WW1 Peacoats? Need Help identifying please

[Youngcal707]

Hello, I am new to this forum, I was wondering if someone could please help me identify these coats or peacoats, my grandfather believes they are from WW1, he also thinks they are officer coats, one is Navy blue, and one is Army green, I was also hoping some one may be able to tell me how much they are worth, I'm not really interested in selling them at the time, but I would like to know there value .

Thanks



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[Peacoat]

Not sure what you have there Youngcal. The photos aren't the best, plus my expertise only goes back a little over 70 years. Beyond that it is educated guess work. Here is how I would expect a WWI era peacoat to appear:

Although the pea coats of the 1880s more closely resemble pea coats of WWII than the above peacoat.

Most of the buttons are silver in color and not the gold that I would expect of an officer's buttons. The buttons don't look like anything I have seen in this country. They do have 13 stars,though, which is indicative of U.S. buttons. The buttons worn on officers' and chiefs' pea coats (reefers) and bridge coats are gold in color as shown below:

Note the eagle surrounded by the 13 stars. As far as I can tell, this type of button was worn at least as far back as WWII, and perhaps further back than that. The one gold button you have is the standard US Army officers' button, hat emblem, etc.

If you have tags on any of the coats/jackets, that would be helpful. But they need to be clear and in focus. Also a full length and better picture of the first coat showing pocket type and placement might be helpful.

Edit Note: Now that I have gone back and looked at the buttons again, I notice all but one appear to be the gold Army officer's buttons. A picture of the coats showing the lengths and more detail would go a long way toward identification.

 

[Tkecks]

Technically, these are referred to as "greatcoats".

The blue coat is post WW2 US Airforce enlisted (non-officer) overcoat. There's a good guide here:

http://usafflagranks.com/usaf_overcoat_topcoat.html

... although they don't actually show you the enlisted coat, the cut is generally the same as the officer, just without the bells and whistles. Your coat should be from somewhere between 1945 and 1963. It often tells you on the label. The airforce didn't wear blue until post-WW2, in case you were wondering.

I really like the blue USAF early postwar greatcoats, but it's tough to find one in my size: 44R or L. The value of the coat increases for larger sizes. you can find quite a few of the smaller sizes on ebay pretty easy.

The second greatcoat is for an enlisted soldier in the army (non-officer again). It looks WW2 or later (I do not know what the pst WW2 greatcoats looked like). Typically, late WW2 greatcoats have plastic buttons, so the brass buttons on this would likely make it either early WW2 (since this is US, that's maybe 1941-43; given that some were issued pre-involvement), or maybe early postwar. The lack of full lining makes it look more like early WW2 to me, but I'm no expert; just seen a few for sale. There are lots of these on sale on ebay too. Large sizes sell for more.

All this said, usually there are labels that give you enough detail to figure it out.

 

[Youngcal707]

the blue one is a size L, so any idea of the value on either of them?

 

[DanielJones]

I recognize the OD one as an Army Overcoat for enlisted men. My Pop had one in the 50's and it made it around to me in the 80's in High School. Had the same brass buttons and half back belt.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Tkecks]

Price depends on size and condition. The blue coat will typically be starting around $30-40 maybe, for something that is in good condition (ie. very little to no visible mothing etc). I have not seen one of these USAF coats above 41XL (41 chest, eXtra Long), but then I haven;t been looking for that long. I do not know what size yours is as they are not usually labeled small(S)/medium(M)/large(L)/extralarge(XL). Rather the letter refers to the length of the garment, and is usually accompanied by a chest measurement (e.g. 38L is chest 38 inches, L = long. Other lengths are S=Short / R=Regular.

Most of these coats are around 34-38 in chest size. If you have something bigger it may be more in demand, especially with re-enactors. I'm still keeping an eye open for a 44. Maybe.

The army greatcoat... again depends on size. Most available are below chest 40", so these sizes seem to start at around $30 but can sometimes be priced up to a couple hundred in exceptional cases (these don't sell well). A 42 or 44 might sell for $100+, but also might go for less than half that. Early WW2 coats with brass buttons seem to go for more than plastic-button examples.

Price also depends on when you sell. Almost everything sells for more just before christmas.

Winter coats like these sell more badly in summer: if the buyer is intending on wearing the coat. Otherwise, collectors will buy year-round (but again, final-sale-prices get boosted by extra bidding from pre-christmas/seasonal factors).

 

[Youngcal707]

The blue does say L on it, the green one has no size labeled on it, so i guess i should hang on to them? Will they raise in value over time?

 

[Youngcal707]

And also i'd like to thank you guys for helping me.

 

[Tkecks]

The USAF coat looks like it has a white tab at the top of the collar. This is where the size usually is. It would be unusual for it just to be "L". Some of the US Marines coats had just S/M/L/XL sizes, but I have not seen it in army or USAF.

here's one on ebay that shows typical period labels etc:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KOREAN-WAR-US-AIR-FORCE-USAF-HEAVY-WOOL-WINTER-UNIFORM-OVERCOAT-/330679938511

ARMY COAT
Presumably all these coats had size/info labels originally, and these got removed, but they also usually had the size printed on the inside. I can see in one of your photos that the army greatcoat has 38R printed on the inside, so it's a 38 chest, Regular length.

I don't know how much the prices of these things fluctuates in real terms. Right now it's after christmas, during a mild winter, and the economy is bad. Greatcoats tend to price lower than other uniform items (so I have read) because they tend to lack regimental insignia etc, and they're also very heavy and cumbersome. I like them though.

 

[Youngcal707]

Alright, thank you