2500 HUNDRED Canadian cap badges found- Urgent help!!!

[ebro]

To quote Andy's earlier post, " Well to my eyes the cleaned up badges look pretty good! Better than repros... I would rather have a cleaned up original than a pristine "FAKE" anyday!
I just think it's a shame not to do something with them?"

A lot of members in the UK would agree with this assessment!

Eddie

[Sonofacqms]

"To be or not to be" that is the question . . !

From experience, having read the threads various members have put forward I feel that while these badges may be common on the other side of "the pond", they are not so common in other parts of the world.

I would stall the seller by asking him for a sample of each badge and try to clean them yourself to see how long it takes to clean a badge.

Do you definitely know if the ones he "cleaned" came from this lot?

I don't suppose there are sellers queuing around the block to buy them, so I would stay cool with the deal.

As 2747Andy says cleaned up originals are better than pristine restrikes, offer a job lot to forum members cleaned or uncleaned.

About thirty or so years ago there were a lot of 2nd and 4th VB East Surrey Glengarry badges around, they came from some store and at the time were very common. As time went by they disappeared into collections and now are quite sought after with prices accordingly higher than when originally sold, maybe these badges if cleaned could follow the same course.

The ball is in your court, best of luck.

[servicepub]

Go for it if you really think that you can get your money back within the first 200-300 badges because after that the market will be over saturated. Where you might be able to get $10. for the Royal Rifles now, I can assure you that in 6 months you will be lucky to get $2. for it and that would be part of a 'lot sale' to a dealer.
If you do make your money back after 300 badges then you can sell the rest for scrap. Personally, I think it is too much work for the return.

[Phillip Herring]

Most of these badges were being sold by Migory's for $2-$5 about thirty years ago. I won't advise you on what to do. I simply think that even mint examples are overpriced given their availability.

Phil

[WJ Miller]

Should your life span rival that of the biblical Methuselah you'd never recover your costs on a box of Voltigeur , Sherbrooke Hussars, 17DCHR, 6DCRCH badges, etc. in this condition. The market is already oversaturated with perfectly good left overs. $20 and 20 minutes can get you anyone of those in pristine condition, any day of the week.

The surfaces of all these badges are ruined and will never be "as new", however the surfaces could be cleaned and altered… Frankly, if anyone is concerned about the repro artists, I'd be more concerned about some imaginative and enterprising faker getting his hands on these items. (To echo some of David S' comments and concerns)

What's to stop someone from taking genuine, but damaged strikes such as these (many with maker's marks) and applying new finishes, such as gilt or silver plate, or a browning finish or coloured enamels and selling them the unsuspecting as "Officer's", "OSD", "Blue's Patrol", heretofore 'unknown'/'undocumented' Trial Strike, "Sweetheart", "Association Pin", or even that hoary old explanation of anomalies - the "reunion" badge…

Want an example of what I'm talking about? For sale on bay right now… 14CAR, Calgary Tank Regiment badge… advertised as "patrol dress" Really?? Patrol Dress badge or simply a regular badge, incomplete/damaged and missing it 3 brass overlays?

[capbadge]

I passed on it guys- you are all welcome to it

[DavidS]

"Patrol Dress": isn't that Swahili for "the brass overlays came off so we polished off the solder residue and we're flogging it along with a song-and-dance description"? "Weeee-o-wee-o, we-o mumbalay!"

[arcticmedals]

I passed on these over a year ago, I think what they have left is the remnants, having sold off most of the scarcer types after having got tired of the work to clean them. The postage would be more than they're worth, let alone the time involved to clean just one, which will always look like a dug-up badge and most may need repairs on the lugs to boot.

I found the sellers very unhelpfull also with images etc.

[capbadge]

I think they mentioned they had offered them to someone a year before, and that it didn't work out- they didn't mention that they had sold the good ones, however