Historic Americana
Copper Fragment from the Exploded U.S.S. Maine c. 1898
c. 1898, Copper Fragment Identified as being from the U.S.S. Maine, Very Fine.
An unusual copper strip measuring approximately 3” x r”, crudely stamped “FEBRUARY.15 / U.S.S. MAINE / POWDER . P / TANK.” This was stamped as being made from scrap metal recovered from the battleship U.S.S. Maine as a souvenir of the ship’s sinking. The explosion aboard the Maine on February 15, 1989, sank the ship almost immediately and killed 252 officers and men. The explosion was thought to be the work of Spain, whom the Cuban insurgents had been fighting. On April 21, America declared war on Spain, thereby beginning the Spanish-American War. A true piece of United States Naval History. Rare.
The battleship U.S.S. Maine is best known for her loss in Havana Harbor on the evening of February 15, 1898. Sent to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt against Spain, she exploded suddenly, without warning, and sank quickly, killing nearly three quarters of her crew. The cause and responsibility for her sinking remained unclear after a board of inquiry investigated.

Nevertheless, popular opinion in the U.S. was fanned by inflammatory articles printed in the "Yellow Press" by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, who blamed Spain. The phrase, "Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain" became a rallying cry for action, which came with the start of the Spanish–American War later that year. While the sinking of the Maine was not a direct cause for action, it served as a catalyst, accelerating the approach to a diplomatic impasse between the U.S. and Spain.

(From Wikipedia)