Congratulations on a great score, young man !!
Avoid all tendencies to want to clean, or polish
these gems. Please read that sentence again.
The less they are handled, the better. Don't even
wash these.
Are you beginning a collection of badges, with this
purchase. If so, you are off to a wonderful start.
If you are operating via the catch and release pro-
gram ... original-patina badges look most appropri-
ate on an original machine that may have it's own
badge missing .. or badly damaged.
The bicycle badge is the Soul of the bicycle. A bicycle
missing it's badge is missing it's life-force .. it's mojo.
If you were missing your mojo, you would be seen as just
another mindless Earth Dweller ... and you may even be
asked to appear in one of those ZOMBIE film features.
This is not always a bad thing. You may be one of those
unique individuals who craves anonymity while, at the
same time, shuns identity. Does this sound like you ?
Am not going to get in to all the artistic and symbolic nuances
that are featured on many badges. You may like a particular
badge because you can identify with the power suggested
in the actual NAME.
Let's refer to Meatloaf's disc, ''Like A Bat Outta Hell''.
Are you more attracted to, ''Like A Bat Outta Disneyland'' ?
What about, ''Like A Bat Outta Fresno'' ?
And, Sid Vicious. Maybe you prefer Sid Naughty. (?)
Badges were designed to capture some aspect within
the viewer --- by artistic imagery .. or by strength of name ..
or by suggesting a badge identification with an important
person, place, thing ... possibly a force of nature .. possibly
something paranormal. The themes for a badge are many.
The bicycle-manufacturer hopes for a lot of ''trickle-down''
effect -- from the badge, to the bicycle.
The Meaning of Rare.
What the heck is Rare ?
Sure, the word is used to describe most every object
posted within the ''For Sale Section'' in the CABE.
A truly, seldom-seen badge found for a bicycle that
has LOADS of Collector Interest -- but is missing it's
original badge ... has authentic VALUE.
Some badges have value unto themselves.
Often THESE badges are motorcycle-related.
The value of a badge is often revealed when a seller
makes a badge available for purchase.
Then, the present-value of the badge is realized in how
many Simoleons the potential buyer is willing to fork over ...
compared to the amount needed by the badge-seller to
be satisfied.
..... patric
Whaaat ?? ..... Did you think I was gonna fall for the old
''What's It Worth ?'' trick ?
C'mon, now ....................... !!