President Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900s used a West African proverb he learned “Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far” to govern his foreign policy. This came to mind last week as we handled the transfer of the Morley-Topkis collateral collection that was part of Dr. Horne’s purchase for the Las Vegas International Scouting Museum.

This collection of about 9,000 patches has been described as the most valuable OA collection not in a Museum. We conducted an on-site inspection and carried personally some of the “biggest sticks” in the hobby. See below. Someone is now going to be able to “Speak softly and carry the biggest patches.” Many of these have never been on the market. In visiting with Jeff and Bill they recounted the efforts they went to in search of some of these patches. Literally they spent decades looking for some of these patches. Just amazing.

We are in the process of preparing the collection to be offered to the hobby. There are several possible ways it may come out. Check back here and our preview page for updates.

For a slide show of some of the offerings, click on the image below: