Possibly Extremely rare Navy Uniform?

[11dark11]

Recently I just purchased this Uniform, after doing some research I found this blog post by the Naval War College Museum.
Soundings in Narragansett Bay's Naval History: Pay Corps Officer's Uniform, 1918
According to this this type of coat was in use for only four months (16 November 1918 and 17 March 1919)!
Is this as rare as it says it is I'm curious has anyone seen any Uniform like this before, with the same insignia or have any idea as to worth, or history? It says D. W. MC CORD as the owner, and it's dated 1/13/19, made by Schwartzman & Slesinger.

[Glenn66]

You need to brush up on your photography skills a little, I can't even make out the collar tabs.

[11dark11]

I will take better pictures when I get off of work tonight, sorry about the quality my camera doesn't do very well close up.

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Try taking the pictures without getting too close, that way you will get sharp focus. Then you can play around a bit and expand it using your computer.

[drmessimer]

11dark11: If you read the blog carefully, you will find that this particular style of service coat was authorized for wear from 1877 through WWI. Therefore the coat, per se, is not unique, but the insignia changes that had to do with the pay corps insignia are. "On 16 November 1918...the Navy authorized two changes to the service coat. Instead of just a corps device on the collar, the post-war coat featured the corps device superimposed on a fouled anchor. Secondly, the corps device was now placed above the cuff braiding (as is still done today) to replace the colored cloth in between stripes." The pay corps device mentioned is a three-leaf oak leaf with three acorns, and the colored stipe was in this case a white stripe "filling the spaces between the gold lace stripes..." The blurred photos you posted seem to reflect those two changes. In answer to your question, "...I'm curious has anyone seen any Uniform like this before..." the answer is "Yes," in-so-far as the style of the service coat is concerned, because it was a standard pattern through WWI. The only difference exhibited on your coat would be the postwar changes made to the corps insignia and the deletion of the colored stripe between the gold rank stripes that remained in effect until the coat style was discontinued on 17 March 1919. But the latter change might not have applied to Ensign, a rank with only one stripe. I do not know what the inverted V on the left sleeve signifies, but hopefully another member can tell us. Given the poor quality of the photographs, this opinion is an "educated guess," but the insignia changes do appear to be there. Dwight

[drmessimer]

OK, I answered my own question. The inverted V on the left sleeve is a service chevron for six months deployment in a war zone. Dwight