AAA School Safety Patrol Badge

AAA School Safety Patrol program since the 1920's. 

Have Questions? Have a story you want to share about when you were a safety Patrol Boy/girl? Send it to our email us at:  Info@safetypatrolbadge.com 

Current Affairs and Market.
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COUNTERFEIT BADGES BEWARE

Buyer beware!! Corporal Badges, Corporal Badges from 1940-1950's in brand new condition. Aside from being that old in new condition, there can't be 20 new badges found "suddenly". On 1970's badges after examining closely and using an acid test, the chrome is all wrong!. The backing from older patrolman badges may be resoldered onto a newer badge to raise the price. The chrome looks  from the 70's but it has a backing used in the 40's and 50's. We have the timeline for every backing and the reason it was changed and when it was changed. This information is from a former GRAMMES employee for 40 years, up until they closed their doors in the 60's. We have samples of ALL the different badges ever made by GRIMES since 1921.  There are 9 different types of badges starting in 1921 on up to the present. We tested some of these "vintage" badges and will prove when they were made with a simple acid test. 

Updated 6-18-2013 

We've been asked many times about counterfeit badges made in China. Our answer is always the same. We have NEVER come across one. After 1970, with the bankruptcy of L. F. Grammes & Sons, the original manufacturer and supplier from 1920 to 1965, the contract to supply AAA badges from 1970 to present went to companies in China. ALL badges made from 1970 ARE MADE IN CHINA under contract. THEY ARE NOT counterfeit!!!. All Badges with a 'square" backing to hold the pin that DO NOT have  "Grammes, Allentown" stamped . ARE MADE IN CHINA. If the back of your badge is square like the picture and DOES NOT have "Grammes, Allentown" stamped on it , IT WAS MADE IN CHINA but it is NOT counterfeit.

 

Updated 4-13-2013

People are finally getting it! They're NOT paying crazy prices for badges worth one quarter of their collector value. Case in point; The value of the current "Star Trek" Patrol badges have come down down in price they are plentiful. $5-$10 on these badges at the most. To you new collectors, ANY AAA badge with a "square" on the back holding the pin, isn't worth more than $12-$18 dollars for the silver Patrolman's and no more than $20-$30 for a green, red, or blue Officer's AAA Badge. For some reason people see color and pay $50 to $60 OR MORE for a badge only worth $30. The "brand new" Corporal Badges being sold, if they are REAL, are only worth $150 Collector Value. They are being sold for $250-350 because people want to complete their collections. If they are fakes, they are only worth $10 at most. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BUYING AND CHECK THE VALUE. . If you don't pay the crazy prices, the seller will reduce the price. email me with any questions or problems. We maintain a database of over 400 collectors and can get the word FAST and shut down a dishonest dealer. 

PRICES Continued to fall in 2012!!

Updated 1-31-2013
The end of 2012 was great for the collector but bad for the sellers. The craziness of AAA Badge collecting over the last 6 years has finally leveled off and prices are about where they should be. NOW is the time to start your collections folks but be careful of what you buy and ask questions. Dishonest sellers are just throwing a bunch of badges together and claiming they are a "complete set" . When I reminded one seller that his "complete set" of Patrolman badges was missing 4 badges, he email me back and said "This is MY complete set". Obviously he KNEW what a set was but still listed the deceiving auction. This site has educated the collector/buyer and rewarded the asshole with NO BIDS. The wise collector wanting to sell has gone underground and as a result, I am seeing more and more "square backed" badges from the late 60's, 70's and 80's. For those not familiar with the different types of "soldered backs" please read the rest of the blog to educate yourself.

Badges from the 30's, 40's, 50's and early 60's are far and few in between, I suspect collectors are holding on the them until the market goes up. The "Oval AAA" (AAA with an oval around it) badges from the late 70's and 80's are trending now. Since these badges are made in china and were cheaply made, finding them without rust is getting harder and harder. If you find one in good condition, pick it up even if you pay more than the $10- 15 price.

The "Star Trek" badges from the late 90's to Current AAA can be had for $5.00. Many are selling fopr more than $8-10. I think that's a little high but if you want them, that's what you have to pay. Expect them to come down in value soon.

 History

The original badges from 1920's, both the School Boy and Transitional badge have dropped in value due to the increase in good quality badges being found on ebay  and other online auctions and selling for well under the previous collectors market value. 80% of these rare badges have been sold for under a $100 which was unheard of in the first half of 2012. This is the time to BUY, it's a "buyers/collectors market".

  

Value of the base starting prices of "Style 2" badges has increased and remain the most popular of the styles. The 40's and 50's were the Golden Age of the Safety Patrol Boys, following the "Founding Age" in the 20's and early 30's   

Value of the "Style 3" badge from the 80's and 90's due to the condition of the remaining badges. Because of the poorer quality of the "china" made badges, t's getting harder and harder to find them without rust. If you are interested in getting a collection, now is the time.

Collector Values Updated

Updated October 15th,  2012

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Note:

GRAMMES, ALLENTOWN PA made about 90% ofthe badges . There has been much said about counterfeit  or fake badges.  I will say after GRAMMES in Allentown went out of business, there's a controversy after the mid 70's on where and who made them. I don't speculate on where or who made them. I can only tell you the different styles I have found. The badges that are stamped GRAMMES are the real, authentic, original manufacturer Badges with a "square" soldered backing without the GRAMMES, ALLENTOWN markings were made from 1973 and up. I owned, bought, traded and sold at least a hundred over the last 10 years. Condition affects price. Bent, flattened, dented, missing paint all affect the price. A dented Captains Badge from the 1920's may only be worth half  of the $100-$200 value for one in "Near Mint" condition. Don't pay top dollar for poor quality.  

Discovered recently for sale was an earlier version of the "Captain School Boy Patrol", the earliest found so far. It was made with a thinner metal and had more Lead content making it easy to bend. Of all of the badges similar to this NONE have been found to have been colored blue like the rest of the styles. No trace of paint could be found on closer examination. Either the paint was poor quality and was worn or fell off after 90 years or they were made without painting them. If you have found a AAA badge that doesn't follow the rules, contact us and we will try and identify the year of manufacture. 

Below are badges from other collectors. . 

 Above, the Schoolboy Lieutenant Badge is the rarest

of all. In this condition worth $400-$600

Below

The WES D. SEYLLER Collection

All 9 AAA Patrolman Badges from 1920 to 2012

All badges grade Very Fine to Unused

Today's market value estimated to be $350-$400