[springpin]

Lot 965 in the recent Legendary Auction was the spectacular Hermes Ice Cream pinback of Honus Wagner. There were nine other Hermes pinbacks in the auction. Legendary showed both the front and the back of each pinback.The Wagner pinback was made by a different construction process than the others. The other nine were made with a traditional collet and spring pin. The Wagner pinback was made with a construction process that I have never seen before in a 1.25" pinback. There appears to be no collet, but a black plate. A small square hole seems to have been punched by machine into the back plate. The pin exits from behind the back plate. I would love to know if there is any "wiggle" in the pin.

While eight of the other Hermes pinbacks have removable paper inserts in the back, if I read the description correctly, the paper on the Wagner pinback seems to have been glued on, and only a small remnant remains.

In case you are wondering if all the Wagner pinbacks from the Hermes set were made this way, such is not the case.

I do not wish to imply this Wagner pinback is a reproduction. I am convinced it is vintage. By virtue of the construction process used, this pinback is not any more or less valuable than Wagner pinbacks made with a collet and spring pin, in my opinion. But I sure would love to know the history of this specimen. From a design standpoint, the construction process is unique in my experience with this diameter pinback. The fact that it was used with the key pinback in the set makes it all the more intriguing.