[american_flag_uk]

hey- boyfriend took some fresh pix of me and my flag collection- though ya'll might be interested!

[Peter Ansoff]

WOW!!!

I noticed the small one on the wall in the corner that looks like a US Customs flag -- like the Coast Guard ensign, but without the seal. Where did you come across that one? I have a photo somewhere of one of those flying over the Customs House in New Bedford, Mass.

Peter A.

[Rockdude_UK]

All you need with them is a Hammer and sickle





Joking!

[american_flag_uk]

1: what is a sickle apart from a coin found in the Harry Potter books!???
i asked 3 people and nobody knew!

2: the flag in the corner there i really had no idea what it was - i had guessed it was a wierd coastguard ensign - i had tried to identify it without success- and it was given to me by an American friend

[Peter Ansoff]

1: what is a sickle apart from a coin found in the Harry Potter books!???
i asked 3 people and nobody knew!

A sickle is a short-handled farming tool with a curved blade. It was used in Communist symbolism to represent agricultural workers, along with the hammer that represented industrial workers. The alliance of the "workers and peasants" was a major theme in their propaganda.

the flag in the corner there i really had no idea what it was - i had guessed it was a wierd coastguard ensign

I'm pretty sure that it's a US Customs flag. Attached is the photo I took of one such flag, on the Customs House in New Bedford in 2004.

Peter A.

[american_flag_uk]

ok - here s a closer up picture of the flag that was on the wall in the corner





i believe it is a reproduction from the bicentennial

i have another flag on the same sort of pole that has an unusual 35 star pattern

[Peter Ansoff]

Very interesting! That is actually the old version of the Customs Flag, with the stars in an arc above the eagle in the canton. The modern version (since 1951, I think), has the stars in a sunburst above the eagle, and several other differences in the presentation of the US arms. The Coast Guard ensign was changed at the same time. I have a small (boat-sized) Coast Guard ensign that has the old version of the arms.

BTW, my grandfather was a career officer in the Coast Guard. He retired with the rank of Commodore, which is rather unusual, because Commodore was not an official rank for most of the Coast Guard's history (he was promoted to it during World War II). I have his Commodore's pennant -- blue swallowtail with a single white star and the USCG insignia in the fly.

Peter A.

[american_flag_uk]

very nice

that was gifted to me along with several other things by a flag collector friend of mine in Texas called Dave Pawson - [nava member]

i bought the funny looking novlty flag hat off ebay off him and thats when he chucked some extra stuff in - very nice of him i say!
he still has 2ooo other flags anyway :P

[cdoug1]

There is an interesting article on the "civilian flag"

The Mystery of the Forgotten U.S. Flag

[american_flag_uk]

oh yes cdoug! - very nice!