Pick up some bargains at the AMA eBay store
Act now to buy some rare AMA pins, belt buckles and more while supporting through the AMA eBay store.
From books and patches to pins and belt buckles, the AMA eBay store has it all. Here’s a sampling of some of the items available now to buy outright, or you can make your best offer and, who knows, you may end up with a great deal. To see all the items for sale, go to ebay.com/str/americanmotorcyclistassociation.
The most expensive item for sale in the eBay store is an AMA Gypsy Tours belt buckle and key fob set for $125. The least expensive? Vintage AMA Wing Rider patches for $2.50. These patches were found while cleaning out an AMA warehouse. It’s a smaller patch, measuring 2.5 inches wide by 2.5 inches tall. The quality of the stitching on this patch is unmatched.
Other patches for sale include the traditional AMA patch for $5, a small AMA Protecting Your Right to Ride patch for $6, a 1978 ISDT Kulltorp Sweden Support Team patch for $6 and an AMA Honda Rider patch for $4.
Pins for sale include the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 25th Anniversary pin for $5, AMA Gypsy Tours pin for $12, Harley-Davidson Centennial Pin for $15, AMA Great Destinations Bonneville Salt Flats pin for $10, AMA Laconia Commemorative pin for $10, AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days Commemorative pin for $4, an AMA Premier Touring Series Pin commemorating Americade 2008 for $3 and an American Motorcyclist Association Motorhead pin for $5.
A couple used books are also for sale: Harley-Davidson The Milwaukee Marvel by Harry V. Sucher for $18 and Superbike The Official Book 2010/2011 by Claudio and Fabrizio Porrozzi for $20.
Some of the collectible belt buckles on sale include an AMA Great Destinations Columbus, Ohio, AMA belt buckle for $45; AMA Great Destinations Glen Curtiss belt buckle for $35; very rare 1992 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days belt buckle for $65 an AMA Loretta Lynn Ranch commemorative belt buckle for $35 and an AMA Great Destinations Bonneville Salt Flats Belt Buckle for $45.
Also available, for $10, is a 1990 AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame belt buckle.
The AMA began issuing commemorative pins and belt buckles in 1984 as a way for the AMA to honor notable anniversaries, landmarks and important places and events. But the practice actually has a long history with the AMA, going back to the 1920s.
During the early years of motorcycling, small gatherings of motorcyclists evolved into organized road-riding events. A “Good Fellowship Tour” held in 1913 in Milwaukee proved to be immensely popular with the riding public. Following the pattern of the Milwaukee tour, a Gypsy Tour was developed and promoted by the AMA’s precursor organizations.
Gypsy Tours were held on a single weekend throughout the country. They featured a ride to a scenic location for a picnic and various motorcycle competition events. There were often races, including hillclimbs, “Tourist Trophy” (TT) and dirt-track events, along with field meets involving such motorcycle games as slow races, stake races and plank riding.
In 1925, 212 individual Gypsy Tours were held on June 20 and 21. The Motorcycle & Bicycle Illustrated issue of March 19, 1925, states: “The Gypsy Tour idea originated eight or nine years ago, the object being to set a certain date… for an outing, where riders, dealers and everyone interested in motorcycles would tour to some convenient spot for a day’s sport and a real old-fashioned good time.”
The national organizing groups, and finally the AMA, produced souvenir items for participants in the Gypsy Tours. These items, including watch fobs, belt buckles and pins, have become prized items for collectors.