HI, THANKS FOR VISITING.
Up for sale is a vintage California Scholarship Federation (CSF) member's lapel pin in solid 10K gold, in its original clear plastic presentation case. The design is the classical lamp of learning — the "genie lamp" shape familiar from school and honor-society insignia — resting on a black enamel bar lettered CSF in raised gold.
The back is marked 10K. There is no maker's mark visible. The fitting is a hinged pin stem with a catch, as originally made, and both parts are present.
The California Scholarship Federation was founded in September 1921 by Charles F. Seymour, head of the social sciences department at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, with 28 founding chapters. Its stated purpose was "to foster a higher standard of scholarship and all-around attainment among the students of the high schools in California," and its phrase is "Scholarship for Service."
The lamp-shaped member's pin was approved on December 20, 1922 — so this is not merely a pin in the CSF style, it is the federation's member's pin in a design adopted over a century ago and still in use. Individual chapter pins were discontinued in its favor.
Membership was earned semester by semester on a points system tied to grades. A student who qualified for four or more semesters between the tenth and twelfth grades became a Life Member, also called a Seal Bearer, and received the CSF Gold Seal on their diploma. The federation added a junior branch for middle schools, CJSF, in 1967, and has chartered more than a thousand chapters across California. Somebody earned this one, and kept it in its box.
These pins were made in more than one grade over the years, and the gold-filled examples marked 1/10 10K GF are the ones usually seen. This one is marked 10K with no fraction — solid 10-karat gold. It weighs 1.2 grams.
The case dates itself. Moulded into the lid is "U.S. PAT. 2570341" — United States Patent 2,570,341, Hinge for Containers, granted to George H. Hake of Depew, New York on 9 October 1951. It covers the snap-together ball-and-socket hinge moulded into both halves of the box, which let a maker turn out both halves from a single mould. A case marked with an issued patent rather than "patent pending" was made after that date, so this case dates from late 1951 or after. The lower half also carries a moulded "17," most likely a mould number.
Details
- Type: California Scholarship Federation member's lapel pin. No year or term of membership is shown on the pin, and none is claimed.
- Maker: none visible
- Form: classical oil lamp (lamp of learning) above a black enamel bar lettered CSF in raised gold
- Measurements: 7/16″ wide × 3/8″ high (about 11 × 9.5 mm); original plastic case approximately 1& 1/8″left to right and front to back and 7/8" tall
- Marks: 10K on the back of the bar, beside the hinge, with no fraction in front of it. No maker's mark visible.
- Metal: solid 10K gold, as marked
- Weight: 1.2 grams (At the time of writing, gold is trading around $4,310–4,330 per troy ounce.The arithmetic: 10K gold is 41.7% pure gold. A troy ounce is 31.10 grams, so pure gold runs about $139 per gram, and 10K about $58 per gram.The steel pin stem and catch aren't gold, and neither is the enamel, so the true number sits a little under the full 1.2 g figure. Call it $65 and it won't be wrong in either direction by much)
- Fastening: hinged pin stem with catch, both present
- Era: 1951 or later, on the case's own evidence — the lid is moulded with U.S. Patent 2,570,341, granted 9 October 1951. The lamp design itself dates from 1922 and was in use for decades, so the pin could in principle be older than its case; nothing about the two suggests they were not issued together.
- Case: original clear plastic snap-top presentation case with cotton pad, included; lid moulded "U.S. PAT. 2570341" and "17"
- Condition: vintage, intact and complete. The black enamel is glossy and unbroken with no chips or losses visible. Light surface wear to the gold consistent with age and use. The pin has not been cleaned or polished. Sold as found.
BEING SOLD IN "AS IS"/USED CONDITION.
PLEASE REFER TO PHOTOS FOR CONDITION.
RETURNS ACCEPTED ON THIS ITEM WITHIN 30 DAYS.
SHIP WITHIN 4 BUSINESS DAYS OF PAYMENT.
PAYMENT BY PAYPAL ONLY. PLEASE ASK ANY QUESTIONS IN ADVANCE.
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