The Ryder Cup
1961 Masters Badge #000
This may be the holy grail of Masters badges. Even badge collectors that had
heard of this fabled 1961 #000 badge did not know for certain that it existed,
and certainly had never seen one.
1961 was the first year that the Masters Tournament issued a now-iconic "badge".
For that reason, 1961 Masters Badges have long been the highlight of any badge
collection. Masters Collectors also challenged each other to see who could find
the lowest number 1961 badge, with lower numbers selling for a lofty premium.
Well you can't get a number lower that this - #000.
So where did this badge come from? Well, the badge is almost certain to be a
1961 salesman's sample from the Bastian Bros. badge and pin company from
Rochester, NY. This rare badge was recently discovered at an estate sale in
Atlanta, Georgia alongside numerous other salesman samples and similar non-golf
badges and pins that appear to have all been from Bastian Bros., the producer of
the 1961 Masters Badge. Amazingly, this elusive badge was given no special
treatment whatsoever in the collection it was found in; it was just another
sample badge among dozens of others from tournaments, corporate events,
festivals, and the like.
How many of these badges exist? Possibly as few as 3. Green Jacket Auctions was
involved in the sale of two similar badges a few years ago (one #000 and one
with no number at all) in private sale transaction. Those badges belonged
to the then-PGA Tour Tournament Director. We sold those two badges to a
well-respected dealer in California for $3000 each, and they were then flipped
for an even higher amount. To our knowledge, those badges have remained in
private collection since and have never again been offered for sale.
Well, here is one more opportunity to obtain this extraordinary badge - the
elusive #000 badge from the very first year Masters Badges were produced, 1961.
The badge is in perfect condition. For badge collectors, it certainly doesn't
get any better than this.