Blue Peter Badges
Free entry to half the attractions in Britain, if you earned it.
Send in something good enough and a shield-shaped badge arrived in the post. Nothing else at that age came close.
The blue badge was for interesting letters and pictures. The silver was for a second achievement, and the gold was essentially a knighthood for under-twelves.
The badge got you into attractions free, which meant there was a brisk and strictly forbidden trade in second-hand ones.
Cost back then
Free, but you had to earn it
Goes for now
Selling one voids it, and the BBC actively polices listings
