1912 Enlisted Men’s Overcoat?

[knifeguy]

I was offered this locally. Is this a 1912 enlisted man's overcoat? The buttons do not look to be blackened brass but rather some other metal possibly steel or zinc? To me the button looks brown painted. 

 

It is void of any markings the seller states, unless they have not been located or are too faint for the seller to see. These are the only photos I have as of yet 

 

 

 

[GWS]

Tough call, you need a look at Alec Tulkoff's  Vol. 2 of Equipping the Corps. I have Vol. 1 which does not include uniforms but does have headgear. Short of one of the experts on here, that's the best advice I have.

 

                                                                         Steve

[knifeguy]

Thanks gws. I did read over a posting about the same coat and it's required manufacturing speciations here. Still waiting on more photos from the seller as well. 

[warguy]

1 hour ago, GWS said:

Tough call, you need a look at Alec Tulkoff's  Vol. 2 of Equipping the Corps. I have Vol. 1 which does not include uniforms but does have headgear. Short of one of the experts on here, that's the best advice I have.

 

                                                                         Steve

To the original poster the coat shown is in fact a WWI vintage USMC EM or NCO overcoat. I have one and have owned a couple and it looks textbook. You should find a half circle metal clasp at the collar with hooks to close it. There is no such thing as volume two of Tulkoffs book Equipping the Corps sadly. It has never been published. Sure wish he would!

[knifeguy]

Warguy thanks for chiming in. There was a couple postings here about the same coat but I wanted to get a couple opinions first. Guy's asking 80 bucks for it. Hasn't gotten back yet but we shall see 

[warguy]

$80 is a heck of a deal. These typically sell for around $275-$300. Good luck!

[knifeguy]

Holy cow I'll tell him I'll take it lol. I was unsure of value as well but thanks for the info. I will see if I can update once acquired 

[knifeguy]

Here's the coat. Overall excellent condition. I love it 

 

 

[warguy]

That is a very nice coat…..textbook.  Looks like your Marine came in around 1917. He did a lot of service in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. He seems to disappear off the muster rolls around 1919. It appears he was involved in Naval radio systems. Really a nice looking coat and an excellent example and sounds like you got a great price on it. These are not near as common as the WWII variety and just don't come up all that often. Congrats. Kevin

[knifeguy]

Interesting you had been able to look him up. Wow ! Can you tell me how you looked him up?

[warguy]

If you have an ancestry account, you can look up Marines and get their muster rolls (basically their assignments through their career). Full research is needed (like what you get from pulling their records) if you want more details like awards, wounds, etc., but the muster rolls are a great tool to get a quick peak at the vets service. Good luck!

[knifeguy]

Warguy thanks for sharing this. I may have to try further research 

[themick]

On 10/28/2023 at 2:18 PM, GWS said:

Tough call, you need a look at Alec Tulkoff's  Vol. 2 of Equipping the Corps. I have Vol. 1 which does not include uniforms but does have headgear. Short of one of the experts on here, that's the best advice I have.

 

                                                                         Steve

Wow, I was not away vol. 2 of Equipping the Corps was published.  I look around on the internet but couldn't find it.  Where did you find yours, Steve?

 

Steve

[warguy]

It has not been published. 

[GWS]

I waited for vol.2 for a long time and finally gave up looking for it,  so I assumed it would be out by now! I guess I can quit looking now!