Scouting Memorabilia

[Chris Atkinson]

Does anyone have a feel for the sort of value that quite mundane (as I
assumed them to be) bits of Scouting memorabilia have? For a few
examples: an old Middlesex county badge dating from (I suspect ) the
1930s or even earlier, original 'blackout' scout belt buckles , a
genuine Dinizulu 'bead' (on a 4-bead Gilwell Deputy Camp Chief Wood
badge), a 76-year old 'swastika' Medal of Merit, a 65-year old Silver
Acorn.

A friend has suggested that these are worth a sizeable sum, but I'm
finding it hard to believe these bits and pieces could fetch the sort of
sums he has mentioned. Some of them belonged to a Scouting 'personality'
and, if what my friend says is in any way right, I could see some
charity getting the benefit.
Chris A.

[Shaun Joynson]

TBH Chris,

The best way is to test the waters on Ebay.

Once you have an idea, stick em on there with a higher reserve and see
what happens.

[Brian Salter-Duke]

Post by Chris Atkinson
Does anyone have a feel for the sort of value that quite mundane (as I
assumed them to be) bits of Scouting memorabilia have? For a few
examples: an old Middlesex county badge dating from (I suspect ) the
1930s or even earlier, original 'blackout' scout belt buckles , a
genuine Dinizulu 'bead' (on a 4-bead Gilwell Deputy Camp Chief Wood
badge), a 76-year old 'swastika' Medal of Merit, a 65-year old Silver
Acorn.
A friend has suggested that these are worth a sizeable sum, but I'm
finding it hard to believe these bits and pieces could fetch the sort of
sums he has mentioned. Some of them belonged to a Scouting 'personality'
and, if what my friend says is in any way right, I could see some
charity getting the benefit.
Chris A.

Hi Chris,

I think your friend is right and these are worth a sizeable sum. They
are also important. Could I suggest that you photograph them and then
release them under the appropriate open Creative Commons license by
uploading them to Wikimedia Commons:-

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

If you then left a message, listing the images on Commons, for the
Scouting guys on wikipedia at:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Scouting

they would make use of them in Scouting articles there. Just having them
on Commons is valuable in itself as they can be used by anyone, so
knowledge of these old badges etc will not be lost, but spread.

The only problem is that modern badges are copyrighted by the Scout
Association and photos can not be uploaded to Commons. They can only be
uploaded direct to wikipedia and used only under the "fair use"
condition - the Middlesex county badge could for example be used on the
article that covers that region, and probably on no others. However, it
is possible that the copyright has run out after 50 years, so they could
be released under the Creative Commons license. That would need to be
checked. I could ask the guys who know more about copyright of images
than I do. In fact I have just done so.

Best wishes, Brian.

[MatSav]

Post by Chris Atkinson
Does anyone have a feel for the sort of value that quite
mundane (as I
assumed them to be) bits of Scouting memorabilia have? For a
few
examples: an old Middlesex county badge dating from (I
suspect ) the
1930s or even earlier, ...

I presented a Middlesex bage (1960's vintage) to the BSA Camp
where I worked for a Summer season in 1989. The area of
Massachusets that operated the camp site was based in Middlesex
County - thus, the badge (in that area, at least) was considered
quite valuable - I was told they changed hands for about 500 US
Dollars!

[Chris Atkinson]

In message <io57mo$bo2$***@dont-email.me>, MatSav <***@yahoo.co.uk>
writes

Post by MatSav
I presented a Middlesex bage (1960's vintage) to the BSA Camp
where I worked for a Summer season in 1989. The area of
Massachusets that operated the camp site was based in Middlesex
County - thus, the badge (in that area, at least) was considered
quite valuable - I was told they changed hands for about 500 US
Dollars!

Gulp!! I've still got a few of those, it's all a bit awesome isn't it.
Yes, I'd always figured that those of us who have been most of our lives
in the Movement would have an interest in memorabilia. But the value put
on these things ...?
It's a bit like going to an antiques fair and finding examples of the
tin-plate Hornby trains you had as a kid - hey, I had one of those - how
much??
I took Shaun's advice and had a look on ebay. First thing I found was a
Leader's Scout hat from the 1950s ... with an 11GBP asking price.
Think I'm going to put a few more strands of razor wire around the
estate ;^)
Chris A.