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.