Authentic Activision Patch?

[primeform]

I wont an auction on ebay for real cheap that included a Grand Prix Activision patch. Do they make modern day replicas of these or is this authentic? It was included with a pin set that was made recently. How can you tell if these patches are authentic?

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 140395713519

[Zwackery]

It looks like a NOS patch. Several troves of Activision patches were unearthed a few years ago and there are lots of certain titles around.

 

The PVC pin set is neat. Who made it? Is there a copyright date?

[primeform]

I haven't received them in the mail yet but I will check when they arrive. I believe I found something on the net about them being put out around 2006 but theres not much info. What does "NOS" stand for?

[Fixitguy74]

NOS = New Old Stock

[Zwackery]

NOS = New Old Stock

 

So, things that were made (new) but have sat unsold, usually in a warehouse or storage facility, which preserves their new quality.

[primeform]

so its authentic just never given away as a prize? is there a way to find out which ones were found NOS and are relatively common now?

[Miss 2600]

so its authentic just never given away as a prize? is there a way to find out which ones were found NOS and are relatively common now?

 

I'd like to know that, too! I was wondering why there were so many on eBay selling for cheap. I'm assuming Private Eye isn't one of those NOS patches. Only one is on eBay for $75. It would have been a tough patch to get, too. I could never get close to necessary score.

[Zwackery]

so its authentic just never given away as a prize? is there a way to find out which ones were found NOS and are relatively common now?

 

I'd like to know that, too! I was wondering why there were so many on eBay selling for cheap. I'm assuming Private Eye isn't one of those NOS patches. Only one is on eBay for $75. It would have been a tough patch to get, too. I could never get close to necessary score.

To the best of my recollection, these are the patches that were unearthed, in fairly large numbers - and by that, I mean in the 100s (or more) - from stashes (early 2006 through all of 2007, then they continued to show up, but with less frequency) and offered up on eBay:

 

Atari 2600

Order of the Supreme Starmaster & all 3 chevrons

Spider Fighter <---- maybe the most unearthed, 100s and 100s, at one point this patch was worth one dollar (or less), it was so common

Enduro <---- has become less common than it was 4 years ago

Dragster

River Raid <---- another discovered in the 100s and 100s, it reached the low selling price of 1 penny

Kaboom!

Pitfall!

Chopper Command

Decathlon - Bronze

Dolphin - Friends of Dolphins and Secret Society of Dolphins <---- once part of the NOS dump, these are now harder to get

Grand Prix

Laser Blast <---- more of the Federation, less of the 1,000,000 stripe, but still plentiful enough

Robot Tank - Medal of Merit

Space Shuttle - both Pilot and Commander <---- once part of the NOS dump, these are now harder to get

 

Intellivision

Pitfall!

Happy Trails

Worm Whomper

 

5200, CV, C64

Pitfall!

Kaboom!

Megamania

River Raid

Dreadnaught Factor

Toy Bizarre <---- once one of the rarest patches, the finds really lowered the rarity, now this is a bit harder to find again

 

 

There may be others, but those are the ones that most quickly come to my mind.

 

 

Still hard to get:

Private Eye <--- some of these were part of the NOS find, just in much smaller numbers

Robot Tank - Star of Honor <--- some of these were part of the NOS find, just in much smaller numbers

Decathlon - Gold

Crackpots <--- some of these were part of the NOS find, just in much smaller numbers

Pitfall II

H.E.R.O.

Pressure Cooker

Seaquest

Stampede (Intellivision version)

Beamrider (half-moon version)

[primeform]

nice list thanks

[Miss 2600]

Ah man! Two of the ones I earned back in the day are on the NOS list (River Raid and Pitfall--I actually have two variations of Pitfall)

 

Oh well, at least my Pitfall II and Plaque Attack (I guess) are still rare. The sentimental value is worth more than $$$, though.

[primeform]

Ah man! Two of the ones I earned back in the day are on the NOS list (River Raid and Pitfall--I actually have two variations of Pitfall)

 

Oh well, at least my Pitfall II and Plaque Attack (I guess) are still rare. The sentimental value is worth more than $$$, though.

 

Ya i dont think it matters in your case because theres no reason youd ever sell your originals. the accomplishment and memories are valuable enough

[Zwackery]

Ah man! Two of the ones I earned back in the day are on the NOS list (River Raid and Pitfall--I actually have two variations of Pitfall)

 

Oh well, at least my Pitfall II and Plaque Attack (I guess) are still rare. The sentimental value is worth more than $, though.

 

Ya i dont think it matters in your case because theres no reason youd ever sell your originals. the accomplishment and memories are valuable enough

Since River Raid and Pitfall were very popular and sold extremely well, it makes sense that Activision would produce a lot of patches and hence the NOS abundance.

 

You can get a Plaque Attack patch a bit easier than Pitfall II, but both are hard to find and much in demand.

 

There are 3 different versions of Pitfall: 2600 (triangular), 5200/CV/C64 (rectangular), and Intellivision (rounded triangular). In addition to the shapes being different, the graphics on the patch are also different. The Intellivision version is a bit more uncommon than the other two.

 

If you want to see all the different patches, Digital Press has a decent visual resource:

http://www.digitpres...atches_2600.htm

[Miss 2600]

 

 

There are 3 different versions of Pitfall: 2600 (triangular), 5200/CV/C64 (rectangular), and Intellivision (rounded triangular). In addition to the shapes being different, the graphics on the patch are also different. The Intellivision version is a bit more uncommon than the other two.

 

If you want to see all the different patches, Digital Press has a decent visual resource:

http://www.digitpres...atches_2600.htm

 

Strange. When I got the score needed for 2600 Pitfall! (20,000 I think) I sent in the photo and got the rectangle patch. I was disappointed because I think it showed the triangle one in the manual and it is cooler. Maybe they ran out of the triangle one for awhile and sent the 5200 one. I ended up getting the triangle one, too. I found it (and Kaboom!) sewn onto a backpack in a thrift store.

[Klove]

Yep! That'd be a real Activision patch. Those PVS stickers look to be some-what late aftermarket pieces.

 

- Ken

[seanhq]

If you want to see all the different patches, Digital Press has a decent visual resource:

http://www.digitpres...atches_2600.htm

Atari Age has a nice section on Activision patches too, most submitted by Atari Age members

 

Speaking of Activision patches, I'm still looking for H.E.R.O. - Round, Decathlon - Silver, Decathlon - Gold.

[atari_envy]

Speaking of Activision patches, I'm still looking for H.E.R.O. - Round, Decathlon - Silver, Decathlon - Gold.

 

Decathlon - Silver = you, me, and several other people. I have the gold patch -- silver is harder to get.

 

I am looking for the Pitfall II patch. If anyone has one, PM me, and I will make it worth your while.

[Zwackery]

Atari Age has a nice section on Activision patches too, most submitted by Atari Age members

Yes indeed; however, it only covers the 2600 releases.

 

There are 3 different versions of Pitfall: 2600 (triangular), 5200/CV/C64 (rectangular), and Intellivision (rounded triangular). In addition to the shapes being different, the graphics on the patch are also different. The Intellivision version is a bit more uncommon than the other two.

 

If you want to see all the different patches, Digital Press has a decent visual resource:

http://www.digitpres...atches_2600.htm

 

Strange. When I got the score needed for 2600 Pitfall! (20,000 I think) I sent in the photo and got the rectangle patch. I was disappointed because I think it showed the triangle one in the manual and it is cooler. Maybe they ran out of the triangle one for awhile and sent the 5200 one. I ended up getting the triangle one, too. I found it (and Kaboom!) sewn onto a backpack in a thrift store.

Apparently Activision did this on many, many occasions, judging by the stories people have related. Might have been they ran out of a particular patch and instead of waiting on a new print run they just did a substitution, or it might have been a clerical error. The most interesting thing about the substitution has to do with the Beamrider patch, as the 2600 version (half moon) seemed to have been not sent out (either at all or in extremely small quantity) and people got trapezoid version instead (ditto for 5200 and CV players), making the proper half moon version (as shown in the manual) perhaps the rarest of all Activision patches.

[+Mitch]

Seeing this thread made me dig out my Activision patch collection which I haven't looked at in years. It seems that all but four of my patches have been found in the NOS stocks.

 

Oh well, I wasn't really planning on selling them anyway and they are cool to look at.

 

Mitch

[Klove]

The "odd" patches out there, were made specific to the platform. That said, the Intellivision had a fifferent looking Pitfall patch from that of the 2600 and the 5200.

 

I have an internal memo from Activision abck in the day, where they specified which is which. They also made mention in the note that the giving away of patches was going to be ending very shortly. My guess for that, would be that it was starting to cost them too much and things weren't going as well as they used to.

 

It's in my old stash of Acti Historical Docs out in my garage somewhere.

[Zwackery]

The "odd" patches out there, were made specific to the platform. That said, the Intellivision had a fifferent looking Pitfall patch from that of the 2600 and the 5200.

 

I have an internal memo from Activision abck in the day, where they specified which is which. They also made mention in the note that the giving away of patches was going to be ending very shortly. My guess for that, would be that it was starting to cost them too much and things weren't going as well as they used to.

 

It's in my old stash of Acti Historical Docs out in my garage somewhere.

I'd really like to see that memo! It might help clear up some of my curiosity about the Beamrider patch.

[primeform]

what is the half moon version of beamrider? anyone have a picture? what version is this?

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 300359239453

[Zwackery]

what is the half moon version of beamrider? anyone have a picture? what version is this?

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 300359239453

 

That trapezoid shaped one has been referred to as a "half moon" because of the graphic on it.

 

When I talk about the half moon Beamrider, I'm referring to the one in the instruction manual:

 

http://www.atariage.com/manual_page.html?SystemID=2600&SoftwareLabelID=23&ItemTypeID=&currentPage=3&maxPages=6

 

and you can see the actual patch here:

 

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/patches/beamrider.jpg

 

I have one, and supposedly someone else has one, but to the best of my knowledge no one else has made the claim or demonstrated any proof, although there could be more out there.

[atari_envy]

Zwack,

 

Looks like you are stilling missing a patch -- my favorite one at that. I believe Nathan Strum is one of the few people that actually have this "patch" along with the original letter.

[atari_envy]

Oh, and I almost forgot the Fishing Derby patch. You don't have that one either. I think aftermac is the only one to own that one.

[primeform]

what is the half moon version of beamrider? anyone have a picture? what version is this?

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 300359239453

 

That trapezoid shaped one has been referred to as a "half moon" because of the graphic on it.

 

When I talk about the half moon Beamrider, I'm referring to the one in the instruction manual:

 

http://www.atariage.com/manual_page.html?SystemID=2600&SoftwareLabelID=23&ItemTypeID=&currentPage=3&maxPages=6

 

and you can see the actual patch here:

 

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/patches/beamrider.jpg

 

I have one, and supposedly someone else has one, but to the best of my knowledge no one else has made the claim or demonstrated any proof, although there could be more out there.

 

ah sweet. where did you get yours from? any story behind why they were never released?