Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The public will get the chance to see something next month at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, that might be considered one of the rarest pieces of American artifacts around.

Members of the museum got the chance to see it first on Wednesday:  a 21-star United States flag.  The blue field has 21 stars representing 21 states, made rarer by the fact it starts with a white stripe instead of a red one.  It likely was made around 1819, in the year after Illinois became a state.

“The original flag code of 1818 stated that for each new state added, a new star would be added the following July fourth,” said Dr. Ian Hunt, Chief of Acquisitions at the museum.  “On July 4, 1819, this flag would have been produced, or shortly thereafter.”

Or, maybe it wasn’t made then, says Hunt.

“There have been some questions raised about this flag, regarding whether or not it is truly an 1818 flag, or whether it is, perhaps, an 1861 exclusionary flag,” said Hunt.

Hunt says one collector believed it had to be an exclusionary flag because it had never made it into his own collection before coming here.  He says it’s probably the real deal and likely flew on a merchant vessel.  The flag was hand-stitched originally, but some repairs have been made using machinery.

As for the flag starting with a white stripe rather than a red one?

“There were some theorizations about that,” said Hunt.  “The original 1818 flag code never specified whether you had to start with a white stripe or red.  A lot of those kinds of changes have since been made, in the late 19th century.  There have been revisions to the U.S. Flag Code numerous times.”

The flag will be on display to the public starting July 3rd, encased, and likely in a not-bright room so it doesn’t deteriorate further.