Interesting Alpha Phi Badge
 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Alpha-Phi-Sorori...item19b79c5856

Interesting Alpha Phi badge on Ebay. I was just curious about this, I've never seen an Alpha Phi badge like this.

Yes, I saw this too on Ebay yesterday. I wondered about it as well but am not sure. Maybe somebody had it decorated after they got their badge but it's weird.

I saw that and thought it was very unique as well. I wonder if there's a year on there or a significance to the placement of the jewels.

I hope this isn't offensive, but are you sure it's a genuine badge? I'm not sure how hard it would be to duplicate a badge, but it's just SO different from other Alpha Phi badges, you know?

I was wondering the same thing if it was a real Alpha Phi badge.

Major lane swerve here, but I note that the Alpha Phi website says:

Quote:

Alpha Phi was the first women’s organization to use Greek letters as an emblem. Originally there was no standard badge. Until 1906 when the current badge was adopted, each member went to the jeweler of her choice to have her pin designed. Most chose similar designs using the “lazy Phi,” a Phi symbol turned on its side. You can see many of these unique pins in the Ruth Himmelman Wright Heritage Hall at the Executive Office in Evanston, Illinois.

So, it seems at least possible that this could be one of those pre-1096 "unique" designs made to the liking of the member.

Can anybody read the Greek writing on the F?

Good luck GT Alpha Phi!

Our original colors were actually blue and gold...

I too am dubious of its legitimacy as an Alpha Phi badge (but am hoping that it could be a unique pre-1906 one!).

If it is a pre-1906 badge (which would be unusual because I thought most of the pre-1906 badges were the lazy Phi style), perhaps the sister who had it made added the blue enamel as a token of our original colors?
10K yellow gold+blue enamel+rubies (bordeaux-colored rubies? ;)) = lots of Alpha Phi colors!

I really have no idea how the Greek inscription fits in though.

Umm...I'm totally guessing here...it looks like the left side says "Aoiiov..." and the right side says "Xai Phila". Is that like "and love"? This is making my head hurt, so I give up.

(You should see me squinting and turning my head weird ways trying to read this!)

Hey, you're doing better than I could.

But and in Greek is kai, not xai. Hmmm . . . .

Maybe, but not necessarily. I have my great grandfather's Pi Kappa Alpha badge (from the 1880s), and the enamel on the diamond is blue, although as far as I can tell, Pike has never used colors other than garnet and gold. (According to old Bairds, Pike badges used to be blue or black.)

Meanwhile, the enamel on SAE badges is blue even though their colors are purple and gold. And then there are all the badges with black enamel for organizations that don't have black as a color.

Really, when you go to back to pre-standardized badges from the 1800s, it could be nothing more than personal preference and current fashion.

Maybe she knew the word for and but not how to spell it.

Nah, I knew "kai" means "and". Alpha Kai Omega? Anyway, that's what it looked like to me, but it was hurting my brain and neck!

I meant the person who had the greek inscription written down.

I've seen pictures of some of the pre-1906 badges, and while some of the non-Lazy Phi ones do bear resemblance to the current badge, they are still very different from the one on eBay (on pre-1906 badges, the Phi usually does not have serifs).

Has anyone contacted the IO about the badge? Someone there might know.