By Prescott Ruff

Special to The Herald-Sun

Nearly every Boy Scout at some point during the 2010 National Scout Jamboree has engaged his attention toward trading patches. Using bargaining skills and arbitrary worth, Scouts carefully trade any type of patch at any time of the day, every day.

Very few rules or regulations have been laid down for Scouts and adult traders to follow. Other than a few officially instituted rules, a trader is on his own to protect his valuables.

One strongly followed and important regulation is the trading barrier between Scouts and adults.

This is for legal reasons and so that a more experienced older trader cannot use higher reasoning to cheat a younger less experienced Scout out of his patches. Courtesy guidelines have built themselves up throughout the trading experience giving this unique market a professionalism of its own.

There is no laid down value for any trading piece. Scouts build their own monetary currency by the personal attachment or rarity of an article. Scouts trade with different purposes in mind.

Scout Ryan Kirk member of Troop 824 says, " I trade patches to bring home memories of my experience, take back with me different pieces of the American Boy Scout councils, and they look ridiculously cool too."

Towels and tarps line the roads with patches laid on top of them for as far as you can travel within camp.

Foreign patches, sets of patches or just individually standing patches are traded in and out of a Scout's bag.

This system has formed its own market for wealth. Someone with rare council sets or lone patches shows experience and power.

During their trading careers, Scouts develop a sense of street smarts.

A Scout must always keep one eye on his patches otherwise they may be unlawfully taken away from him. Scouts may lay down their own rules for how they wish to trade patches with one another.

Typically a trader requests that another trader keeps his distance while viewing each other's patches.

Another tendency traders follow is that a viewing trader does not view from behind the stationary trader, this is so that the stationary trader can vigilantly keep his eye on all prospects of risk.

After bargaining and convincing your way through a deal, traders shake hands to confirm that a deal has been made and commitment to that agreement is of absolute necessity. Prior to this deal concluding shake, no deal has been made, ever.

In general Scouts walk away from a trade satisfied with their deal and ready to continue down the endless lines of possible traders.

Prescott Ruff is the 2010 National Scout Jamboree Hometown News Correspondent for The Herald-Sun.