US 48 stars Flag

**Wolly** · 10-25-2014, 12:10 PM

Good Day,

Tommorow i'm going to a big fair, and i want to buy a US flag for my collection, but how can you see if its a real one?
I allready readed some and i know that the 48 star flag has been used till the 50ties. But with the millitary isseud flags, can you see on them if they are ww2 period? And how can you see if they are real?
And what about the prices for them?

**SteveR** · 10-25-2014, 08:27 PM

I am not aware of any way to tell the difference. But I could be wrong.

**Adrian Stevenson** · 10-26-2014, 09:39 AM

I am not aware of any difference either.

Cheers, Ade.

**Wolly** · 10-26-2014, 10:01 PM

Well i went to the fair today, and i bought me a flag.
Hope someone can see if its a good one?

**Greenhorn** · 10-26-2014, 10:10 PM

Nice flag, Wolly.

There is no way to tell if it's military used unless it is somehow marked. I can tell you that flags like yours, with maker tags are more desireable though. You may find certain makers made flags until a particular year, thus dating your flag better. I have several 48 star flags and think they are cool to have in a collection. My favorite, of mine, is a podium flag with gold fringe. If you collect the examples with a nice patina, then you can imagine they are slightly older although it cannot be confirmed.

Flags with individually sewn stars should be more collectable than flags with printed stars.

Mark

**Adrian Stevenson** · 10-27-2014, 08:12 AM

Nice example. I would agree with Mark's comments.

Cheers, Ade.

**Wagriff** · 10-27-2014, 08:26 AM

Defiance is not the company that made this flag, but rather the type of Cotton Bunting it was constructed of. The flag itself was made by the Annin Company which has been around since the 1847(formerly of New York but now in New Jersey) and is Still in business today. The tag indicates that it was made anywhere from the early to mid-1900's. The zig-zag stitching of the stars to the field also indicates the same time period, so, all in all, although there is no way to Exactly date your flag, it would look to be in the Mid-1900's or the WWII era. The "Moth Proof" bit is from the fact that moth larvae eat into Wool and not Cotton, so they labeled it "Moth Proof" since these were made "100% out of Mercerized Cotton and not Wool!"