Scout Patch Collectors

Friday Scouting Hot Finds Newsletter November 27, 2020

If you are not subscribed to Patch-L then you have missed a lively debate about the future of cataloging OA. Chris Jensen lit the match when he described his frustration with having no comprehensive way to ID patches any longer after OAimages was purchased by ISCA and crashed. From there people on all sides of the issue started chiming in!

During the back and forth it became obvious there are now two alternatives for the hobby moving forward. One is the long running effort by ISCA to take the old Blue Book project over (now rebranded). In this discussion Craig (the long serving president of ISCA) gave his most complete explanation of what happened to OAimages. He ended it with the a plea for people to join the effort they call the OA Insignia project.

John Athayde also jumped in as one of the lead people working on Patchvault. This home grown collectors effort started with Virginia guys but has branched out to include now over 250 lodges from all across the country. Some of you might remember that he was my guest on Episode #86 of my Scouting Hot Finds Radio Podcast.

I have two different batches of auctions to tell you about today. On my Patchblanket eBay Store I’m running over 200 live auctions with about 1/2 of those ending this weekend. Then over one of my other eBay accounts I decided to auction off some items from a 1950s collection that I got in. So far I have 81 live auctions running there on some really good old stuff.I have two different batches of auctions to tell you about today. On my Patchblanket eBay Store I’m running over 200 live auctions with about 1/2 of those ending this weekend. Then over one of my other eBay accounts I decided to auction off some items from a 1950s collection that I got in. So far I have 81 live auctions running there on some really good old stuff.

So to close out the thread here on OA cataloging. It’s all a labor of love and the editors who give up their time and share their collections are to be commended. People devoted untold hours of volunteer time to the original Blue Book that carried the hobby for a few decades. Moving forward I can say that all the momentum seems to be with the guys at Patchvault.org. I know that’s who I’m going to work with the try and get more lodges from the Carolinas listed including my own!

CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE NOVEMBER 27, 2020 ISSUE OF THE SCOUTING HOT FINDS NEWSLETTER