Interesting Alpha Phi Badge

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by LucyKKG

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?

Originally Posted by OleMissGlitter

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

Originally Posted by GTAlphaPhi

I'm slightly suspicious of the authenticity of this badge, so I don't plan on bidding too much money.

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

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?

[GTAlphaPhi]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

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

I can't read the Greek on the phi, but I saw similar Greek writing on a Delta Upsilon badge from the late 1800's, so I'm not-so-secretly hoping that this may be, in fact, a unique antique.

[OleMissGlitter]

Good luck GT Alpha Phi!

[LucyKKG]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Can anybody read the Greek writing on the F?

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!)

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by LucyKKG

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 . . . .

Originally Posted by tangelo212

Our original colors were actually blue and gold...

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?

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.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Hey, you're doing better than I could.

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

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

[LucyKKG]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

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!

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by LucyKKG

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.