Original Item: Only One Available. In the realm of collecting militaria, some of the rarest and yet most overlooked items are those which were intended to be manufactured and designed to be expendable. An item which was made to be disposable and expendable often do not last countless decades after their date of manufacture. Take for instance this WWII U.S. Military 3 ½ ounce Can of Pemmican. These were mass produced and were originally staples in U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Vessels during WWII, also making their way to the Army and Marine Corps as well, as they were a durable, long lasting compact ration.

Remarkably, this example has survived the ages unscathed. The original gold finish to the can is still intact, the original opening key is still in place, and all the writing is still intact and legible!

Perfect for the WWII or Military Ration Collector!

History of Pemmican:
Pemmican (also pemican in older sources) is a mixture of tallow, dried meat, and sometimes dried berries. A calorie-rich food, it can be used as a key component in prepared meals or eaten raw. Historically, it was an important part of indigenous cuisine in certain parts of North America and it is still prepared today.The word comes from the Cree word ᐱᒦᐦᑳᓐ (pimîhkân), which is derived from the word ᐱᒥᕀ (pimî), "fat, grease". The Lakota (or Sioux) word is wasná, originally meaning "grease derived from marrow bones", with the wa- creating a noun, and sná referring to small pieces that adhere to something.It was invented by the Indigenous peoples of North America.
Pemmican was widely adopted as a high-energy food by Europeans involved in the fur trade and later by Arctic and Antarctic explorers, such as Captain Robert Bartlett, Ernest Shackleton, Richard E. Byrd, Fridtjof Nansen, Robert Falcon Scott, George W. DeLong, and Roald Amundsen.

Pemmican has traditionally been made using whatever meat was available at the time: large game meat such as bison, deer, elk, or moose, but also fish such as salmon, and smaller game such as duck; while contemporary pemmican may also include beef. The meat is dried and chopped, before being mixed with rendered animal fat (tallow). Dried fruit may be added: cranberries, saskatoon berries (Cree misâskwatômina), and even blueberries, cherries, chokeberries, and currants - though in some regions these are used almost exclusively for ceremonial and wedding pemmican - and European fur traders have also noted the addition of sugar.

Among the Lakota and Dakota nations, there is also a corn wasná (or pemmican) that does not contain dried meat. This is made from toasted cornmeal, animal fat, fruit, and sugar.

During the Second Boer War (1899–1902), British troops were given an iron ration made of 4 ounces (110 g) of pemmican and 4 ounces of chocolate and sugar. The pemmican would keep in perfect condition for decades.It was considered much superior to biltong, a form of cured game meats commonly used in Africa. This iron ration was prepared in two small tins (soldered together) that were fastened inside the belts of the soldiers. It was the last ration used and it was used only as a last resort—when ordered by the commanding officer. A man could march on this for 36 hours before he began to drop from hunger.

While serving as chief of scouts for the British Army in South Africa, American adventurer Frederick Russell Burnham required pemmican to be carried by every scout.

Pemmican, likely condensed meat bars, was used as a ration for French troops fighting in Morocco in the 1920s.

A 1945 scientific study of pemmican criticized using it exclusively as a survival food because of the low levels of certain vitamins.

A study was later done by the U.S. military in January 1969, entitled Arctic Survival Rations, III. The Evaluation of Pemmican Under Winter Field Conditions.The study found that during a cycle of two starvation periods the subjects could stave off starvation for the first cycle of testing with only 1000 calories worth of pemmican.