Sitting here and cataloging some new listings and just handled this item. 126 has always been a great lodge to me. Except for their 1990 issues, just prior to merging, everything from this lodge was tough. I remember when I started collecting in the early 1970s that any of the flaps from there were hard to find and even harder to trade for. This patch is the R2 which is much harder than their first issue, the R1 (differences are in the face and headress.)

Destry in our office is from lodge 240 which was in the same section with 126. This got us to talking about how patch availability and demand has changed over time. In the 1940s, many of these southern Illinois towns were much bigger than they are today. He said that 240 sent 4 troops to the 1950 National Jamboree! The 126 items are not necessarily commanding the prices that their scarcity would indicate in part because the area is not as populated today. This is the opposite situation as the early items from Florida, California, Nevada, Washington DC. Think about it. The population of these areas was MUCH smaller in the 1940s and 1950s (particularly before air conditioning). Now they are some of the fastest growing areas in the country and Scouting is following the population growth.

A little bit of a reverse situation, where a newer item is harder than the older items is the 123 fully-embroidered rounds. . Hal Rudd was a long time lodge advisor and very active trader in the 1950s through the 1960s but the solid rounds came out at the end of his really active trading tenure. Also, when the twills came out, that was all the lodge had. The fully embroidered pieces came out well after they had been issuing flaps and odd-shapes had lost their luster. Still, try to find some of these and you can look for a long time. They are even harder to find on some of the lodge neckerchiefs.