Why do sellers list a badge at a certain price & when it doesn't sell they delist it at a higher price? What's the rationale?
From a sellers perspective,they have nothing to loose if they have free listing,as if it sells the increased commission will come out of the extra profit.As we know the same badge listed on two separate occasions can result in vastly differing prices.Unlike many of us on this site who may check eBay several times daily,many people seeking their lost SoN badge may not look on eBay from one year to the next and when two do at the same time a bidding war may ensue.I have reached the conclusion that there is no such thing a standard price for an item and sometimes have listed items which I have previously tried cheaply at a higher price ,only to see them fly!?!? What is the attraction of the 1952 Eastbourne badge that merits £128? A nice badge and seldom seen but £65-70 ,on a good day. Yet again any logic about scarcity,desirability,etc in relation to price goes out of the window once emotion kicks in.
NOTE TO YOUNGER SELF (from older and possibly wiser self); When starting to collect nursing badges
1.Try not to let your heart rule your head when bidding on an item.Easier said than done but you may end up spending a lot of your collecting budget on an item which crops up next week at half the price.
2. Try and avoid personal rivalry with other collectors where possible.If you can try and reach a compromise on areas of interest so you both win now and again ,it may be better in the long term.
3.Don't buy with an eye to investment.Never pay more than you can afford.An item is only worth what someone else is prepared to pay and you may get a shock when you eventually sell.
4. We are temporary custodians of the badges in our collections .Try to honour and enjoy them but also consider what you may eventually like to do with them?
5.It is ,at the end of the day,only a badge .There is more important stuff in life,enjoy !
Well said.
Nice one Peter.
Will.
Very well put Peter. I often wonder what collectors intend to do with their collections and this may not be just badges. It would be interesting to hear from the membership what they are going to do with their collections as you say we are all only temporary custodians.
I must admit I haven't a clue what I'll do with mine!
Hi.
Same here.... But there must be something... A National collection perhaps...?
Will.
I would agree to my collection going to a national collection.
The RCN supposedly has a national collection, however its virtually impossible to see and they don't know what they have, Jennifer McLaughlin left her collection to them.
Such a shame really, the RCN should display them for all to see not just RCN members. Maybe I won't bequeathe my collection to the RCN.
Why would anyone want to leave their collection to the RCN for it to be locked away in some cupboard in Scotland just like the McLaughlin collection. May be one of the enlightened Universities might see the need to collate a national collection and display it!
Unless one of our members is as rich as Lord Ashcroft who endowed a facility at the Imperial War Museum to display his collection of Victoria Crosses(well worth a visit) then it is highly unlikely that the RCN,despite their good intentions,would have the space to put on a permanent display. They have gradually woken up to the interest and relevance of the badge in Nursing history and are generally very helpful but lack the knowledge and passion that many members have towards the genre.I am unsure if the Welcome Institute is any better resourced to do so,and whilst local museums would be grateful to accept the badges local to them I am not sure any others would be able to put them on display.I have pondered eventually donating my Welsh collection.Perhaps we need to raise the profile of the badge collectively and then see who might come around to the interest these might engender? I still think there ought to be a UK Museum of Nursing though to fully honor the role and contribution of all Nurses.can't see it happening though :(
Alas Peter, none of us are as rich as Lord Ashcroft! I do wonder if one of our national museums would allocate a gallery to the History and Contribution of Nursing. I would have thought all of the nurse leaders in government and universities would use their influences to get such established, or they are too busy working towards their own The Gong! It would be wonderful to have a UK Museum Of Nursing given the contribution of all Nurses as you say. I doubt that will ever happen which is sad. If the owners of all our badge collections could tell their stories what a rich tale that would be.
Hi.
I would not donate to the RCN - badges that is - but am convinced that a national collection is possible. But we do need to raise the profile of the whole issue. Preferably without starting a fire!
The question would seem to be 'how'....
Will.
I don't know whether your aware but the Ulster Museum in Belfast have most of the Northern Irish badges and the Ulster Volunteer insignia including the medical insignia.
Thanks Barry. I was not aware of the Ulster Museum had nursing badges on display. The next time I am in N.I. I will pay a visit. I still hope that a National Museum will allot a gallery dedicated to the History of Nursing and the Contribution of Nursing to society. Maybe one day the membership will be to donate their collection of badges and these will be displayed for all to see!
I can't guarantee that they have them on display now but they do have them and they have displayed them in the past, I live there from Aug/82 until Aug/85.
Anyone bidding on the Crumpsall, only I'd like it!
Not me Myk. Go for it. Luck...
Will.
Cheers, it's one of my local hospitals & ?soon to be part of the Trust I work for!
Good luck.
all yours as if no one else minds I'd really like the Kidderminster
Already noted Sue.
Go for it Sue
Also got my eye on the Burnley set as it has the badge with the Garter which I haven't got, however I do have the others so if anyone want the others I'm sure I have them for swap/sale.
hope you had better luck than me Myk I was outbid :'(
Sorry to hear you didn't get the Kidderminster Sue, I got the Crumpsall badge, quite pleased.
well done
found this on my travels
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silver-Loyalty-Badge-of-the-Nightingale-School-of-Nursing-plus-Gen-Nursing-Badge-/282569340402?hash=item41ca71f5f2:g:dp4AAOSwd3dZZsRF
hope the link works
Nice Blackburn on eBay I'd like!
Forgive my absence but am back to full time unpaid work babysitting grandchildren.
Just to clarify an earlier comment by Barry, yes the Ulster Museum do have a good collection of Irish nursing badges (indeed I even give them a few). However, since Tom Wylie (who worked there and who had accumulated them over many years, as he had personal interest in them) retired over 10 years ago, the Ulster Museum has this collection in storage and despite my asking several times, they have no plans in foreseeable future to display them again. They remain "in storage". Effectively lost to the public.
Regarding my own collection, I have asked An Bord Altranais (Irish nursing board - same as GNC) if they would like them to display; But apparently not as they don't want them. I had some conversations with few lecturers from several Universities in Republic of Ireland but again they don't have any nursing archives. I did speak to one who who developing a nursing archive but they finding on "papers"; curriculum; and training records; they didn't see section for "badges" as important.
I did speak to local museum in my home county but again anything given to them becomes their property and they decide when, how or if any collection is displayed.
Like yourselves am still looking for good home for them
Hello Eric,
A strange situation when 'experts' on nursing history see so little value in our badges. The direct (and in all probability most lasting) link to nursing history. Where else can one find the keys not only the hospitals which issued them but also the histories of the hospitals which issued them and the cultural diversity of lives in the surrounding areas - right down to the lives of the nurses who worked in therein? Many examples of which are now being placed increasingly in the public domain via books, other publications, and, dare one suggest, sites such as ours? Woeful!
But one can hope, and continue, like yourself and several other committed members, to seek wider dissemination of our history. Our own membership continues to grow, slowly but regularly (now heading for the 650's), and the contributions - particularly of photographs must be second to no-one's. All from that little seed planted 10 years or so ago by that small group of dedicated collectors.
Perhaps we can do more yet to spread the word - exactly how I am not sure, but there is a way - and we will find it!!
Keep those badges (and the attached histories) safe for a while longer Eric - it will be worth it eventually...
I would dearly love to hear the thoughts of others....
Will.
Ps. I once said to 'backman' that when/if I win the lottery I would buy all his badges and ask him to keep them for me! Your collection has to be unique = keep it safe - I probably can't afford them all.!!
Whilst I am sad to hear of the reluctance of official bodies to accept the donation of your collection Eric,I am not to surprised and it may not be a bad thing in the first instance. I do know of instances where items have been donated and later found to have been sold back on to the open market.many smaller museums are driven by the enthusiasm and interest of individuals and once they go items can be at risk.
Although the RCN should be the natural repository for a national collection of Nursing badges and related items and they would gratefully receive any badges we choose to donate,I do have concerns.The fact is that the organisation is not without its own issues between its professional,educational and trades Union functions.The Archive is hampered by a lack of space in the main headquarters at Cavendish square and I believe, will continue to be based in Scotland with displays at HQ.The other limiting factor is their lack of in depth knowledge of the badges themselves and the context of their being issued and awarded in their many variations.This depth of knowledge probably lies in the collective of this group.
I have attempted to join the committee of the History of Nursing society in the past and there is another vacancy at the moment but I am probably just too busy to try again.I do feel that approaches should be made for a joint enterprise between the two groups for a display,possibly at Congress which is being held in Belfast next year?m
it's not only badges but the other ephemera we collect such as certificates and photos all important pieces of nursing history. I have recently got a rather large collection of photos, certificates and a collection from a nurse in the 1930s all for £3.99 which I think is ridicously cheap for such important paperwork ( Wilf which is the best way I can share this info with you all) but alas no badges
Has been a bit of an expensive month as many "must haves" have appeared on the market all at the same time but don't worry "outbid rage" meant I didn't get the recent Edinburgh City ........ maybe next time
did find this unusual paperweight on my travels
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ANTIQUE-TEMPERANCE-MOVEMENT-MALE-NURSES-CO-OPERATION-LTD-GLASS-PAPERWEIGHT-/182765337591?hash=item2a8da9bbf7:g:mysAAOSw5YNZutAO
Hi Sue.
Re the best way.... The best way is to send electronic copies direct to me at webmaster@schoolsofnursing.co.uk If you cannot copy/send let me know via me forum inbox and we will sort an alternative. I would love to put your items on-line herein.
Best.
Will.
Be careful what you wish for Will,I may actually get off my A*** and send you some of my prospectus booklets page by page.I too have a soft spot for the printed ephemera(def. Any transitory written or printed matter not meant to be retained or preserved. The word derives from the Greek ephemeros, meaning "lasting only one day, short-live) associated with Nursing,Health Care and Hospitals.From Certificates,some of which are works of art but annoyingly often too large to copy easily,to examination papers and syllabus books as well as snapshots.postcards,etc.I also collect the early photographic small Carte de Visite(CdV) and larger cabinet cards of nurses from the 1880s and 90s.As with all of these ,the problem is finding the time to record these appropriately.
i did note that the RCN has updated some of their history pages; https://www.rcn.org.uk/library/collections/special-collections
https://www.rcn.org.uk/library/collections/special-collections/badge-and-medal-collections
Peter!!
Yes, time is a problem (especially after retirement!) and something none of us seems to have a lot of. I simply photograph those very large items and use the resulting files to make things available. But please don't get too enthusiastic - each item takes time once received. Plus keep it in mind - perhaps the National Lottery will donate cash for assistance if we can present a case for needing help.
My own day today has been spent in 34oC plus preparing a water feature (now up and running!!) and prepping' my workshop for winter... We now have visitors for the next month before we can say our time really is our own. There are several more concurrent jobs to say nothing of the SoN badge project... But all will fit (I hope) by December - in time to board a 'plane back home for Christmas. But meanwhile, a couple of days serious 'graft' then the visitors - then off to Venice for a week's break!! Might stop off in Athens en-route back here - just a short break.
Gosh, life is hard - but best not to give it up!!
Will.