Vintage 2" wide paper flag on metal pin for the B.P.O.Elks. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (also known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is to this day one of the largest fraternal orders in the United States with around a million current members. It was formed as a fraternal order and social club in 1868 and has a lot of rituals, traditions, and regalia that is very simllar to the Freemasons.  It was a boys only club until recent years, and many lodges are still men only. They sponsored an insurance fund in the 1800s that was banned in 1907 when the money was mismanaged. Since then it has been a social club that has donated to many charities. These flags are very early and came out of a factory that made silks and flags many years ago. Based on the master boxes, I'd say they are from the early 1900s. As far as we can tell, these are the only examples known.  They say "B.P.O.Elks" and have the society Elk logo on them. The flags are paper with some aging, and the pins have a little light rust, but are in amazing condition for their age. There was not a big bunch of these found and we have all of them.

Vintage 2" wide paper flag on metal pin for the Foresters of America. These are paper flags with the same colorful illustration on both sides that say "Foresters of America" "Liberty Unity, Benevolence and Concord". Vintage 2" wide paper flag on 2 1/2" long metal pin for the Foresters of America. This was a benevolent fraternal organization that existed under this name from 1890 till 1969. It evolved from ancient European groups and also offered insurance to members. Over the years, the fraternal part of the organization was lost and it because what is now the Foresters Insurance Company! The flags are paper with some aging, and the pins have a little light rust, but these are in amazing condition for their age. These are very rare.

Click the picture to see a larger more detailed image. You get 4 for $2 (that's 50¢ each). These are roughly made and crude. Average diameter is 16mm, but they vary. The glass is full of bubbles and the center channel is very thick and is an irregular width that looks very much like what you see in old sulphide marbles. This type of glass was used in Germany around the turn of the century or before. Some Venetian glass from the same period that was sold as trade beads looked like this too. These beads came from the back of a very old store that used to specialize in old trade beads. Excellent unused condition.

Vintage 2" long paper flag on a 2 1/2" wide metal pin for the Cathoic Foresters. These are paper flags with the same colorful illustration on both sides that say "Catholic Foresters". The paper has deep and wide diagonal embossed lines. This was a benevolent fraternal organization that was formed in 1879 and still exists. The flags are paper with some aging, and the pins have a little light rust, but these are in amazing condition for their age. These are very rare.