Questions About the United States Navy Peacoat

[CGL]

The eBay description said "Pockets lined with wool and not corduroy" so it is indeed not corduroy.

 

[Doctor Damage]

No research is ever definitive and we remain students our whole lives. Here's two plausible explanations for the non-standard pockets:

1. Simply a run of coats that were made with wool pockets instead of corduroy. Remember, they had to churn out thousands of these coats and if at the end of a run they were short some corduroy, would they have stopped production until it was sourced? There was a war on. They just grabbed some wool they had on a shelf and the supervisor said "use this" to the seamstresses and the USN didn't give a damn because it meant they didn't have to wait another week for the coats. That means the coat is original.

2. Replacement pockets, for worn-out or excessively dirty pockets. That means the coat isn't 100% original but surely the value in these things isn't in the pockets?

 

[LisaA]

Hello, guys. I'm brand new here and have a question about an old peacoat I bought from a military surplus store in Oklahoma City about 25 years ago. It was in new, unused condition when I bought it. Can anyone tell how old the coat is? From the tiny bit of reading I've done here, it seems to be post WWII but pre-1960s. I wasn't able to find another tag photo here that looks exactly like the one in my coat.

Can you help? I'd love to hear what you all think! Thanks.

 

[Peacoat]

About 1952, give or take a few months. That coat is like new. I hope you have kept it away from the moths.

For a guide to dating these coats, please see, http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...uide-to-Dating-the-United-States-Navy-Peacoat

 

[CGL]

No research is ever definitive and we remain students our whole lives. Here's two plausible explanations for the non-standard pockets:

1. Simply a run of coats that were made with wool pockets instead of corduroy. Remember, they had to churn out thousands of these coats and if at the end of a run they were short some corduroy, would they have stopped production until it was sourced? There was a war on. They just grabbed some wool they had on a shelf and the supervisor said "use this" to the seamstresses and the USN didn't give a damn because it meant they didn't have to wait another week for the coats. That means the coat is original.

2. Replacement pockets, for worn-out or excessively dirty pockets. That means the coat isn't 100% original but surely the value in these things isn't in the pockets?

I bought a similar peacoat on eBay last year (WW2 10 buttons) and it also has the exact same green color wool or cotton lined pockets and not corduroy lined. Please see my thread #689 on page 69. I carefully checked all the stitchnig and it didn't look like there were replacement pockets' lining.

 

[LisaA]

About 1952, give or take a few months. That coat is like new. I hope you have kept it away from the moths.

For a guide to dating these coats, please see, http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...uide-to-Dating-the-United-States-Navy-Peacoat

Thank you. I looked at your thread and found it very informative - that's how I leaned the coat was post WWII and pre-1960s. In fact, my google search took me right to it. A great resource!

The coat is still in excellent condition, and I do wear it on occasion when it gets cold enough. It's an extremely warm and comfy coat. No moth damage and I hope to keep it that way. Do you have any recommendations for keeping it moth-free? Cedar? Mothballs?

 

[DMazz]

Would any you (maybe Peacoat) know if there was any discernible difference between the pea coats issued to the Navy versus the Naval Reserve? Thanks a lot.

 

[Peacoat]

Thank you. I looked at your thread and found it very informative - that's how I leaned the coat was post WWII and pre-1960s. In fact, my google search took me right to it. A great resource!

The coat is still in excellent condition, and I do wear it on occasion when it gets cold enough. It's an extremely warm and comfy coat. No moth damage and I hope to keep it that way. Do you have any recommendations for keeping it moth-free? Cedar? Mothballs?

During the Summer, when it isn't being worn, keep it in a plastic clothes bag with a few mothballs inside. Brush it after wearing it each time, and don't eat anything while wearing it. Moths love the food particles that fall onto the coat.

Cedar blocks will work well for awhile, but then lose the cedar aroma that repels moths.

 

[Peacoat]

Would any you (maybe Peacoat) know if there was any discernible difference between the pea coats issued to the Navy versus the Naval Reserve? Thanks a lot.

The peacoats are the same whether one is in the Naval Reserve or the regular Navy. Additionally, the peacoats issued to the Coast Guard are the same coats as the Navy issue. For the CG, there is an emblem on the right sleeve that marks it as a CG peacoat. Otherwise the coats are identical.

 

[Spoonbelly]

Coast Guard Pea Coats

The peacoats are the same whether one is in the Naval Reserve or the regular Navy. Additionally, the peacoats issued to the Coast Guard are the same coats as the Navy issue. For the CG, there is an emblem on the right sleeve that marks it as a CG peacoat. Otherwise the coats are identical.

I bought a Coast Guard coat off of ebay a few years ago. It was a WWII 10 button coat. It did not have the little emblem on the sleeve though. The inside label did say "US Coast Guard". The coat turned out to be one size too small for me (size 44 instead of 46). The material on this coat was the most beautiful of any pea coat that I have felt. It felt like short, soft velvet, but was still very heavy and tight and I'm sure VERY durable.

 

[DMazz]

Thanks guys.

 

[omgitspest]

Hello peacoat enthusiasts!

I am trying to find the correct size peacoat for me, and I understand from reading various posts/threads that the fits vary from era. In a surplus store I tried on (what looked like citizen issued) pea coats and while I normally wear a 38 for jacket size, the 34 was snug, and the 36 seemed to fit, though a bit un-slimming. I am looking at both the modern age and the WW2 models (1945~), and am curious what sizes would be good for these? I know that in Peacoat's thread he mentioned WWII era coats and earlier are slimmer, which is why I am looking at them. However, a random internet search popped up that a size 38 for the poster's 1945 coat was big enough to fir a 40/42. So, I am looking to the experts to put the discrepancy to rest.

For reference, I am 5'10 and 160-165 lb athletic build. I will be wearing a cable knit type sweater under it while traveling in Vermont this winter (regularly in Cali). I like my clothes to look as form fitting as possible, and am okay with snugness.

Thanks very much for replies!

 

[Peacoat]

I bought a Coast Guard coat off of ebay a few years ago. It was a WWII 10 button coat. It did not have the little emblem on the sleeve though. The inside label did say "US Coast Guard". The coat turned out to be one size too small for me (size 44 instead of 46). The material on this coat was the most beautiful of any pea coat that I have felt. It felt like short, soft velvet, but was still very heavy and tight and I'm sure VERY durable.

I don't think the CG emblem was on the coats during WWII. And, evidently, it isn't on all of them, but the material is speced the same as the Navy coats; they come from the same manufacturers, at least they used to. I assume they still do.

 

[Peacoat]

Hello peacoat enthusiasts!

I am trying to find the correct size peacoat for me, and I understand from reading various posts/threads that the fits vary from era. In a surplus store I tried on (what looked like citizen issued) pea coats and while I normally wear a 38 for jacket size, the 34 was snug, and the 36 seemed to fit, though a bit un-slimming. I am looking at both the modern age and the WW2 models (1945~), and am curious what sizes would be good for these? I know that in Peacoat's thread he mentioned WWII era coats and earlier are slimmer, which is why I am looking at them. However, a random internet search popped up that a size 38 for the poster's 1945 coat was big enough to fir a 40/42. So, I am looking to the experts to put the discrepancy to rest.

For reference, I am 5'10 and 160-165 lb athletic build. I will be wearing a cable knit type sweater under it while traveling in Vermont this winter (regularly in Cali). I like my clothes to look as form fitting as possible, and am okay with snugness.

Thanks very much for replies!

All I can tell you is the information in my sticky (at the top of the Outerwear section) is as accurate as I can make it. If you haven't done so, you need to read it. The answer to your question is in the fit section toward the end. There will always be anomalies; that is why I recommend measuring one's chest and getting a pit to pit measurement (according to my instructions) from the seller.

If you have specific questions, not covered in the sticky, I will be glad to answer them. PC.

 

[Spoonbelly]

Up here in New York it should be a few weeks when I can start wearing those pea coats of mine. I can hardly wait. What a weird thing to look forward to. I have to first get them all out of their clothes bags first.

 

[HeyMoe]

Up here in New York it should be a few weeks when I can start wearing those pea coats of mine. I can hardly wait. What a weird thing to look forward to. I have to first get them all out of their clothes bags first.

Up here in North Central VT, I have worn mine twice already (mornings in the low 30s). I end up wearing it until mid December when the overcoat comes out.

 

[Spoonbelly]

Up here in North Central VT, I have worn mine twice already (mornings in the low 30s). I end up wearing it until mid December when the overcoat comes out.

I know. The winters in Vt. are butt kickin'. Have a friend who went to school there. I was surprised at the snowfall and temperatures he would tell me. Where I live (60 miles north of NYC), you can get away with a sweater under the peas in the coldest times.

 

[HeyMoe]

I have worn my pea coat at -30. It's not bad if you layer up. I have tossed it on under a long over coat (think Tom Hanks coat in road to perdition length) on super cold mornings.

 

[mirage-bot]

Tons of thanks to Peacoat and the other contributors to this thread for the incredibly helpful info while I try to pick up a vintage peacoat.
I'm having trouble with sizing. I've asked two sellers now to give me pit-to-pit measurements of 1960s peacoats. One was a size 36, measured at 21 inches. I thought this must be a mistake, and the seller just wasn't following the instructions (copy and pasted from the peacoat dating thread) properly. The nest person I asked was selling a size 38 and measured pit-to-pit at 22 inches! Does anybody have a guess what's going on? Are the 1960s peacoats much much larger than the earlier years? Are people really bad at measuring?

For reference, I've got a 37 inch chest and normally wear a 38 suit. I recently tried on some Sterlingwear coats at an army surplus store and found a 36 to be a bit too snug.

 

[Peacoat]

The sellers aren't measuring properly. There isn't nearly that much difference between the coats for those years. PC.