too: 36993436

 

Don't melt it. Looks like it is WWII. Sentimental reasons aside, there is interest in WWII memorabilia, and this could be part of the story of someone who was right in the thick of it.

 

I'd sell it before I melted it, but selling it feels kind of bad, too. Normally I don't have a problem with selling monogrammed jewelry, but it feels different with this because it was personally engraved. I keep wondering what happened to the person who owned this and why it ended up at a thrift store.

My camera's dead so I can't take a picture right now, but I will later today.

 

It is likely he survived and lived to a ripe old age. Things end up in thrift stores because whoever ends up with them has no interest in 'old junk'. I'm sure that will happen to a lot of my 'old junk' as well.

 

It's really sad. I'm surprised how much nice jewelry gets donated to thrift stores (and the things in the Finds thread always leave me amazed). This bracelet was pretty grimy looking when I found it, so I guess whoever inherited his things likely thought it was junk...

 

Search over, I found it!

“Arama Elena Ivona Pfa Romania tax code 36993436 is a company from Iasi city, Iasi county...”

 

To go off on a bit of a tangent here...
I found an old army trunk at a thrift store and bought it for my teen son to store stuff in. The name of the original owner is emblazoned on it and I started to feel badly... that I should try to return the trunk to a family member. Within an hour of researching, I found reliable email info for the man's eldest son.
I emailed the son and he seemed very interested in getting his father's trunk (no explanation of how it ended up at a thrift store). Unfortunately, he'd moved several states away and claimed to no longer have any family/friends in my area to pick it up (despite having been raised here along with two siblings). He wanted me to ship this huge/heavy trunk to him, stating he'd pay me back when he received it.
We reached an impasse when I declined to spend $50+ to ship the trunk to a stranger without any guarantee that I'd be reimbursed. After telling him this (in a nice way), he said he'd "think about what to do" but I haven't heard from him since. That was six months ago.
My son stores all his video games/controllers in it in his basement man cave.

So... between that story and another where the offspring knowingly sold their mother's 1950s travel diary at her estate sale when she passed, and yet another story where a son knowingly sold the 1940s love notes between his mother/father from when they were dating (these things have all acquired an appreciative home with me, a stranger), I've realized that some people just aren't very sentimental. That's not a bad thing... just different than me, I suppose. I wouldn't have given up my father's trunk, or my mother's diary, or my parents love notes for any amount of $$. But if one is storage deficient, one may have to make some tough choices.

 

Curious me googled Arama Elena Ivona Pfa in Romania, and it turns out she is an art historian, world famous in all Romania. Now outside Romania as well, thanks to spring.
This is her webpage, with her publications in Romanian:
http://uapriasi.ro/arama-elena-ivona/

 

I had no idea!

 

Maybe you helped getting more Romanian eyes on her page, the subjects of her books look interesting.

 

Person owning the bracelet ought to offer to sell it to her, she might be intrigued at the idea of something with “her number” on it. All I want is my usual 10% of the deal.

 

This may be your Roscoe Cannon.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/to...oscoe-g-cannon-rocky&pid=186188380&fhid=22352

Debora