[Tonyaray]

I have read some posts about the authenticity of the gold stars on a 48 star US flag. I also have the same flag, this is not discoloration or staining, these are intentionally gold, it is very obvious. The stars are gold on one side and very white on the other. I believe that if this was staining, you would see it on the white side. Also the side of the flag which stars are white, there are a a few that are gold also. This flag was given to my great grandmother for my uncle who lost his life in the battle of Bataan in 1943. There is staining but its on the white stripes, where the gold fabric has left its impression. What this means I am not sure yet? My great grandmother was a delegate in 1952 for the Gold Star Mothers convention, and whats been passed around in the family is that this is a Gold Star Mothers Flag. In my research of gold star flags however I could not find anything to support that.

[NAVA1974]

Originally Posted by Tonyaray

I have read some posts about the authenticity of the gold stars on a 48 star US flag. I also have the same flag, this is not discoloration or staining, these are intentionally gold, it is very obvious.

Sorry, Tonyaray, but I have to disagree with you. I have a WW II era flag of a different type, and Army - Navy "E" award flag. This fiag has a large letter E surrounded by a wreath, as in the pic below which is not my flag but one of identical design. Mine also has two "white" stars, but they have discolored to a golden tan color,just like the stars on the obverse of your flag.The E, ARMY, and NAVY are sewn on in a soft cotton, but the two stars were obvously stiffened in order to make placement and stitching easier. It is this stiffening chemical that I belive causes the discoloration. The letters in soft cotton are still bright white, as are most of the stars on the back side of your flag.

The reason the stars on the back did not suffer this discoloration is because they did not begin as "stars." When your flag was made, 48 "stiff" white stars were glued to the front of the blue canton. A sheet of soft white cotton was then placed behind the canton, and the stiff stars, the blue canton, and the soft white cotton sheet were all sewn together when the stars were stitched into place. Then, with scissors the flagmakers removed the non-star cotton fabric from the back, leaving 48 stars of non-chemically treated cloth.


DSC_0047a.jpg

Please also see the pic below of another flag that perfectly exemplifies this discoloration, causing similar discoloration to the white stripes due to chemical transfer during the long years the flag was folded.

I am familiar with the mood of the USA about the American Flag during WW II - no one would have permitted the alteration of the US flag by making the stars gold. That just would not have been done.

!B1wrvM!!mk~$(KGrHqEOKiME)Rbczd8pBMfwBzNLzQ~~_35.jpg

Nick

[Tonyaray]

What you are saying makes sense and because I am not an expert on this then you are probably correct! The stars look perfectly gold however, like it was intentional so hopefully you understand my original assesment. Thanks for the info!

[csaanv]

Hi Tonyaray,
Welcome to AFF! In reference to what Nick is saying I had a huge 10'x19.5' 48 star naval ensign with one single star that had turned "gold". It was quite obvious that this was not a "gold star flag" as it was government issue and they would not allowed any deviation from the government specs. Moreover, I thought the Gold Star Mothers flag were those small vertical banners that each star signified a household member who was in the service. Usually the star(s) were white but sometimes gold?
Cheers!
Mike

[Tonyaray]

Hey csaanv,

Your right the Gold Star Mothers flag is what you described. If you look at the Flags of the world website at 48 Star Flags with Gold Stars or Stripes (U.S.) you will see why I think this could possibly not be staining or fabric issue. I get that you all seem to know way more about flags than I do, but if you could look at this flag you would see that the gold stars look intentionally gold. I also know this is a legitimate flag because I still have the original box it was shipped in back in 1943 and its return address is the Office of the Quartermaster General, Washington DC.

[Tonyaray]

Nava1974, why is your flag laying on the floor? The flag should never touch anything beneath it, ever.

[NAVA1974]

Originally Posted by Tonyaray

Nava1974, why is your flag laying on the floor? The flag should never touch anything beneath it, ever.

Not guilty. I stole that pic from eBay.

Nick

[Tonyaray]

Csaanv,

You are correct about the actual Gold Star Mothers Flag, it is a small banner with a gold or blue star. Check out the link I have provided 48 Star Flags with Gold Stars or Stripes (U.S.), you will see why I am not able to accept that this is a discoloration issue. There are flags with gold stars in existence, yet this is the only place I have found that does not support that. If this is a chemical issue, then why are the stitching around the stars remarkably white? Why are the only 9 stars on the opposite side gold, when the rest are white?