Americal Flag 48 Stars

[Bizio]

Hi everybody.
I went today to a military fair outside Milan and I bought an American Flag vintage with 48 stars.
Its brand is Valley Forge Flag Co. and in second line there is its size 5 x 9 1 /2 FT. and in slightly different color a print "1942" at immediate right of "FT."
The stars are sewn.

I have not taken any pictures yet but I have found a very similar at ebay.com but without any year printed.

Moderator Note: Link removed at the request of Leslie keemen at leslie.keemen@gmail.com, owner of web site listed. Not sure what their problem is, but I'd recommend that our members avoid eBay auctions by them and also avoid using their web site altogether.

Do you think the print "1942" might be a fake ?
Which year could be possibly dated such a Flag ?

Thank you.

---------- Post added at 07:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:22 PM ----------

I do apologize, I mistyped the topic title ...

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[HILLBILLY-06]

HI Bizio, I am not sure the best answer to your question, but I found this place very interesting reading on Valley Forge Flags, perhaps if the copy and paste works good, you may also enjoy, and its a great place to see some history on the Flags made by them.......Valley Forge Flag Company Information History

[HILLBILLY-06]

I also found this Question & answer page at one of thier sights..........FAQ | Valley Forge Flag
They indicated here on this page that they don't date thier flags, etc... but here is an exert on why they are exactly that long, I hope evryone can appreciate this article, for those who didn't know: Q: I have a 48-star U.S. flag that measures 5’x9 ½’. Why is this flag so long?
A: Many 48-star flags were manufactured before, during and after World War II. These flags were usually made from either cotton or a cotton-wool blend. Some of the flags are casket flags, meaning that they measure 5’x9 ½’ instead of 5’x8’. These flags are made to be placed on a casket during a funeral. Since Valley Forge Flag does not add any date to a flag when manufactured; there is no way to determine just how old a flag is. It is perfectly acceptable to fly United States flags with fewer than 50 stars. 48-star United States flags rarely hold any monetary value, only sentimental value. Usually a flag only has monetary value if it can be directly linked to a major historical moment, such as the flag raised over Iwo Jima, or the flag used during John F. Kennedy’s funeral, both of which were made by Valley Forge Flag.

[Bizio]

Thank you for your help and answers, HILLBILLY-06.

[Bizio]

And of course, thank you so much for your links.

[Bizio]

Here is the picture of the flag with the stamp "1942"

[Bizio]

Some more pictures ...







HILLBILLY-06,
from the link you had posted of the FAQs page of Valley Forge Flag web site
FAQ | Valley Forge Flag
I was addressed to another site http://www.vexman.net/
I sent an email to Dave Martucci and he answered me quickly :

You paid a fair price for the flag regardless of what date it is. Having said that, it was common during the war years to stamp the date on it. My guess is that the flag is from 1942 and, further, given it's dimensions, was intended to cover the casket of a serviceman killed in action, which is probably why it was found in Europe. Thousands of such flags were sent over during the Allied invasion of Italy and many of them were never used or accounted for.
From what I can see in the photos, it is wool bunting with cotton stars and a cotton canvas heading with brass grommets. Typical construction for the Valley Forge Flag Company during the 1940s.

Thank you again for your help and time.