Another Bristol Fake Flag?

[29horses]

Hello all, there is an estate sale today and I am extremely skeptical on this alleged 1897 Nashville 2nd Virginia UCV Reunion Flag.

-Battle Honors are out of order which is very odd
-The big 2 on the right side seems to be the same strange font used on other flags
- The stitching for the red portion of the flag seems wrong
-Same font as other Bristol fakes

Thoughts? My gut is to stay the hell away from it.

 

[JOHN42768]

Welcome, enjoy

 

[UCVRelics]

Welcome From THE Heart Of Dixie. It is indeed a fake Bristol flag. These flag were made from old sail cloth and the stars, printing and raggedness are all tell tell signs.

 

[Gandycreek]

First time I've heard of the fake Bristol flags for a long time. They were all over eBay back in the day !

 

[UCVRelics]

CSA flags | Ranks, Uniforms, Clothing, & Gear

An appraiser who specializes in Civil War items told me that he hasn’t seen an authentic CSA flag on the open market in over ten years. The few outside state, museum & specialist collections are extremely rare. Unless the flag had been conserved, the chance of a 160 year old item even surviving...

civilwartalk.com

 

[JackADriscoll]

I def feel like these are becoming collectable as decorative pieces in their own right I think they look nice as long as the seller is honest

 

[29horses]

I def feel like these are becoming collectable as decorative pieces in their own right I think they look nice as long as the seller is honest

yeh agreed. This was not the case certainly. For example, the auctioneer literally described the item as a "battle flag with unknown provenance". It ended up selling for $500. My soul hurt a little for the fella that bought it. Thank you all for the contributions.

 

[oddballaffliction]

I was at that auction as well. I believe it sold for $750. I didn't bother to tell the new owner. I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. The auctioneer didn't bother to say either, which I thought was uncouth of him. He also failed to say in any listing that he had reserves on most of the decent items...

 

[oddballaffliction]

My apologies. It could have been $500. I wasn't really paying attention!

 

[JackADriscoll]

I was at that auction as well. I believe it sold for $750. I didn't bother to tell the new owner. I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. The auctioneer didn't bother to say either, which I thought was uncouth of him. He also failed to say in any listing that he had reserves on most of the decent items...

Sometimes unscrupulous people let mystery be the bait. Buyer beware and all that. They sleep at night by saying they ain't lying directly

 

[29horses]

yeh agreed. This was not the case certainly. For example, the auctioneer literally described the item as a "battle flag with unknown provenance". It ended up selling for $500. Thank you all for the contributions.

I was at that auction as well. I believe it sold for $750. I didn't bother to tell the new owner. I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. The auctioneer didn't bother to say either, which I thought was uncouth of him. He also failed to say in any listing that he had reserves on most of the decent items...

well hello fellow central Virginian! I ended up snagging that Pepper-box pistol. And yeh he didn't say anything about reserves until right before the good items were up.

 

[oddballaffliction]

Very nice! I got the giant 10" confederate cannon ball. It's in great shape, and still has the wooden fuze holder in it. Hard to find with the fuze holder. I was pleased, my wife was not as thrilled...

 

[29horses]

Very nice! I got the giant 10" confederate cannon ball. It's in great shape, and still has the wooden fuze holder in it. Hard to find with the fuze holder. I was pleased, my wife was not as thrilled...

Very nice! And I understand your pain there sir!

 

[Hunter65]

I think all of our wives think " if it's an investment how come we don't sell anything lol".

 

[oddballaffliction]

Or the adage that 'my biggest fear is that I die and my wife sells my things for what I told her I paid for them'...

 

[Rusk County Avengers]

I've never heard of "Bristol Flags" before. This thread and so forth has given me an interesting education!

Halfway curious to learn more of these fakes.

 

[Hunter65]

I had not heard of these flags either so excellent information.

 

[Hunter65]

It seems a lot of auction houses are going with the disclaimer " we are not experts so bid based on your own knowledge ". I can understand if a auction house specializes in jewelry and they have some militaria come through with a grouping but if a auction house does militaria regularly they should at least try to authenticate their items.

Guess it's more profitable to just throw out the disclaimer.

 

[scooter748driver]

Welcome from the Fort Sumter and the Fredericksburg forums.

Post some pics of the pepperbox if you can

 

[G Low]

I def feel like these are becoming collectable as decorative pieces in their own right I think they look nice as long as the seller is honest

I think so too it would look cool hanging on the wall until the civil war geeks come over and start dogging it out.