Issue & Variety

All Order of the Arrow insignia are identified by a letter and a number. The first letter is a capital letter or letters and represents the basic issue type. These letters have developed historically within the hobby. Some of the letters refer to the shape of the patch. Other letters refer to the material the patch is made of and yet other letters describe where the insignia is worn. If this seems confusing, you are correct. It is confusing. However, the issue lettering system for patches is well over forty years old and is firmly entrenched within the hobby.


Issue letters that describe shape:

A = Arrowhead shaped patch generally smaller than 5 inches in height

F = Flap shaped patch that is not fully embroidered

P = Pie or triangular shaped patch designed for a neckerchief point

R = Round patch generally less than 5 inches in diameter

S = Flap shaped patch that is fully embroidered

X = Patches of any of shapes not listed above (odd shapes) generally smaller than 5 inches

Issue letters that describe material:

B = Patch of any shape that is made of Bullion construction

C = Patch of any shape that is chenilled, either in whole or part

L = Patch of any shape made of leather

M = Any full-size emblem that is metal (does not include hat pins)

W = Woven patch, generally flap shaped but not always

Issue letters that describe location worn:

J = Jacket patch and large patches generally over 6 inches

N = Neckerchiefs, either printed or embroidered. Those with patches sewn upon them are not listed but are described by their patches.

ARM = Armband

HBD = Headband

Issue letters that describe special categories:

There are certain categories of patches that are noted by having another letter preceding one of the letters above. Example: YS2

e = Event Issue. Event issues are items by a lodge for an activity such as an ordeal, fellowship, banquet or reunion. They do not include contingent items for Jamborees, NOAC’s or Conclaves. Event items are listed by their year, not by their shape. This allows chronological listing and easy future additions of missing items. Event items are usually collect by date.

H = Historical issue. Historical issues are official re-issues of patches previously made by the lodge or in the case of merged lodges, commemorative patches made by the lodge resulting from the merger. There is controversy regarding what constitutes a historical badge, some collectors view historical badges as being nothing more than officially sanctioned fakes. In general, to be a historical patch, the patch so designated fits the above criteria and was never meant for wear on the uniform.

Q = Lodge Rejects. Patches that are rejected by the lodge and returned to the manufacturer. These are not fake patches. After the lodge rejects the patches, they are sometimes released into the collectorate by the manufacturer.

Y = A broad category of patches and neckerchiefs that for one reason or another do not fit into the main listing. All known prototypes and samples are in this category. Also, patches that cannot be positively confirmed are placed in this category pending future documentation. There are certain patches that are either camp patches, defective patches or other patches that have appeared in previous listings but should not really be part of this catalog. These are also given the “Y” designation so that when collectors unfamiliar with their story chance upon them, they will be able to make an identification.

Z = Fake. Fraudulent, bogus, unauthorized, phony, spoof and other privately issued insignia.

The number - chronologically speaking

The number following the issue letter(s) shows which sequential issue of an issue type (e.g. F, S, N, etc.) it is. Numbers correspond to the chronological sequence of issues with the lowest number being the oldest. No two issues from the same lodge and issue type have the same number unless they are varieties of the same issue. Decimal point numbers are used when needed to add items discovered since the original list. This infinite number supply allows chronological updates without changing the number system.

The second letter - varieties

The letter (if any) that follows the issue letter(s) and issue number is a lower case letter and signifies a particular variety within an issue if the issue has any varieties. Not every issue has varieties, but some have two, three, four or more. Sometimes, varieties occur when a patch is re-loomed on a future order. However, some varieties occur within a single loom run of a patch so multiple loom runs of a patch are not necessary for varieties to occur. In all cases, if an issue has varieties, they will be listed together whether or not they appeared in sequence chronologically. There are cases where the different varieties of an issue were issued many years apart and other lodge patches came in between them. In an effort to make the listing more readable, the listing deviates from strict adherence to chronological order and groups all varieties of an issue together. However, listed varieties of an issue may not always be in chronological order.

Full description of an issue is listed only on the “a” variety. Subsequent varieties only have descriptions of how the varieties differ from each other.

This information was compiled by Scott Dillard, and is a reprint from the OA Images website, http://www.oaimages.com/bbabbrev.shtml