RCAF patches

Hi all, I am new here and this is my first post. I picked up these patches today and was hoping someone could help me figure out the age of them. The first appears to be a patch that you would sew on, the other 2 appear to have been cut off a uniform maybe? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Rej

Rej,

The first and third examples have the Queen's crown so are in the era 1953 to 1968...and I would assume to be from the late 1950s. The middle example is of earlier vintage as it has the King's crown (probably WW2 vintage).

Hope this helps.

That does help thanks. Any idea of value on these?

Rej

Value, always the second question after, "Please identify what I have bought". I just shake my head in disbelief....

I didn't realize there was a problem trying to find out what something is worth. I am new to collecting and bought these for $40 and just wondering if I overpaid or not.

All too many people join forums like this in order to obtain free identifications and evaluations so that they can quickly resell their goods. An indicator usually is Question 1, what have I bought and then Question 2, what is it worth.

If you were comfortable with the price, then you did not overpay. A good way to learn about collecting and what interests you, note interest, not value should be the key; is to invest some money in some good reference books. Once you have armed yourself with the knowledge of what interests you and what you want to collect, you will be better prepared to determine on your own what items are and if the price suits your means.

Good day Smoothwood,

The problem, if one wants to consider it one, is that after a while on this and maybe other military collecting forums, you will find that the members have had bad experiences giving values to badges, only to find the fellow wants to flog it or it turns up on eBay or some other sales site at a ridiculous price.  This tends to leave a sour taste in everyone's mouth and makes some "gun shy" about giving a hard and fast figure.  I tend to think this has been caused by TV shows like "Antiques Roadshow" (both UK and US versions), "Canadian Pickers", "American Pickers" and "Pawn Stars".  Some want to make a ridiculous profit off of everything.

The other thing is that value is a relative thing.  What one wouldn't pay a nickel for, another would sell the farm to acquire (if he really needed it for his collection).  Also, some might be too shy to jump in first, for fear of being refuted by another.  I have broad shoulders (and have been thrown in cells of the Guards Depot in Pirbright), so I'll lead off by saying that you probably did not do too badly with your purchase.  Neither scoring a treasure for next to nothing, nor being taken to the cleaner for three pieces of s**t.  I get that you are new to this and are still on the uphill climb of the learning curve.

Finally, if you hang around this forum (having not been scared off), you will find that some of the members here have a certain point of view and certain things drive them around the bend.  Their view is that study, research and willingness to learn should be the hallmarks of collecting, not just amassing a whole bunch of stuff so you can say "Look what I got!!".  Hopefully, you have a thick skin and can let most comments slide like water off the back of a duck.  I also got it right off the bat that you are new to the forum (and possibly to badge collecting), so I'm certainly willing to cut you some slack.  I've been collecting for over forty years and have made my share of mistakes in that time.  I see it as my task to help along the new collectors with my knowledge and experience if I can.

So, welcome to the Forum.  I look forward to seeing images of your collection and future acquisitions.  Stay safe and have fun!

Regards,

Ian B

Thanks all for the information. I do have a thick skin so don't worry about me . Maybe I should have started off by stating my intentions of making sure I didn't overpay. I do understand the idea of, if you are ok with what you paid then you did fine, but sometimes just knowing helps for future purchases. I don't have very much in my collection yet but I do have some medals, pins, hat badges and other items I am unsure about. I will post some more items in hopes of finding out more and learning along the way.

The other question I have about the badges I posted is this. 2 of the badges are on material. Where they cut off of uniforms or where they made that way?

Thanks again for everyone's help and insight.

Rej

Rej,

My opinion is that your three badges in the first post are blazer badges, that is a badge done up, usually in bullion wire, for wear on a civilian blazer. Many badges have been made up like this through the years for service members to show their affiliation while not in uniform.

To answer your question, yes they were made that way. The manufacturer embroiders the badge on a square piece of cloth that matches the colour of the blazer, in this case dark blue for the Queen's Crown versions. They will then either trim the backing material to conform to the outline of the badge or leave that to the purchaser or seamstress to do before attaching to the jacket (although I have seen the whole square piece of backing stitched directly onto a jacket).

Ian

I will agree with Ian, you did not over pay.
The Kings Crown one being the choice item in the lot.

You did fine on this lot, kings crown blazer badges run between $15 and $25, queens crown around $10 to $20 used, new they can be $25 at a store.