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New VFW Auxiliary pins.


texman1985
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Now that the VFW Ladies Auxiliary changed to just the VFW Auxiliary and now the membership pins have reflected this change, do you think the old Ladies Auxiliary pins will become more collectable in the future?

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Anything is collectible. You just have to want it, regardless of whether, or not, other people want it.

 

It has been my experience that anything related to a Veterans Organization's auxiliary is automatically of less interest to the collecting community than its parent organization. Look at the Woman's Relief Corps, the Ladies of the G.A.R., the Ladies of the U.V.L., and the Sons of Union Veterans Auxiliary. It took almost 150 years before their badges and insignia would fetch more than $5 an item. I initially started collecting auxiliary items for this very reason. It was something I could afford and no one else seemed interested in them.

 

If you want an inexpensive area of this hobby in which to dip your toes, auxiliaries are the way to go. You could amass quite a collection for not much money and in the end, you would really have something worth showing off. I have never even heard of a complete collection of VFW auxiliary, or American Legion auxiliary, National Encampment/Annual Reunion badges. Become an expert on the 8 and 40, or the Military Order of the Cootie Auxiliary, and you will have your own unique corner of the militaria collecting community. I guarantee it.

 

Kevin

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As Kevin said, everything and anything can be collectable, although communities and the level of interest can vary vastly. Also do not confuse collectable with valuable.

 

Delving into areas that others overlook is a great way to not only snap up the bits no-one is focussing on but also gathering these bits together to then present them in an attractive manner.

 

When you specialise in one of these "off the beaten path" areas you can often find you have a real piece of history in your hands that the world was previously oblivious to. If you want to study and educate yourself on a subject whilst disciplining yourself to it, that is a very positive thing.

 

Personally I'll collect almost anything viable (I don't have jars of faeces or anything but there are those that do!) and I have often been caught off guard when showing parts of my collection and have the person I was showing it to jump at something that was just "on the pile" and tell me about how an item I didn't even give time to house properly is one of the greatest pieces of X they have ever seen. We're all different and we all have our own buttons to push. It usually ends with me saying "If you like it so much take it with you".

 

Name changes, variations, numbers produced all enter into collectability but do not always mean great value. If the VFW Aux changed its name in a few weeks to something else, the items produced in that short time period would be the most desirable - unless the name change had taken the organisation by surprise and they had already ordered 20 years worth of supplies. Then again, there are cases of items that were once bulk overstock now being worth a considerable amount.

 

It's all a gamble. Do what you love or love what you do but never buy on credit!

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I was able to snag a set of Ladies Auxiliary pins as they couldn't officially issue them anymore. One of the local post was about to get rid of the old pins, and I asked nicely for one of each before it was tossed.

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If you're willing to collect what is there to be collected and be a little bit cheeky, you can get a very nice collection for little or nothing.

Today's trash is tomorrow's outstanding collectable.

 

There was an award (won't say which but a more "localised" one) that was created, an order was placed for 110 of the lower grade and 40 of the higher grade. Less than 50 of the lower grade and none of the higher were awarded. The awarding organisation changed name and these unissued pieces were just taking up space. I managed to take home 26 of the lower award and 13 of the higher. I'm just sitting on them now until someone appreciates them, if they never are, no loss but they are in safe hands, rather than at the dump.

Also because this award is rather obscure (though it certainly will push many different people's buttons) I've been looking to find awarded examples to add to the pile. Only one success so far but it didn't break the bank.

 

You're certainly on to something. Get the unissued bits, get one of everything, keep them safe - they could be museum quality specimens sooner rather than later.

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I was able to snag a set of Ladies Auxiliary pins as they couldn't officially issue them anymore. One of the local post was about to get rid of the old pins, and I asked nicely for one of each before it was tossed.

 

It is a shame they didn't give you all of them if the end result was that the remaining pins were thrown away.

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