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Question for Patch Collectors out there regarding "Patch King"


Kman1752
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Could someone please explain to those of us that don't know, what (or who?) exactly are "Patch King" patches? I have heard the terms often, and see there are some "Patch King" pieces coming up at a local auction and was wondering what they are exactly. Are they patches made for collectors? What is there value compared to regular patches?

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JCFalkenbergIII
Could someone please explain to those of us that don't know, what (or who?) exactly are "Patch King" patches? I have heard the terms often, and see there are some "Patch King" pieces coming up at a local auction and was wondering what they are exactly. Are they patches made for collectors? What is there value compared to regular patches?

 

Hey Kman. The subject has come up a few times recently. The Patch King did make some reproduction patches,especially WWI, but also bought up large amounts of surplus insignia and sold them for many years. These threads are a good source of info. The name "The Patch King" has become synonymous with being a repro. They have become collectible in their own right. When I was young during the 70s and 80s I had quite a few of them in my collection Robert

 

 

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...t=0&start=0

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...p;hl=Patch+king

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...p;hl=Patch+king

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Could someone please explain to those of us that don't know, what (or who?) exactly are "Patch King" patches? I have heard the terms often, and see there are some "Patch King" pieces coming up at a local auction and was wondering what they are exactly. Are they patches made for collectors? What is there value compared to regular patches?

 

 

K

 

do a search here on the forum.May take a while but it will show some examples.

 

Patch King and Hobby Guild from my understanding were suppliers of shoulder patches for collectors.Supplying original insignias and manufacturing others.For example WW1 era shoukder patches that were not avaiable they would have them made.Often embroidered on wool felt with a cheese cloth backing.Sorry for my poor explanation.Read some of the searched post and you will get a better idea.

 

RON

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Thanks for the info. guys. So any ideas on price compared to authentic? The patches I am looking at getting this weekend are Infantry Division patches, and are the wool type w/ cheesecloth backing, so probably repros ? Are they worth anything?

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Thanks for the info. guys. So any ideas on price compared to authentic? The patches I am looking at getting this weekend are Infantry Division patches, and are the wool type w/ cheesecloth backing, so probably repros ? Are they worth anything?

 

 

We can't make that call without seeing photos unfortunately. Sure, many of the Patch King's wool patches were repro, but he did sell some originals. He simply sold what he could get his hands on. Here is an example. The 28th ID patch in this WWII era Patch King album is an original pre-WWII piece while the others are WWII repros. The album was sold with the patches in it. So, the Patch King was a 50/50 proposition. You got repros right along with originals.

 

-Ski

post-3043-1294205907.jpg

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he did sell plenty or originals, but usually if you hear "Patch King", stay away. If someone references them as such, they are repros almost 99% and are worth flea market junk box price.

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he did sell plenty or originals, but usually if you hear "Patch King", stay away. If someone references them as such, they are repros almost 99% and are worth flea market junk box price.

 

 

While I would be inclined to agree that Patch King examples may not be worth as much as period examples (say, for their WWI patch series), they are still collectable in their own right and more than simply "flea market junk" to many collectors. So even though you don't place any value in them, there are collectors out there who certainly do value them, even while being fully aware of what they are.

Vance

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While I would be inclined to agree that Patch King examples may not be worth as much as period examples (say, for their WWI patch series), they are still collectable in their own right and more than simply "flea market junk" to many collectors. So even though you don't place any value in them, there are collectors out there who certainly do value them, even while being fully aware of what they are.

Vance

 

Agreed. What I meant is the price levels of patch king vs. original examples, they are very inexpensive in my experience at local militaria shows and can be easily found at flea markets in bins.

 

The bets part of the patch king bins are those few original examples that always sneak in and can be bought for a buck or two :D

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What I like about the Patch King reproduction WWI patches is that they are constructed just like WWII era patches because that's when most of them were made. They are not easily confused with period made WWI patches.

With the exception of the Patch King Ranger scrolls(collectable in their own right too), some of them command respectable prices like the 14th and 20th Infantry Divisions.

After you have collected all the other issue patches and are just picking up variations, they make a nice addition to a WWII collection.

They look pretty cool too!

post-6395-1294337176.jpg

post-6395-1294337194.jpg

post-6395-1294337228.jpg

post-6395-1294337246.jpg

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Marines of the 1st Provisional Brigade upon returning from Iceland in early 1942 reported being able to find "their" Polar Bear patch in the Army Navy stores in NYC. Of cousre this was the designed they inherited from the British Aarmy 49th West Riding Infrantry division when they left Iceland.

 

The ones we see on Ebay with a white cheese cloth backing, I believe are Patch King made patches.

 

The ones we see with a black cheese cloth backing are war time British made patches.

 

The ones that look like pigs...I have no idea where they are from.

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Marines of the 1st Provisional Brigade upon returning from Iceland in early 1942 reported being able to find "their" Polar Bear patch in the Army Navy stores in NYC. Of cousre this was the designed they inherited from the British Aarmy 49th West Riding Infrantry division when they left Iceland.

 

The ones we see on Ebay with a white cheese cloth backing, I believe are Patch King made patches.

 

The ones we see with a black cheese cloth backing are war time British made patches.

 

The ones that look like pigs...I have no idea where they are from.

 

I believe the pig-looking polar bears were made by Patch King and were pictured in some of his catalogs.

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While I would be inclined to agree that Patch King examples may not be worth as much as period examples (say, for their WWI patch series), they are still collectable in their own right and more than simply "flea market junk" to many collectors. So even though you don't place any value in them, there are collectors out there who certainly do value them, even while being fully aware of what they are.

Vance

 

One shouldn't confuse "patch King" with "repros" since both the Patch King and the Hobby Guild were in business in WW2 actually primarily sold SSI made for wear by the troops, at least until the 1960s and 1970s when stocks started to run dry and copies were then made by the Patch King. Strictly speaking, "patch King repros" should cover only the WWI copies made during WW2 for the collector trade. And Vance's point is well taken; I've kept a set of these WWI repros just for the heck of it, and augmented them with some of the other 1970s repros, e.g., the 7th Cav Bde, 95th Div, and 103rd Div series. Just remind yourself what they are and don't pay more than a nominal amount for each patch!

 

Bob Capistrano

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One shouldn't confuse "patch King" with "repros" since both the Patch King and the Hobby Guild were in business in WW2 actually primarily sold SSI made for wear by the troops, at least until the 1960s and 1970s when stocks started to run dry and copies were then made by the Patch King. Strictly speaking, "patch King repros" should cover only the WWI copies made during WW2 for the collector trade.

 

 

I think you will get some opposition to this statement. WWII Phantom patches have been widely felt to be made for collectors as well as the Cavalry Divisions. Other patches such as Ranger Scrolls, RCAF Brevets, and some WWII commands are also questionable. I'm not personally saying that they are all repros or made for collectors, but there is some subjectivity on the subject. Nevertheless, WWII era made patches for contemporary units get top $$$. Just look at any rayon-backed 135th Airborne Division on E-Bay!

 

 

-Ski

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One shouldn't confuse "patch King" with "repros" since both the Patch King and the Hobby Guild were in business in WW2 actually primarily sold SSI made for wear by the troops, at least until the 1960s and 1970s when stocks started to run dry and copies were then made by the Patch King. Strictly speaking, "patch King repros" should cover only the WWI copies made during WW2 for the collector trade. And Vance's point is well taken; I've kept a set of these WWI repros just for the heck of it, and augmented them with some of the other 1970s repros, e.g., the 7th Cav Bde, 95th Div, and 103rd Div series. Just remind yourself what they are and don't pay more than a nominal amount for each patch!

 

Bob Capistrano

 

Not sure of the year of this Patch King Catalog but I am going to try to upload the front, back and one inside scan.post-2599-1294793865.jpg

post-2599-1294793917.jpg

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Not sure of the year of this Patch King Catalog but I am going to try to upload the front, back and one inside scan.post-2599-1294793865.jpg

post-2599-1294793917.jpg

 

One inside scan.

post-2599-1294794193.jpg

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If someone references them as such, they are repros almost 99% and are worth flea market junk box price.

And anyone selling them for a junk box price please contact me. :rolleyes:

 

The reproduction Patch King patches are WW2 vintage repros of earlier units. Still not real but they're made exactly the same as other authentic WW2 patches (during the same period even) and as some others have said they look great in collections. When I finally acquired cut edge copies of all the infantries I started buying Patch King copies of fully embroidered WWI units and am very happy to have them. Granted I don't like to pay all that much for them but they're far from junk.

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