[wptw]

brooklineu,

If there was a pin in the family because a family member was a member, I would want to keep it because of the family history.

I've often wondered why collecting is ENCOURAGED in the military world, so much that you can order the Purple Heart if you want one. I suspect the medals and ribbons, awards, insignia etc mean just as much to a military person as a GLO pin would to a member, yet collecting is not an issue in the military world. I just find it an interesting thing how it's viewed so differently.

Two excellent points!

There is another thread around here somewhere that talks about a very old PiKA pin that has been handed down through the family. It's a touching story, yet I couldn't help chuckling to myself and wondering when someone was going to get on there and berate that person for owning a PiKA badge. I mean, she's obviously not a PiKA and technically (according to some people here) she has no right to own that badge and having it in her posession is disrepsectful to PiKA!

This exact scenario is how some of those VERY old and historical badges show up on ebay from time to time. They were handed down and handed down through the family until eventually they appeared at the estate sale of a great-grandniece or something. I think handing pins down through the family is a fantastic way to preserve the history, as well as preserving the memory of the original owner. How could you possibly tell these people that the fraternity or sorority is the rightful owner of the pin and what they're doing is wrong?

As far as militaria goes, I am perplexed about this as well. Masonic items are another good example. Rich with history and sentiment and esoteric symbolism, yet no one gets their knickers in a twist when someone puts on of their pins on ebay. Actually I have a theory about this, but it's likely to piss a few people off, so let me at least get another cup of coffee first.



Maggieaxid:

I have nothing against anyone who collects them personally, so please don't take it that way. I just don't see how a person who doesn't understand the meaning of something can collect it. It's just my opinion though.

Fair enough. But hey, diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. I never personally understood why Beanie Babies were such a hot commodity.

I honestly don't think you have to know the exact symbolism of a given badge in order to appreciate it. Our ideals and our rituals are all so similar, the symbols I see on your badge will undoubtedly remind me of what the symbols on my badge mean. That's what I mean when I talk about collecting as a tool to appreciate our shared greek heritage. And THAT is the attraction of collecting. That is also why you typically don't see non-greeks collecting. For them, it really has no meaning whatsoever. Just gold and gems. But for greeks, it is still loaded with meaning even if we don't know what A.X.D. stands for. Besides, for your typical greek it's certainly not rocket science to look at a quill or a lamp or a diamond or a kite or a cross and get a general idea what the symbol is trying to convey.

wptw