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  Blue Origin 'employee' hallmarked patches?

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Author Topic:   Blue Origin 'employee' hallmarked patches?
Liembo
Member

Posts: 769
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Jan 2013

posted 01-10-2022 11:39 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Liembo   Click Here to Email Liembo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I haven't been able to confirm this so I am making some assumptions, but could Blue Origin be taking a page from SpaceX and issuing hallmarked patches? These were listed on eBay in the past few weeks from a single seller. They look similar to the official M and NS (1-12) flight test patches but they all have a prominent "x" star motif added.

They vary slightly in manufacture from the official version so they're not made from the same runs as those official patches (where SpaceX's are). So either these are hallmarked knock-offs or Blue Origin is producing hallmarked patches for some reason?

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 47705
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-10-2022 12:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The question that sticks out to me is why would Blue Origin create hallmarked patches for tests or flights that they never offered regular patches for public sale?

It wasn't until NS-13 that Blue Origin began producing patches for the public. Before then, all of the (unhallmarked) patches were for employees only (and the occasional VIP or press handout).

Paul J. Brennan
Member

Posts: 224
From: Linden, CA
Registered: May 2019

posted 01-10-2022 03:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Paul J. Brennan   Click Here to Email Paul J. Brennan     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Anyone try getting a hold of the seller on eBay? Would be curious if they had answers to the questions, or could provide more info.

Liembo
Member

Posts: 769
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Jan 2013

posted 01-10-2022 04:15 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Liembo   Click Here to Email Liembo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Seller was uninformative: "from a friend of a friend."

Paul J. Brennan
Member

Posts: 224
From: Linden, CA
Registered: May 2019

posted 01-11-2022 12:37 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Paul J. Brennan   Click Here to Email Paul J. Brennan     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Ahh, gotcha'. Well, it remains a mystery for now then....

Liembo
Member

Posts: 769
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Jan 2013

posted 01-11-2022 11:42 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Liembo   Click Here to Email Liembo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
From an inquiry I put on the Blue Origin (unofficial) group on Facebook:
I have the M1 through M6 patches. They were made by employees for employees because the company wasn't making patches much back then. It's safe to assume all of the x-mark patches are from that group.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 47705
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-11-2022 12:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
So what is the pedigree of the "M" patches without the hallmark? Are they the official Blue Origin patches, are they runs made by other employees, or are they third-party knock offs?

Liembo
Member

Posts: 769
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Jan 2013

posted 01-11-2022 05:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Liembo   Click Here to Email Liembo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Another commenter seems to confirm they were produced by an employee for other employees who missed out on the limited run of the official flight test patches.
The remakes were for those who didn't get the originals and gave the opportunity for the new employees who weren't there for them to have them as part as there[sic] collection. The differences proves that they werent there for the original but still values their contributions.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 47705
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-11-2022 05:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Ah, well that resolves that. Did anyone from that group know why they chose the mark they did?

Liembo
Member

Posts: 769
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Jan 2013

posted 01-13-2022 01:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Liembo   Click Here to Email Liembo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Well this is weird, apparently the hallmarked versions are official souvenir releases and available on the Blue Origin website.

Their lowest shipping price is still pretty horrendous.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 47705
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-13-2022 03:57 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
So was the story about these being employee made just made up? Or are the patches now being sold the overruns/leftovers from the employee runs?

Liembo
Member

Posts: 769
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Jan 2013

posted 01-13-2022 05:10 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Liembo   Click Here to Email Liembo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Your guess is as good as mine at this point. Two different people subscribed to the idea of employee-origin, but now I have no clue. All I know is that I paid too much for them on eBay now.

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