The One That Got Away…
Friday, October 16, 2009
Let me share with you my story that will probably ring a bell with many Boy Scout collectors. The story begins over 15 years ago when I was in college and had just filled my last need for my home lodge patch collection. In 1992 I purchased a collection from a Scouting friend which contained some great old OA pieces from my home state of South Carolina. I decided to move on to a new collecting interest since my primary collection was now complete. With only six lodges to collect (one of those I had already completed) the task didn't seem too daunting. Sure there would be hard issues to find but at that point some of the proliferation of modern flaps hadn't really taken off. For example compare where these lodges were in terms of sold flaps issued in 1992 next to where they are today.
Lodge Name, Headquarter City |
Solid Flaps in 1992 |
Solid Flaps in 2009 |
Bob White Lodge #87 Augusta, GA |
S7 |
S42 |
Atta Kulla Kulla #185, Greenville, SC |
S13 |
S36 |
Muscogee #221, Columbia, SC |
S20 |
S39 |
Un A Li'Yi #236, Charleston, SC |
S27 |
S67 |
Skyuka #270, Spartanburg, SC |
S12 |
S44 |
But even though I got in before these Southern conservative lodges starting getting liberal with their embroidery machines I was always going to have a tough time tracking down the really early and rare items. It took me the better part of six years to complete my Santee #116 collection (Florence, SC) but I knew that to really complete some of these other lodges I would have to hunt down some bears!
Well that brings me to this week and my sad story of the one that got away. I've been hard after the key pieces from Un A Li'yi #236 for a long time. The only problem is that these have been $1,000+ items since I started looking in 1992. Being a college student and later a school teacher I never had enough cash saved up to pull the trigger on them when one did make an appearance. For those who collect OA you might be familiar with these bug-bears that I've been tracking. They are the #236 C1 Chenille (1950s), the S2 (1962 Indian Pageant Flap), S3 (1963 Dance Team Flap) and the S4 (1967 Dance Team Flap).
My first chance was back in the early 1990s when I attended Chris Jensen's South Carolina Trade-O-Ree and he had a C1 up for auction. I believe the patch sold for just over $800 but this was more money then I had in my pitiful bank account. My next blown chance was in 2001 when a friend decided to sell off his South Carolina OA collection and arranged for me to be the eBay auctioneer. I auctioned off another C1, the'63 Dancers and '67 Dancers. All of them sold for over $2k each and again I was just the one taking the money not spending. My other big chance was more recently when I got in another consignment that included the C1 and two more of the dancer flaps. Once again the timing was not right for my patch account and these ended up in New Jersey (if you know what I mean).
So just this week imagine my surprise when an S4 1967 Dancers popped up on eBay. Finally my patch banking account was deep enough in the black that I could competitively go after this one and scratch one off the list. The bidding climbed higher all week and in the last few hours it was already over $2,000. Not to be deterred and seeking redemption for the ones that had slipped through my hands I readied my bids. I was prepared to bid live and also had a snipe set as a backup in case I needed it. With about 18 seconds to go I launched my first torpedo and scored a direct hit snagging the high bid of $2700+ with just seconds to go. I had torpedo #2 fire with just five seconds to go with a much stronger bid for insurance. It was sorta like when NASA recently launched a probe crashing into the moon. I threw everything I had at this auction hoping that this would be the day that I finally reeled in the one that had kept getting away.
| Ebay item - click to see what it went for | Link |
Boy Scout OA Flap Patch UNALIYI 236 1967 DANCERS WWW |
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So I close this post with a plea. If you are sitting on a stash of old stuff from the Palmetto State and just happen to have one of these four rare issues available for trade/sale how about contact me. I've got thousands of items in my Store that I would consider in trade and of course dead presidents to match. I'll post my true needs list in the future.
I invite anyone who wants to share a similar story about the "One that got away..." to do so in the comment box below. We can't all go to the pub to drown our tears but we can share the story with others - not that it makes us feel any better! 
 Occoneechee Lodge 104 solid flap collection Boy Scout Scouts BSA OA patches  US $600.00
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 CAHOKIA LODGE 126 S2 OA FLAP US $40.00
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 OA Flap Lodge 454 Kamehameha F 1b HI Mint RARE US $405.00
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 OA Lodge 150 Nakona first flap merged US $54.99
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 Boy Eagle Scout Max Silber Belt Buckle Order of the Arrow OA Badge Patch Flap US $49.99
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Patch Trading Video From Read Hall
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
One night during the evening trading session in Read Hall I broke out the camera and went on a little roaming video recording session. I wanted to catch the feel and flavor of the trading not record every patch there. This video might be useful also for showing young traders how much fun it can be to come to a national event. Some of the conversations that I get snippets of are pretty interesting too! Click the links below to see the utube videos.
Patch Trading In Read Hall at the 2009 NOAC
Patch Trading In Read Hall at the 2009 NOAC Pt. II
Monday Patch Trading Wrap-Up at the 2009 NOAC
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
I had some Internet connection issues yesterday so I was not able to get a fresh post. Trading is really good at the NOAC. Things have really improved at the evening trading which has now wrapped up on the official schedule. So where are the hot spots to throw down a blanket?
- In and around the Student Union which houses the NOAC trading post. The trading post sits on the 2nd floor of the building and there is a lobby across the hall that is staked out every day with nice couches for those who get there early. Outside there is a nice patio and a nearby bus stop so several people line the walkway with blankets and towels to trade on.
- At the Read Hall dorm. This is where the official evening trading has been Sat-Mon from 9:30-11:30. But it turns out that during the day the place stays full of traders. I was there Monday from about after lunch time til midnight with one small break. There was a constant flow of people. Many guys would stake out a comfortable spot on a chair or along the wall and trade for maybe a few hours and then roll out. Then within minutes somebody else would have taken the spot and started setting up shop. As you can imagine the big shots would get there early and set down a real spread. Monday was the first night that I didn't attend the show and was one of those guys with my blanket stocked up ready for the wave of traders after the show.
- Along the main roads. I have not personally traded along the roads but I have heard reports that some people are throwing down along a few of the key stretches of roads, especially the one between the arena and the heart of campus. That is where a lot of dorms are and the OA museum is down that way.
Here are some pics from the Monday night trading at Read Hall.
Day One Patch Trading Report
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Just a few thoughts about the first day of trading at the NOAC from my perspective. I was up with my contingent getting registered around noon on Saturday and saw just a few folks spread out. As I went through registration I could see why. The process was very organized as you rotated through various stops with a pair of guides receiving instructions. We had an opportunity to sign up for various activities as well as get our contingent picture taken. After all that was said and done (it took just under an hour) our guys had to go to their dorm to finish checking in with dorm assignments etc. It was at the housing check-in that you got your registration badge, lanyard, etc. From there my contingent headed to lunch (first meal on campus was Saturday supper). A few of my guys did come down to the TOR but that was at about 3:30 (the close time was pushed back to 5 PM).
As for the TOR being on campus. I think it was a great idea. Hopefully it will be a part of the next NOAC. But if some of the table renters expected floods of contingents to come in then they were disappointed. Friday and Saturday morning the traffic was pretty light. I did notice a good uptick from lunch until the closing Saturday but there were just smaller packs of contingent members coming through. Maybe a 1/2 dozen lodges that I saw honestly brought in their contingent on Saturday. I don't have a theory as to why there was not a better crowd. I can tell you that during check-in with my lodge it was NOT mentioned by any of the staff people. Perhaps there needs to be an official prescence from the TOR organizers up at registration telling people about it. Sure it was on the schedule but let's face it..check-in day is very hectic.
As for the PM trading....hmmm how do I put this nicely. The facility was/is AWFUL. It is in a dorm lobby that does have some nice couches (maybe 5-6) and there was an ATM in that lobby. Drawbacks? Everyone who skipped the show (mostly the non-registered traders leftover from the TOR) got there way early and staked out all the tables and places where you could sit down and set up. Those of us who sent to the show could find floor space here and there. The place was so tight you moved around shoulder to shoulder for the first hour until it cleared out.
I'll go ahead and throw another firebomb out since this is my blog. An ISCA guy yelled out to everyone that there was to be no youth-adult trading and that after one warning you would be asked to leave. Then he promptly left and that left only one ISCA guy to supervise. Rather than repeat all the nasty comments I heard from other traders that would be rather inflammatory about this situation let me just make one simple statement. I am an official registered contingent member at the NOAC. I signed the official Code of Conduct (that had to be witnessed for crying out loud!) and no where in there does it talk about this rule.
I went up the ISCA official (I will refrain from naming him) and asked him why he was enforcing this but not requiring that everyone in the room was a registered participant (as has been the big rule for years) and he had no answer.
Perhaps the ONLY bright side to the situation is that by 11:30 when the trading was supposed to end nobody turned out the lights and ran us out. There was still trading going on past midnight although it thined out quickly.
I haven't traded enough to figure out the hard issues (other than all limited edition delegates!) but I can tell you a few of the really common ones that were very easy to pick up: Witauchsoman 44 purple and yellow borders, Chattahoochee smy border, Nachamawat purple border, Kidi Kidish grey border, Tu Cubin-Noonie green border, Guneukitschik rmy border, and Woapeu Sisilija black border.
I will try and report on Sunday's trading soon. As for the griping above I'm just calling it like I see it and I'm sure that as this is MY blog you would expect nothing less!
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