Questions About the United States Navy Peacoat

[Graffspee]

Just thought I would share these pics of mid to late 19th. century sailors wearing peacoats just as a reference. They are much longer than the ones around the turn of the century onward . I just find it interesting how they developed over time......

 

[Peacoat]

And welcome aboard Mr. Graffspee. I take it these are sailors in the Royal Navy and not the US Navy?

 

[Graffspee]

The First 2 are U.S. Navy Civil War or just post Civil War and the 3rd one is a Confederate Navy sailor.......These are the earliest photos I have seen of sailors wearing peacoats.......

 

[Peacoat]

A good find. Thank you for posting.

 

[Spoonbelly]

1967 Pea Coat

Hey Mr. Poohbang,
Is that 1967 size 44 still avaliable? I'd be very interested if the measurements are right for me. Thank you.

 

[Hackman21]

Old Peacoat - Worth??

I have this old Navy Peacoat from 1925. It is Authentic, it has a persons name inscribed inside the inner pocket. It also has the Name/list number and and date printed on the inside of the coat. Pictures below.

If anyone has any idea of its worth, that would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

 

[Lone_Ranger]

I found the buttons on e-bay and compared them to a 1980 coat I have that has the metal buttons. They are close but have a small eagle above a shield, and my buttons only have an eagle. Also the size is a little different. They are advertised as 1 1/4" and my original buttons are an inch. It would never hurt to get them and see how they work.

I looked this morning to see what I could find for you, and had no luck. A Navy Captain friend of mine is going to call the uniform clothing store in, I believe, Atlanta and see if they have any idea of where the metal buttons might be obtained. Since it is a discontinued item, I doubt there will be much success there, but it is worth a shot.

Do you remember what year you changed the buttons from silver to black plastic? I would like to have that information for my dating notes.

Most of those metal buttons are made by the Waterbury Button Company. I don't know if they sell direct, or not. You could try Marlowe White. It's a company that specializes in US Military Uniforms. (If you want "p" "s" or "FD" buttons I have a couple of contacts for you)

 

[Spoonbelly]

Old Pea Coat

That old pea coat is from 1972.

 

[Peacoat]

Yep, 1972.

Lone Ranger: I copied the information below from a recent post I made in response to a question at the end of last month about the pewter buttons:

_________

"The link is below. Go to the right of the top of the page and your buttons are there. I believe it is the Military spec. silver oxide button, but I'm not positive.

You will need to know the size in inches of the buttons you want, and then convert to a ligne size. I used to know how to do it, but that is water under the bridge. I can probably figure it out, though. If you know how, let me know to save me some brain cell usage.

I just measured one of my buttons, and it comes to right at 1".

[Edit note: a 1" button is 40 Ligne.]

Here is the link:

http://www.waterburybutton.com/cart/...dproduct=21309 "

 

[votan]

hey all, i thought i'd post some info re: contract dates on tags. while i was in the US navy (84-88 active; 88-94 reserve) i was issued 2 pea coats. the first was the one i talked about earlier that had silver metal buttons. i finally made it back to my parents' house to look at the coats. my boot camp coat has a tag date of 1978 and was issued in 1st week of oct. 1984. i have a second pea coat that i bought (i bought 2 for 10.00 and later gave one to my college girlfriend. i thought i gave her my boot coat but that coat only has my name in it. the 'second hand' coats have the original issue guy's name crossed out) at the exchange in great lakes NTC in jan. 85. at a shop that sold "used" seabag gear from recruits who were dropped out of boot camp. this also has a 1978 tag. maybe that sheds some light on contract numbers vs. when they were issued. BTW, my 2nd issue coat from the reserves was issued in aug. 1990 and has the 1/2 satin liner, no inside pockets, no inside button, white cotton lined pockets with an extra pocket sewn into the RH side one. the only tag is a small 1 1/8 x 1 1/8 one up by the collar with the number 8405-01-154-5790 and the size above it. i never wore this coat and it still has the inspector tag in the pocket.

 

[BanjoMerlin]

I went to boot camp in May of 1975 and I was issued a BLUE pea coat with plastic buttons but others in my company were issued BLACK pea coats with the metal buttons. The BLACK pea coats with metal buttons came in when the enlisted uniform changed from the "crackerjack" to the officer-style double-breasted suit - which was also black. Recruits were issued whatever was on top of the pile until the BLUE ones were gone.

Those first BLACK pea coats didn't have any extra insulation, they were a thinner wool and not nearly as warm as the older BLUE coats. This was a big deal for folks stationed at Great Lakes in the winter.

I can still remember the pain (literally) of changing those plastic buttons to the metal ones.

 

[Spoonbelly]

I was just e-mailing back and forth someone who enlisted and was issued a pea coat in 1964. The coat turns out to have tags from a 1950 coat???? If anybody is looking for a size 42 from 1950, said to be in mint condition, it is now on craigslist.org from Ohmaha. The asking price however is quite steep - $220.00.

 

[Peacoat]

I was just e-mailing back and forth someone who enlisted and was issued a pea coat in 1964. The coat turns out to have tags from a 1950 coat???? If anybody is looking for a size 42 from 1950, said to be in mint condition, it is now on craigslist.org from Ohmaha. The asking price however is quite steep - $220.00.

Yes, that does happen. While rare, it isn't unusual. And yes, that price is quite steep. I can see it for a WWII coat in good condition, but not a 1950s version. They are hard to find, but are out there.

 

[acl1]

Peacoat Weights

Hey guys, hope you go easy on a newcomer here. After perusing through the stickied threads and a few peacoat threads, I was wondering what the weight of all these awesome vintage pea coats were. For example, I just heard back from an ebay seller (possibly a member of this forum) who said that the 1940s peacoat he was auctioning weighed 4 lbs 8 oz (38R, Length 35). I was hoping some of you good fellas could give me the weights of your peacoat(s) for comparison. Thanks for any help you can provide,
Aaron

 

[CC-1]

hold on till Monday and I'll weigh my 1944 size 38. It's 32-1/2inches back of neck to hem. My current Sterlingwear 38R is 33 inches. 35 seems long...

 

[Peacoat]

I measured two of my peacoats, a WWII and a 1965 "US NAVY" tag. Both weighed 5.5 pounds (approximately) and both are a size 42. I don't have a size 38 to compare for you.

 

[CC-1]

Ok- got to a store with a digital scale:
1944 is 4-1/4 lbs
2010 is 3-3/4 lbs

can't get to my 1966 it's seems marginally heavier than both but has more material in the flaps.

All coats 38R

 

[Peacoat]

Ok- got to a store with a digital scale:
1944 is 4-1/4 lbs
2010 is 3-3/4 lbs

can't get to my 1966 it's seems marginally heavier than both but has more material in the flaps.

All coats 38R

Since 1980 the material (Melton wool) has been lighter than the pre 1980 material (Kersey wool). I would think, based on my weights above, that your 1966 would be about the same weight as your 1944.

BTW, how do you date the WWII coat specifically to 1944? Did it belong to a family member?

 

[CC-1]

Yes, I agree the '66 would be essentially the same especially since the weights on yours were.
No, no family. The miracle was that in addition to the "clothing factory" tag, there was still a legible neck tag with the #NXSX65086. Using the information from a militaria forum, I interpolated the date accordingly:

"...The following is a series put together for NXSX contracts. They are not applicable to any other contracting bureau as they use their own numerical system. You can use this by plugging in your contract number and find out approximately when your item was made."
NXSX
16868 Oct 1942
19958 Dec 1942
21747 Jan 1943
23534 Feb 1943
27612 Apr 1943
28180 May1943
32566 Jun 1943
37374 Sep 1943

47990 Jan 1944
51656 Feb1944
55601 Mar 1944
58293 Apr 1944
63353 May 1944
64856 Jun 1944
71083 Jul 1944
74718 Aug 1944
77162 Sep 1944
82724 Oct 1944
87107 Dec 1944

This would put the coat into the Jun 1944 slot.
I will post pictures of the coat with details and cite the militaria forum soon.

 

[acl1]

Thank you all very much for the help.