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:

OLD WOOL BOY SCOUT PATCH

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