1947 World Jamboree French Maitrese Patch

I can remember dealers boasting of being the first to sell a Scout item for over $10,000. I think I can even remember a story of one selling for $25,000. But when I saw this auction I couldn’t believe my eyes. A patch that sold for over $71,000!

A quote from the listing: “This is the rarest patch from the Jamboree 1947 that I am proposing now on Ebay. With reference to the Jamboree 1947 French website… only 98 have been produced. I already proposed three rare patches from this Jamboree and get no complaints about their authenticity. This patch is 100% genuine. No Reserve!”

Very soon after this many similar pre-1950 World Jamboree items started appearing as others tried to cash in on some stratospheric bidding.