November 2013 Reference and Price Guide by Greg Bourlotos

November 2013  Reference and Price Guide

Here is the new guide for November 2013. There has been a lot of things going on in this area. Collectors are starting to pay attention to WHAT they are collecting. They are also starting to pay attention to pricing although we still see the newbie's paying 50-$60 dollars for badges made in then 70's and 80's, what we call the "China Made" badges. More and more "Corporal" badges are showing up, driving the prices down. One (1) Corporal badge so far has been found to be counterfeit/fake. The material was all wrong, the luster was all wrong and it appeared the oblong backing was taken off of a 1950's badge and soldered back on to the counterfeit/fake badge. No doubt it came from china. A Lieutenant and Captain "Transition" badge from the 1920's were auctioned on ebay so we know they exist.

DON'T OVERPAY for china made badges!

   

Search for the Holy Grail by Greg Bourlotos

This is an image of the "Chief" Badge used in some parts of New Jersey in the 50's and 60's. For some reason Passaic County, Essex countyand parts of Bergan county had a "Chief" of Patrol. The badges were NOT made by or for AAA, but each school had one made. The Chief assigned all special activity, like escorting a class to the museum or theater. The chief  checked all the posts including the Captain. He could reassign people and switch them around and he could make "subs" if needed. A "sub" was someone who helped out on the corner if one got busier and wore a belt BUT he didn't have a badge and was the same as someone filling in for a sick person and needed someone to watch his post.  He also represented the Patrol while the Captain and Lieutenant ran the daily happenings.Needless to say, any badge that has "Chief, School Safety Patrol" is a find and I would want it.

Collecting the AAA Safety Patrol Badges

I got a few emails asking which badges should they collect? I would say all of them, but to be practical, any period collection is pretty fun. The majority of the people interested are people who were part of the program. Considering it was started in the 20's, that leave a whole bunch of us out there. 

If all you want to do is put some badges on the wall, then your collection is easy to find. You can mix and match the badges from the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's and since no one can see the back of the badges they would appear to be a complete set. Grab a Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant, Patrolman and a gold Patrolman award badge and poof! Instant collection. 

The fun however is in the collecting, the auctions and waiting. It took seven years to complete my 1920's first issue School "Boy" Patrol badges. The Captain and Patrolman I managed to find and purchase only took a few years. It was the Lieutenant Badge that was hard to come by. First, it's very expensive and I never had the money when one did come up for auction. Second, they are rare and very seldom came up. Having the money at the exact time one came up for auction was the Holy Grail for me and it finally happened. I'm working on the 'transition" badge set now. It seems to be MORE elusive than the School Boy Badges. 

If your aim is to collect the badge set from your childhood and have some value, then pick one from the five (5) different sets dating from 1920 to early 1960's. It's a hobby, it's fun and it will probably fill a place in your heart you had as a child.

Rusty Badges showing up 

by Greg Bourlotos

If you've notice lately, you see badges that have rust on them.This is not a new trend but as the badges made in china get older, they are subject to rusting. That's because the badges made are cheaply made as opposed to the ones made by GRAMMES. Finding badges without the rust is going to be an issue in the coming years. Take advantage of it NOW and buy the good ones showing up. I suspect in in the next 10 years badges graded Fine, Very Fine, near mint and mint are going to be hard to come by. Speaking of grading, here is the grading scale we use.

Mint

Near Mint

Very Fine

Fine

Very Good

Good

Poor

Noncollectable. 

Think before you repair a badge. Anything except a perfect repair makes the badge noncollectable. The repair should be so good , a person can't tell it was repaired. I see badges on ebay with "gobs" of solder melted to hold the pin. The badge is worthless.