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This doesn't make it illegal - this just means that you have to expect GLOs to try to stop the resale of pins.
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Agreed. That's what I meant by separating the legal issue from the moral issue.
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However, no matter who has possession of a pin, or no matter how much they paid for it, the legal owner is the national fraternity.
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Simply not true. The badge is given in consideration of some kind of fee. Call it a "lifelong lease" if you want, but I bought my pin, I own my pin, and I'll do whatever I please with my pin. The burden to prove otherwise is on the GLO, and so far no group has come close to proving it (and not for lack of trying either).
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Every member when they get a pin signs a legal document to this effect.
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I didn't. And I'm curious to see what (if anything) the members who belong to GLOs with lifelong lease policies signed. I seriously doubt it is a legal document. And even if it is, how does this apply to badges being sold on ebay which for the most part are from the early 20th century? You're telling me these GLOs have filing cabinets brimming with notarized lifelong lease documents from the 1920s?
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Every pin, at least those made after a certain time, has markings on the back that the fraternity can use to trace it back to the original badge holder.
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Again, not true. A great many of the more modern GLO badges are not engraved or marked at all except for the manufacturer's trademark and perhaps gold content (much to the collector's dismay since we always try to find out how old they are).
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Have any Nationals tried to reclaim their pins by the argument that pins are stolen property?
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This is outrageous! I buy my badge in 1930, tomorrow I die and my children inherit my estate. They decide to sell off some of my personal items, and 70 years later you're going to tell them they STOLE this pin? Ludicrous.
I'm not even getting into the moral issue. I'm just trying (unsuccessfully as always) to make people see past their rage so they can put together a realistic and effective action plan. These "my GLO owns the badge you're selling" emails are a huge joke among dealers.
wptw