Lodge 236: Fake Brotherhood Flap?
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Unali'yi 236 ZS1?
Bradley England sent me this image of a Unali’yi flap he was unable to catalog some time back. I’m slowly catching up on things that need to be added here. I suspect this is a fake of some sort. It is the design of the S35 Brotherhood flap, but the border is white instead of red. The flap has the border color of the Ordeal flap, but the design of the Brotherhood flap.
I want to call this a fake but am reluctant to do so. I know there are several regular visitors here who are well versed in South Carolina OA issues. What do you all think about this flap? Comments, please.
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John, I have since seen another one of these. It was listed on ebay with another flap from this lodge. I don’t remember if they identified either issues in the auction. Look forward to getting some info on the patch. Thanks!
Maybe a prototype? They rarely make it to mainstream collecting. When they do, they seem to usually get cataloged as a Q, Y, or Z.
A few of these white border flaps came out at the same time or shortly after the release of the red and blue border of the same design. To my knowledge it was never issued by the lodge, it may best be characterized as a Y issue. Because there is more than one it is not a typical prototype, but I would not consider it a fake.
I just got back from Unali’yi Fall Fellowship, and got some clarification on this. This is basically what we call a “trading flap.” Previously, flaps were color-coded:
Green Border – Ordeal
Red Border – Brotherhood
Light blue Border – Vigil
White border – “trading flap”
Therer were also a few other nice touches, like a white deer for Vigil Honor, and some different colors in the sky.
Last year we were told that National had issued instructions to make everybody’s flap the same – now all new OA members are supposed to get patches with black borders and that’s what everybody’s supposed to wear – but a lot of us haven’t changed our old flaps yet.
Pretty confusing, huh?
The flaps were a manufacturer “oopsie”, not a fake. They were supposed to be the standard red border for the Brotherhood flap. Instead the mfr used the white border which was being used on the “Ordeal” flap. The flaps were returned to the mfr. The lodge never issued them but some have apparently made it out from the mfr. I obtained one by trading and it is in my collection and I have obtained several others that I have since traded. Needless to say, they are desirable for the members of our lodge after they know what they are.