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Blake Keasey, author of the ISCA red and white strip column, is in town today. We got to comparing our air base collections and came up with the following results. Including non-red and white, there are a few khaki and red and blue and blue strips, we confirmed 186 strips. Blake probably has the largest collection with 160 strips. There were about a half dozen strips that are on the list of strips that neither of us could confirm. How they were reported in Art Hyman’s early work, we’re not sure. They may be out there though and that would put it up to 192. We are also still finding un-reported strips so the real total could be over 200. This is easily twice as many as all of the other military base strips.
There’s always something new in this hobby. Just answered a customer’s question about the type of plastic back on a merit badge we’re auctioning. He needed to know if it was a plain plastic back or has the BSA logo in the plastic. Learn something new everyday. And some thought that those of us who collect thread type, i.e. silk vs. cotton, in tan merit badges were crazy.
Just prior to Christmas I ran into my old Lodge Advisor who is now an Assistant Section Advisor. He said that next year (2006) the OA is going to change the ratio for NOAC to 1 to 1 adult to youth in order to try handling as many as 14,000 attendees. The facilities at Michigan State University can accomodate a group that large. That will be something to see! He said the low range they are planning for is 11,000. That would still be 3,000 more than the largest NOAC. With the 100th anniversary coming up in 10 years, I see why they could want to do this. Could it also be that they make a profit on this event? Hmmmm….curious minds want to know.
Camp patch collecting is one of my personal favorites. One of the frustrating problems though is finding patches with no wording or just initials on them. Therefore whenever we can get some background its helpful to keep it around. Here’s some information about the early patches from Camp Ti-wa-ya-ee out of New York.
From eBay seller pinetreedan:
This is a gold felt Camp Ti-Wa-Ya-Ee,(TYE) Patch from the 1930’s Camp. TYE was operated by the Erie County Council and was located in Holland, New York. There were also two other similar patches: A Dark Blue one was awarded to top boy leaders and Scoutmasters; The Red one was awarded to qualified Scouts at Camp. The Gold one was rarely awarded and has been rated as next to impossible to find.
It is believed that every camper received a standard patch starting in 1939 and that the three different “brown indian” patches were not awarded after the 1938 Camp TYE season.
The More family certainly tried to help keep the economy green this Christmas. After a marathon wrapping session Christmas Eve, it struck me that there is a common joy in opening presents as there is when getting a neat find in a group of Scout patches.
It doesn’t really matter the value of the find. Its just a certain psychological “kick” from the unknown. We enjoy receiving estates and and large lot groupings just to see what’s in there. Now for us this happens on a regular basis so we are jaded. It usually takes something pretty special to get us to notice. Still, we can enjoy going through a collection and seeing the things we’ve not seen before. This happened recently with a little grouping of 1983 World Jamboree participant pieces. Nothing killer but it was just fun to see things we had not seen before.
Much of the joy on Christmas morning is seeing the group of presents and the sense of expectation and excitement of the unknown. Then comes the un-wrapping which is often a frenzy and the sense of discovery of what was inside. If we keep that with our patch acquisitions, we’ll be doing alright.
Occaisionally we host guests in our office and warehouse. The look on their eyes are like that of a kid in a candy shop. They don’t know where to begin nor what they’ll find. I read an article prior to the holidays that there is some of this when people go shopping. Its the sense of explorartion and then the excitement of finding something new or different that they weren’t expecting. The researchers have been able to prove that it gives off a chemical reaction that makes us feel good. Its all about dopamine and adrenaline.
It seems like this is becoming the fake reporting blog. Here’s today’s featured un-described fake – a Tenderfoot Achievement patch.
Ok, where to start. Maybe I should play this as ‘find the mistakes in this picture’ game. Being cut-edge is not the give away although the original issue is on square kahki people did cut these down when they put them on their uniform.
Mistakes – CD with polyester thread – these came out in the era of loom embroidery and mostly were of silk thread or some later ones may have had cotton. They did not have a creslon back. The embroidery was more distinct and detailed. The color of the twill was brown khaki, not green. There weren’t that many stars on the eagle’s shield. There are more, such as the design of the eagle, but they are not as easy to pick-up.
Unfortunately one of our customers got burned thinking they were getting a bargain. If they had only contacted us, we would have told them.
I guess today’s a day for catching up on blog comments.
In the space of a month there has been the auction of a real 214 Gimogash patch and then more recently one of the fakes. The real one closed at $13,000 and change (a fair, maybe even cheap, price). It obviously brought out another one although the second turned out to be a fake. It just re-enforces previous posts – eBay is the wild, wild west! Buyer beware unless buying from a trusted seller. Certainly finds can be made but there’s also danger.
Note how this seller titled and worded her listing:
HERE I HAVE A NICE WOOL PATCH, I WAS TOLD THAT IT IS A BOY SCOUT SERVICE PATCH. I DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS KIND OF ITEM SO I WILL LET YOU DECIDE.IT MEASURES JUST UNDER 4 INCHES ON ALL THREE SIDES. IF YOU SHOULD HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE MORE PICTURES PLEASE ASK.
She went on with a reply:
hello all, i am adding this revision because i have had countless emails in regards to this item. i have had emails asking to end this item (auction) because i have it listed wrong, and thats its a very valuable item, i also had emails saying that its not a valuable item. as i stated in the listing i do not know what this item is and that you decide. i am by no means a expert or claim to know anything about this kind of item listed above. so please use your best judgement when bidding. all items are as is and all sales are final, i have this clearly stated below. this is a auction and a binding contract. also please do not ask me to end this listing because i will not, it is unfair to the bidders that are bidding and it is also unfair to the ones who are watching and maybe planning on bidding. so please i ask again do not ask me to end the auction. all items as is, all sale are final. (italics are Roy’s) so please if you have questions or would like more pictures just ask and i will email you more and answer the questions if i can. thank you, happy holidays, and good luck to everyone! christina (goodiestosee)
I did ask a question – show me the back. Here it is. It is WRONG!
Here is the front of this fake:
Here’s the front and back of a real one:
Dr. Gene Berman, an owner of both a 214 X1 and X2, posted this on Patch-L:
I have received several emails asking my opinion
as to why the Lodge 214X2 that was on Ebay at the end of November
(#7724955552) had such vigorous bidding and finished at $13K plus while
the 214X2 just finished a couple of days ago had few bids by comparison
and sold at $750 or thereabouts.
I do not claim to be an expert on Lodge 214 but
having an X1 and X2 in my collection now and having had 2 others through
the years including the one that belonged to the November seller I did
have a means of comparison. One thing of interest is tht the screen used
to make the X1’s and X2’s is the same. Only the material changed.
First of all the seller in November was an actual member of that OA
Lodge. I knew him from our original deal in 1988. Secondly, the
lettering etc. matched up perfectly.
Lodge 214 is probably the toughest number in a Classic OA Number set
with probably less than 1/2 dozen X1s in collectors hands and less than
1 dozen X2 in collectors hands. While I had no reason to bid on it, its
understandable why some of the most prominent members of the hobby bid
the amounts they did to obtain this coveted item.
While I am in no way knocking the one sold a couple of days ago, it
did not have the provenance to an original member of the lodge that the
earlier patch did and the scan, “just looked funny”. The lettering did
not match up to any known patch with known provenance. That is not to
say it might not be authentic but my guess is those who bid on the
earlier one recognized these two deficiencies in the later one, and were
not willing to invest in the unknown.
Hope that explains the liklihood to those who were surprised either
by the amount the first sold for or the amount the second one sold for.
Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah and a great New Year to all from the Big
Apple,
Gene Berman
From Paul Myers about a recent eBay auction of a really tough 142 Papikitchee neckerchief patch.
Here’s what the auction said:
IN THE EARLY 1970s I WAS ISSUED 1 OF THESE PATCHES. THIS PATCH IS LIKE NEW VERY CLEAN. I WAS ONLY ABLE TO BUY 1 OF THIS PATCHES IN MY LIFE TIME. IT IS 7 1/2″X5 1/2″.THIS PATCH HAS BEEN KEPT VERY WELL.ALL THE COLORS ARE VERY BRIGHT.THIS IS A GEM. GOOD LUCK!
From Paul:
Here’s a fascinating one for the discussion. 25 count them 25 BIDS. $80. winning bid. I bought these from men on my roundtable staff 15 years ago for $100. each. Sold a couple for $250 PLUS. None of the 25 major Indiana collectors would give over $80. for it. Including me, I have 2 in duplicates. GUESS THERE NOT WORTH $100.
From Mike McAdams:
CAL HOLDEN (83)
If you could hear taps playing Wednesday, it was for Cal Holden, who passed on to be with the Lord (Dec. 14th) after an extended battle with cancer. He was 13 days shy of his 84th birthday.
A passionate scouter for most of his life, Cal was one of the foremost collectors of boy and girl scouting memorabilia in the world. He was so well known in the business, that the US Postal Service asked him to help with the design of a stamp honoring the birth of scouting for its 1910s decade project, while Hollywood studios would ask for his help in finding period scout uniforms for movies.
There was a reason he dedicated his life to scouting, and that was because a scout helped save his life after a skiing accident in 1945. He called it a miracle, and made it his life mission to spread the virtues of scouting. Cal grew up in Holden, Mass., graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1943, moved to Ohio and worked for PPG in Barberton as a chemical engineer for 40 years. He retired in 1983, and spent the years since putting together his scouting collection. He was in the process of writing a book on Girl Scout collectibles when he passed away.
Cal was also known as the resident Doylestown historian, heading up the writing and printing of two books on the history of Doylestown, most notably the 284-page, 175th anniversary edition in 2002. He was also instrumental in starting the Rogues’ Hollow Historical Society.
Cal was a 57-year member of the Doylestown United Methodist Church, holding several positions, including adult Sunday School leader for many years. He married Frances Britton in 1945, and they raised four children at their home in Doylestown. Surviving are sons Don of Gurnee, Ill., Dick (wife Cindy) and Ed (Sally) both of Holden, Mass., and Art (Jean) of Doylestown; eight grand children and two great grand children.
In lieu of flowers, friends are asked to make a memorial contribution to The Boys Scouts of America, Great Trails Council, or the charity of their choice.
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