Hey ScouterStan, let’s talk about patch trading within the order of the arrow. This question came up on the YouTube channel where they asked more about the different types of OA patches and what can and should not be traded. First, let’s briefly discuss the history of the Order of the Arrow. This was the Honored Camper Society of the Boy Scouts of America founded in 1915. So this has been around quite a bit and patches or badges were collected from that time on. This kind of set the stage for a lot of different patches and different periods where patches or badges were being developed to be more intricate and more complex in their design. Now, if you’re not familiar with patch trading or collecting badges, there are videos and podcasts in our catalog that talk directly about patch collecting and getting into the craze of patch collecting. Now there are three main types of patches or collection groups that a lot of collectors will look for.
The first one is lodge flaps. This is the identification of that lodge that that the Order of the Arrow is based on. That lodge has many different chapters and many different events go on within that lodge and the chapters, and they all could warrant a patch. Now, within the lodge, there’s usually a totem that’s on the flap that represents a visualization of that lodge. I’m in the Tipisa Lodge, which is a red teepee. That’s our totem that’s on our flaps. When I was tapped in back in the 80s, it was I was with Makajwan, and Makajwan had a mourning dove and a red arrow near the mourning dove, and that was their totem. So every lodge has a totem that’s represented on the flap. In addition to that, you also have either the Floridly or the letters BSA on the flap to identify it as the Honor Society of Scouting. The last big rule is the three W’s representing words that the Lodge and the Order use all the time.
The second big group that a lot of people collect is all of the event patches. Now these events can be major events like the National Order of the Arrow Conference NOAC. They could be conclaves, they could be regional meetings, they could be a lot of different things. Lodges will have up to four or even 6 different events throughout the year. Each one of those can be represented and these event patches sometimes create a bigger patch. So if the collector was putting these together to put on a camp blanket or a jacket, they could have this all one year of events all put together. So it’s amazing to see all of the different things that could go on there.
The third group is special editions. There are lodge flaps that use all one color of thread and it’s, amazing because you can see by the stitching the different things that are on the flap. So there’s some, there’s all these different things they can do. They have patches that glow in the dark. They have chapter patches. Many of the lodges will have chapters that have a patch that comes out every year. So this is something that’s also collected, especially if the collector is focusing on one particular lodge, they’ll have to consider all the different chapters that are part of that lodge and all the patches that they come out with.
Now collecting etiquette and trading the patches, there are several rules to go by. All patch trading is a method to reinforce the Scout Oath and Scout law. So the Scout needs to think about being trustworthy and loyal helpful and friendly and all the other Scout laws. They also need to think about their collection and how to keep that part of their scouting experience alive.
Now in trading Order of the Arrow patches, this can vary as far as the rules. Typically there are two groups in trading patches. You have youth trading patches with youth overviewed by adults and then you have adult trading and that’s done on their own. And that doesn’t necessarily have to be an event. There are occasions, as long as it’s supervised and well monitored, where adults can trade patches with youth. There’s a Gray area within the Order of the Arrow. This basic age group varies from Scouting America, where in a troop situation the youth turns into an adult at the age of 18, whereas in the Order of the Arrow, they remain a youth until they’re 21. So there’s a three-year gap there. We often refer to it as 18 plus. Once the youth is 18 plus, they’re treated as an adult in many regards. And there is a video and podcast about this very issue. So please check out the catalog, it will answer a lot of questions.
Now there is a way to find a value on many of the new patches that are coming out. A lot of them will have either a code on the back of the patch, or a QR code of some kind where the scout can scan it and find out how rare the patch is, and how many were made. Of course, they always could look up the individual patch on many of the Internet services such as eBay and so on, where these patches are being sold. So that gives it a cash value of sorts so that they can weigh that against the patches that they want to trade with for the other patch. So it’s a way of weighing all of that out.
Another big one is the condition, the age of the patch. Patches are made of cloth and thread, and they do degrade over time, so the condition must be also considered. If you have a patch from the 30s that’s in mint condition, its value is greatly increased. A lot of collectors may have one that’s not in such great condition, but they want to replace what they have with something in better condition to improve their overall collection.
When you’re preserving patches, there are specific things you need to do to retain some of that value. Now these could go into books with plastic dividers with each patch displayed in the book, or they could go into a display case or even frames. These storage binders and ways of preserving these patches need to be maintained. They need to keep them dry. They need to keep as much oxygen away from the patches. There are a lot of things, especially with very old patches.
Some of the patches that are collected are in poor condition and can be worn such as on a camp blanket or a jacket. There are ways of displaying these patches representing history without damaging them or using them on things like blankets and jackets to make others aware of those patches’ existence. It is amazing how many patches and badges are out there.
You do not have to be a member of the Order of the Arrow to trade or purchase patches. You do have to be a member if you are planning on wearing them on your uniform.
How to start collecting This is a huge question for a lot of scouts and scouters. It’s quite simple. They have Ttraitories and different patch and badge trading opportunities within your council. It’s a matter of getting the council’s schedule and trying to mirror up a session where you can go to one of these Ttraitories. This is an awesome way for a Scout troop, Cub Scout pack, or even a crew to go to these trading events and look over what is out there. Some are focused on all kinds of memorabilia and others are focused on the Order of the Arrow patch collecting. Either way, the council will often have a lot of leftover patches from different events and different things, and they will often give scouts patches to start collecting. They will have some that they can collect with one another and try to collect with people at the event. So it’s a great way to learn the process of trading patches. With the Scout values being used in that trading process, remember to always tie it back to those Scout values whenever you’re talking with the scouts. Patch collecting helps promote fellowship history and tradition, especially in the Order of the Arrow. So definitely get involved in getting your scouts to put the Scout Oath and Scout Law into practice. This is yet one of those other things that we do in scouting to help our scouts and we do so much work for them. It’s so important that they have these opportunities and it’s enjoyable when they get these collections together. The pride that they have is just amazing. So give patch trading a try, especially with the Order of the Arrow. Those patches are amazing. It’s rare for them to use just the standard 6 thread colors. They’ve used up to 30-40 different thread colors on some of the patches. It’s just amazing. So definitely look into it and I hope to see you on the trail.
