Purchased at a Dunedin auction house earlier this year, the item is being marketed as a Word War 2 German munitions cart and is parked outside the Queens Gardens Antique Centre most days, antique dealer Bill McPhail said.
"We have had a lot of interest in the cart, particularly from people driving by eager to have a close-up look at it."
A former owner of the cart called in to the shop earlier this year and said the item had been in her family for many years.
"But we are still not sure how it came to New Zealand, or why it was brought out here," he said.
The former owner is now believed to have moved overseas.
Mr McPhail said the item was likely to be a World War 2 German munitions cart, and "was superbly made".
"It is such an unusual item it has really attracted a lot of attention."
Priced by negotiation, the cart had already attracted several expressions of interests, including one person wanting to use it for pony rides.
Munitions carts were used to transport shells to the frontline, but were also used to transport bodies, he said.
Likely to have been pulled by a donkey, the cart could be attached to other carts to increase the amount of munitions being transported.
Army Museum Waiouru assistant curator Chris Rapley spotted the cart when he visited Dunedin for a conference this year.
"I was captivated by it, but I haven't been able to find much about the item."
Not sure if the cart was German, or even from World War 2, Mr Rapley had no other answer as to where it came from.
"It doesn't have much in the way of markings on it so we don't have a lot to go on.
''It is a bit of a mystery for us."
There was nothing similar to the cart at Waiouru but it was unlikely the museum would display an item like the cart until more information was found.
