Patches
In 1981, the PGC issued the first Working Together For Wildlife (WTFW) patch. It was undated and had the Flying Squirrel on the front (See Image Below). It is a popular series among collectors and still continues to this day. The second and third patches in the series were the Osprey in 1982, and the River Otter in 1983. These early patches were sold as limited editions. At their peak, values approached $400 on the Osprey and $200 on the Otter. I have known the Flying Squirrel to go for over $100.
Their values plummeted when unknown collectors had these high dollar patches reproduced. At first, they were being sold as originals, but a few veteran collectors soon figured that they were fakes when they compared them to good ones in their own collections. Most inexperienced collectors are afraid to pay high dollar for these patches in fear of buying reproductions. I have only included this section in my site to inform those who do not know the difference between REAL or FAKE.
With the Flying Squirrel, I look at both the front and the back. On the front, the brown and cream stitching on the body of the squirrrel will look like it is intertwined. The back will also have STARTER LINES as seen in the second picture. DO NOT JUST LOOK FOR THE BLUE BACK!!!! THERE ARE NOW FLYING SQUIRREL FAKES WITH BLUE BACKS (The first fakes had white backs and were easily noticed)!!!
For the Osprey and Otter patches, I do not even look at the front. Several collectors claim there are ways to notice a fake by looking at the front, but the ONLY sure fire way is by looking at the back. WHILE LOOKING AT THE BACK OF THE OSPREY, LOOK FOR THE BROWN STARTER LOOP BETWEEN THE WINGS THAT EXTENDS DOWN INTO THE BLUE. THE OTTER HAS TWO STARTER LOOPS AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THE BACK AND CONNECT WITH WHITE STARTER LINES THAT GO OVER TO THE DATE.
Why should you look for these traits??? Well, when the original patches were made back in the early 1980’s, they were made on ROW MACHINES which required these STARTER LINES and LOOPS. When reproductions were starting to be made, these machines were no longer in use. The newer machines on which reproductions are being made, DO NOT use these starter loops and lines. Thus, if a patch does not have these STARTER LINES and LOOPS it cannot be REAL.
I hope this information will be used by collectors to allow them to buy with confidence. Click on the picture to see an enlarged image.
 Flying Squirrel |
 Flying Squirrel |
 Osprey |
 Osprey |
 Otter |
 Otter |