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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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The fee has zero to do with it. I pay for my apartment - can I go to a court of law and prove I own it? No, because I have signed a contract stating that I am a renter, etc. I have known members who have been required to give back their pin by a court of law upon losing their membership, and I would be interested to hear of evidence to the contrary.
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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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It's quite possible this is a new policy. I know I signed something to this effect in 1995. However, national fratenities do keep a copy of all these legal documents (they're signed, they're legal) for many purposes. You'd better believe they have bulging files.
Most of the badges I see on eBay are not from the early 20th century, more like the middle of it. It is entirely possible that such documents were not being signed in the time frame some of these badges are from. That doesn't mean that some aren't recent enough to have them. And as you don't even believe such documents exist, I'm sure you don't bother to verify whether the badge in question is protected by one or not.
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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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Speaking for my own sorority, each badge has a unique badge number. Although the member's name and chapter are no longer engraved, they each have a unique member number on the back.
If I buy a stereo from you and it turns out to be stolen, I still have to return the property. It doesn't matter whether I knew it was stolen or not. And the same applies to my grandkids - even if they didn't intend to steal my badge, they sure did. But most of us wouldn't mind if they simply kept it as a memory of us. It's when it becomes just a pretty toy to be sold that we object.
You may find us owners a joke, but we find you dealers beyond joking. It's pathetic to collect the pins of an organization you don't belong to. I can't even begin to imagine wanting such a thing. We are even more sickened by Greeks who feel they have a right to others' badges.
My point is - if we don't have the law on our side yet, we plan to get it there.