187

Navy Frigate USS CONSTITUTION, Old Ironsides, Commemorative Display Keepsake Box

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:650.00 USD Estimated At:800.00 - 1,000.00 USD
Navy Frigate USS CONSTITUTION, Old Ironsides, Commemorative Display Keepsake Box
War of 1812
Navy Frigate USS CONSTITUTION a.k.a “Old Ironsides” Commemorative Wooden Box Made from Ship’s Material
(1927 - Not Dated), Navy Frigate USS CONSTITUTION, a.k.a “Old Ironsides,” Commemorative Display Keepsake Box, Made from Wood and Copper from its rebuilding in 1927, Choice Extremely Fine.
The American Frigate USS Constitution was launched in 1797 as one of the original ships of the United States Navy. In 1927 it underwent a major renovation, and materials that were replaced were sold to raise money for the effort. This beautifully crafted Wooden Keepsake Box with fitted lid made from original Wood and likely Paul Revere Supplied Copper, salvaged from the USS Constitution (a.k.a. “Old Ironsides”) during its rebuilding in 1927, measuring 7” x 2.5” x 4”. The corners of the tiered lid and the bottom sides are decorated with triangles of copper. The top lid has a round Copper Medallion and there is a rectangular panel on the front that provides information on the ship. Top medallion; Across the top rim above an intricate and beautiful bas-relief of the frigate: “OLD IRONSIDES”, beneath the ship: “LAUNCHED 1797, 1804 TRIPOLI, 1812 GUERRIERE JAVA and 1815 CYANE LEVANT”, around the curve on the bottom: “U.S. FRIGATE CONSTITUTION”. Front marker reads; “THIS MATERIAL WAS TAKEN FROM THE ORIGINAL HULL OF THE U.S. FRIGATE CONSTITUTION KEEL LAID 1794 REBUILDING 1927”. There is a fine crack on the front right side panel and lacking one small nail. A highly popular commemorative example from our most historic Navy ship, now located at Boston harbor and the first of this type we have offered.
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy, named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America. She is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat.

Constitution was launched in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. Joshua Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so Constitution and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. Constitution was built in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts at Edmund Hartt's shipyard. Her first duties with the newly formed U.S. Navy were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.

Constitution is most noted for her actions during the War of 1812 against the United Kingdom, when she captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane, and Levant. The battle with Guerriere earned her the nickname of "Old Ironsides" and public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. She continued to serve as flagship in the Mediterranean and African squadrons, and circled the world in the 1840s.

During the American Civil War, she served as a training ship for the United States Naval Academy. She carried American artwork and industrial displays to the Paris Exposition of 1878.

Constitution was retired from active service in 1881, and served as a receiving ship until designated a museum ship in 1907. In 1934, she completed a three-year, 90-port tour of the nation. Constitution sailed under her own power for her 200th birthday in 1997, and again in August 2012 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her victory over Guerriere.