Buying on Auctions

I wanted to touch on buying on auctions , particularly ebay. In my last post I said the market was down and a great time to get some nice deals IF they come up but you can still lose money on a bad deal and a bad badge. As a new collector if all you want is a badge to display then any badge with your rank will do. If you want a set then you can still get one pretty inexpensive. Since all the badges look the same from 1921 to the 1980 ( before the AAA appeared in the oval in the 1990's)  You can mix and match the Boomer Badge, the 60's, 70's and 80's badges and no one will ever know. Just pick a Patrolman, Sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain and you have an instant collection. BUT you have to watrch out on ebay when a seller is trying to charge top dollar for a mix and match set and trying to sell it as a pedigree set. A pedigree set is all one era, one style, all the same period. Anyone can tell by looking at the images they post. If the badges don't have the same backing holding the pin, it's mix and match. In the 60's, shortly after GRAMMES went out of business, there was a square back badge that didn't have GRAMMES, ALLENTOWN PA stamped. This is a separate set and combining the stype with GREAMMES and the one without GRAMMES, is still a mix and match. 

Mix and match sets aren't worth anything except the value of the individual badge. Whereas a set of BOOMER badges even without the Corporal gets a 20% bump over the value of the individual badges because of the time it took to collect them. 

I also want to say, yet again, there are no Sergeant or Gold award badges made before the 1940's Boomer Badge. I came across a fake 1930 pre-war Sergeant badge. Apparently someone took a 1930's backing and soldered it onto a 1960's badge. The plating was wrong just by looking at it. 

Another thing yu should watch is re-paints. MOst repaints are done so poorly a closeup image shows paint outside the areas and they never get the right color. Did you know all paint used on the AAA  badges before 1940 is lead paint? NO one can duplicate it these days and if they can, it would cost more than the badge. 

In closing remember to buy wisely and if you have any doubt, email us and we'll let you know. 

Market Watch

As most of you know the AAA badge collecting market is tight and prices have dropped for the more common badges. the "Boomer" badges are still the leading sellers

Pre-1940 badges are far and few in between these days and there are many more savy  collectors bidding and buying them. Overall prices on the "Boomer, Post 1940's badges" have dropped 25-30% and sometimes more. Corporal and Sergeant badges for the Boomers still in demand but not commanding the prices they use to bring last year. 

Service/Collar pins and their larger twins are becoming a hot item and selling for $8-13.00. Most buyers and sellers don't realize there are 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation pins. ( WE issued a ref/guide the last 3 years showing the difference, contact me and I'll send you a copy) All 1st gen are made in the USA. The 2nd and 3rd gen ( the AAA Oval) are all China made. I managed to pick up a complete set of 1st gen. for under $20 bucks. The Pins are an excellent (and inexpensive) way to collect something from your days as a kid. 

In case you haven't noticed, sellers are listing badges tht are rusty, dented and worn. Needless to say all China made badges will rust if not properly taken care of. They represent a major part of the AAA Safety Patrol History from the 1970's to present day. I bought and sold badges from 1921 without any special storage rust free. That is thew major differnce in USA GRAMMES, Allentown and Taiwan/China made. 

ANNOUNCEMENT

We're expecting our first pamphlet Guide to Collecting the AAA badges, pins and other memorabilia including a section on STATE and city issued badges. We're charging $2 for a printed copy and $1 online. Sorry, the info has been free for 8 years and costs keep going up.  Besides, how much is it worth to have a ref. guide when you're out at the garage sales this summer. 

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