Finally Found One! Rare OA Totem Pin Hidden on a 1950s Scout Uniform

 

For years I’ve been telling people that in all the collections I’ve unboxed, I had never found an Order of the Arrow totem pin. That streak is over, and how it ended is a good story.

 

Months ago I bought a Scouting collection from New Mexico, and I kept the 1950s Explorer uniform hanging in my warehouse. I had already unboxed it. Then a Venturing Scout and her mom came by to pick through some free items before a Philmont trip. When I pulled the uniform off the shelf to show her, I lifted up a patch I had never touched. Underneath, clipped to the arrow ribbon, was a silver Brotherhood stag head totem pin, the kind collectors call a Caldwell pin.

 

My friend John Ortt helped me figure out exactly what it was. He is one of the few guys I know who focuses on these pins, and it turns out to be a duplicate for him, so I plan to make sure he ends up with it. I like to think handing out free belts and buckles that day had something to do with the luck.

 

If you have a Scouting collection that is ready to be passed on to the next generation, call, text or email me and let me hear the story. You never know what might be hiding under a patch.

 

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