U.S. Tool Box 1942 | Mutual Defense | Unissued

From the United States of America for Mutual Defense. These WWII-era M6 Steel Tool Chests were produced in 1942 by the Metal Box and Cabinet Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. Manufactured for use in WWII, they never saw action. Instead, they sat untouched in a military warehouse until October 1949, when President Harry S. Truman signed the Mutual Defense Assistance Act. This Act, one of the opening salvos in the growing Cold War, ordered financial aid and surplus war materiel, including these tool chests, to be sent to Western-allied nations for economic reconstruction. Gifted from America to Austria, these chests crossed the Atlantic and landed in an undisclosed military warehouse abroad, where they remained in their original packaging for approximately 75 years. Like salmon returning home at the end of their lives, these chests were recently rediscovered and shipped back to the U.S., still packed in the original wooden crates and cardboard boxes from 1942.

Eighty years of storage has not been kind to these lockable M6 Steel Chests. The packaging is worse for the wear, and the boxes show varying degrees of patina, with signs of long-term storage evident. This lot represents the last of the stock, offering an extremely rare chance to own a genuine piece of WWII military surplus. Each chest is 100% authentic and complete from the factory, featuring metal latches, an original key, a top tray that lifts out to reveal a larger compartment below, and a single carry handle. Some remain in their original crates, others in cardboard boxes, but all tell a story of a world at war and a nation’s resolve. These are not just toolboxes—they are a tangible piece of history, over 80 years old, preserved in their original packing materials.