It doesn't really matter if the tassels stick out. But if it bugs you, then you can just tuck them behind the body of the pennant. The plastic sleeve will hold them nicely in place behind the pennant.

When hanging, use tiny brad nails that barely show, and push them through the plastic cover (but not the pennant itself). There should be enough excess space around the perimeter to do that.

An alternative to the tiny nails is to use Velcro behind the pennant. Quite a few people here do that, and it gives the pennant a nice "floating' effect. I personally have not done it, and am not sure how easily the Velcro can be removed from the wall. Perhaps it peels right off, but I would be leery of it pulling off some of the paint. Perhaps others here can comment on that.

Best of luck, whichever route you take!

Mark,

Thanks for the advice. I got to thinking about the tassels sticking out after my post and realized it probably wouldn't matter. Just inexperience with these things on my part. I posted on this thread back around the first of the year but haven't bought any yet. However, I keep coming back to them. So many of them are so pleasing to the eye with the graphics and colors. St. Louis Cardinals pennants would probably be my first target. Anyway, thanks again.

When I had some pennants displayed using rigid holders, I used duct tape on the back side of the pennant, near the three points, to secure thumb tacks facing away from the pennant that could then be pushed into the wall using pressure on the front. Suppose it depends on how hard your walls are.

I like that idea! You could also hot-glue the tacks to the rigid holder.

One thought on thin holders...some are clear; some are cloudy. I hate the cloudy ones. They might be OK for storage, but not for display, The cloudy ones really dull the colors (which my pics may or may not show).

I only use rigid holders on badly deteriorating pennants. The Cinderella Boys shown is riddled with moth holes. I had to put it in a thin holder to even get it into the rigid one.

To get very soft pennants into a rigid holder, I put the pennant on top of one rigid holder, slide them both into another rigid holder as far as they will go, then pull the first rigid holder out from under the pennant and out of the other holder, which leaves the pennant almost all the way in. I then tap the tip gently on the floor to get the pennant the rest of the way into the holder. I've never tried this with a soft holder as the "carrier," but that might work, too. To display on my walls, I use an inch or so of the heavy-duty double-sided tape available at Staples on three points of the back of the rigid holder, then place the pennant where I want it on the wall and press hard on the spots where I can feel tape bulging from the other side. I've had pennants in place for 15 years so far still with the original tape.

Mine are all in rigid holders, I get them in slowly, even the soft cloth ones, by tapping the holder gently. They are fixed to the wall (cheap paneling) with thumbtacks ... one through the holder (upper left corner) and another at the tip on which the point rests (like on a ledge).

I'm a weird pennant collector. I don't have one displayed. They are all tucked away in my "vault". Since space is at a premium, I prefer only the clear, soft ultra pro sleeves.

Very cool room Greg. Unfortunately, here in Texas, we don't have basements and every room I'd consider gets way too much light. I'd be worried about fading.

Texas
 

In Texas, I use blackout blinds for my room. Works really well.

Wow, great pennant collection!

I don't have any displayed yet either. I am waiting to hopefully move to a place where I have room to display my Yankees collection or maybe even have a man cave. Hopefully that happens within the next year or so.

Mike

Sorry not Baseball
 

My beloved Vikings... We have a love hate relationship.

Is there a book/guide for pennants that shows relative value and scarcity?

I'd put those in the "somewhat rare" category. There's usually one or two of each available on eBay at any given time. The one with the football player is more rare and typically sells for more. Probably in the $150-$200 range. Your variation of this pennant...monotone yellow paint...is more rare than the multi colored version. Not sure how much that adds to value.

The other typically sells for around $100-$125...on eBay any way.

There is a pennant price guide out there. If you google it, it will pop up. The football section is a little lean, but both of your pennants are in there.

Thank you so much for your reply and help. I added this one too... YIKES! I guess I have Viking Pennant Fever.

The truth of the matter is.. I collected pennants as a kid. Every time I went to a sporting event or any tourist trap, I would get one. I had them all around my ceiling sewn together. I still have them ... but I doubt any are of value being from the 80s primarily.
I always wanted to get into these and collect earlier, rarer pieces. I figured I'd start with the semi inexpensive Vikings collection as I'm a huge fan.

Rob pretty much hit the nail on the head with those two. This last photo you posted is a rarer pennant, but still in that same ballpark. I would say $150 - 200 on that one also. The good thing about all three is that they appear to be in solid condition which is generally an issue for early Vikings pennants as they are often purple and susceptible to heavy fading. Most Vikings pennants are going to break the bank and they display well. I guess that's why a lot of people like pennants so much. Take care.

Regarding the Vikings pennant with player in the horned helmet. Been chasing that one for years. It still burns me that a beautiful example was posted on eBay a few months back with a $100 Buy it Now price. Despite checking eBay nearly every day, it was sold by the time I saw it.

As for the specific one above, it's been on eBay for a couple years. The seller, having the only one available, was pretty set in his price and had all the leverage against a desperate pennant collector. He probably shot down a dozen offers from me over the past two years. Glad to see it finally sell. I have some closure now. LOL

There are more than just that one available. It might be the only one on eBay or easily available, but they are out there. I see more as I am in the Mpls area. I believe the seller is Mike from AZ who knows it's rare and tough and rarely lets much go cheap if it's tough. He's a good guy, but a tough negotiator.

His father always had tremendous sports memorabilia at the early shows when I was more of a looker / drooler. He was one of the dealers that really opened my eyes to great sports pennants, programs, and tickets.

Yes...That's him.

But for all intents and purposes, when it comes to old football pennants, if its not on eBay, it might as well not exist. How else would you find old football pennants if not there? I know Keith Javic has a site and I've bought some nice pennants from him, but it's a relatively small inventory and doesn't update with new stuff very often. There aren't that many shows any more. Unless you have a pipeline coming directly thru your man cave due to your connections in the hobby, not sure how else you'd find these. The major auction houses typically don't have much in the way of football pennants...at least not that I've seen. Aside from the Duke Hott auction a couple years ago.

I'm sure Rick Haskins has many, many pennants I'd be interested in...but without a website or a catalogue, how do you find them?

I supposed I could drive around the country in a van like Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz but like I said...not too practical.

Rob,
I know it seems counter intuitive, but making your specific interests known to people who specialize in vintage pennants might help. If I knew you were looking for that pennant I would look out for one for you. The biggest problem is quality pennants seem to be drying up the last few years and auction prices on eBay seem to be climbing. Getting and / or keeping quality items is tough.

I know some on here complain about sellers that have their stuff marked higher than what auction prices realize, but those are auction prices and not retail. Considering the scarcity of some of these pennants, it's my opinion they should be priced even higher and I am certain that's Mike's opinion as well.

You are correct that EBay has become the main place to search, but if you are looking for anything specific you may want to send some of the guys a list and see what happens. Most of what I buy nowadays is to resell so if I don't get a specific item it's no big deal. I used to do shows, but no one goes to shows anymore or they want to complain about the price because they saw it sell on eBay two years prior for 20% less than what it's marked. My kids are very active and I would rather spend my vacation time with them instead of traveling to the National or regional shows hoping people show up.

Last, but not least, reach out to people and see if they're willing to negotiate or sell it off of eBay. Most buyers seem to forget that eBay wants their 10% plus more juice to PayPal. If you are respectful I think some / most people are willing to talk. Good luck with the hunt. Jason

Let's go Astros!
 

As a Giants fan who lives near Houston, I have many reasons to root for the not-Dodgers in the World Series.

Here are some Houston pennants, with the blue Colts pennant (that includes a few autographs) being a new addition.

All good points Jason.

Trust me I know all the tricks on Ebay and don't hesitate to start a "friendly" conversation with a seller. I've had great luck with that. Been reprimanded by eBay once or twice too. :)

You're absolutely right about auction prices on Ebay climbing. Not only have I noticed it personally, I recently signed up on Worthpoint and noticed that upward trend in sell prices compared to even as recently as 2014...and there's a huge difference when you go back to say 2010-11.

Rob

Great pennants Marc.

Rob

Thanks for the response. I paid strong but ok with it based on their condition. I paid about $600 for all three. The last one is absolutely beautiful imo.. rich in color. If you should know of any other tough examples at reasonable prices, please lmk. Ben

Cool pennants Marc

Just about any Vikings purple non-helmet version from the 1960's is tough. Super Bowl 4 pennants are tough as well. Prices used to be in the $750-1500 for Vikings SB 4 pennants. They have softened a little, but there are many versions. There's also a blueish / purple pennant with a runner that was near impossible to find in good condition until there was a few found in a new old stock find. That was still only 5-10. They got gobbled up like most pennant finds. One of the toughest is a straight on earliest Vikings head mascot that they only used for the first year or two. Those are pretty tough.

next question
 

I need to get these framed and displayed as safely as possible. Any suggestions?

I like this old look...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wood-Pennan...IAAOSw44BYZHD4

It’s impossible for me to tell if that frame is “quality” or not. I think perezfan says he buys stock frames made to hold (3) 8x10s and they work out well. You won’t get the triangular shape but they would be MUCH cheaper.

I recommend a rectangular frame. I'm not a fan of the triangle frame. Just me though. Some people like them. Do you have Michaels up there in ND? They usually have a solid selection for a reasonable cost.

It almost sounds like the city slicker from Duluth is making fun of Fargo. :p

Ha! We do... as well as a hobby lobby! :)

I grew up in Duluth. I now unfortunately live in the heavily populated Twin Cities area.

Btw- Duluth is smaller than Fargo. :)

I added this Roberto Clemente memorial pennant to my collection last night. I thought it was rather poignant. Although it has condition issues I have never encountered another example. Has anyone else come across one of these? A big shout out to Mr. Weingarten for once again helping me add another unusual item to my 1971 Bucs collection.

That’s an awesome piece, Mike! With something that rare, I don’t even worry about “condition issues.”

Thanks Rob, It was a big one for me. I can't recall when I extended myself that far before but I am glad that I did.

That is an awesome piece and will look even better displayed. Love it!

Houston Colts
 

My World Series reward. It was a lot of work to see the series through. I deserved something.

Beautiful Colts Pennant.... and rare. :eek:

Congrats!

Agreed, very cool and very rare Keezer pennant. Here is their Astros version, presumably from right around the name change.

Astros Colts
 

I'd love to find that Astros pennant. I found this Colts one on ETSY, which I don't usually check for vintage. For a pretty good price, from a Net54 member. It is listed as rare in Mike Egner's book (as opposed to extremely rate), but I've never seen it for sale before.

Speaking of the Colts to Astros switch, what do you guys think about the 2-sided pennant below (on E-bay). Has anyone seen it before? I have the Astros version of this pennant, but it is more colorful (colors other than Orange in the image). If vendors had Colts pennants that they then needed to change to Astros, it seems like Astros should be on the back.

Unusual Expos Pennant
 

Here's a weird one I picked up recently. A late 50's early 60's design for a team that didn't exist until 1969. 26" long and soft felt. Probably the most interesting pennant I've seen for one of baseball's least interesting teams.

Anyone have any insight on this one?

<a href="http://imgbox.com/cSlj2DA4" target="_blank"><img src="https://images2.imgbox.com/b0/6c/cSlj2DA4_o.jpg" alt="image host"/></a>

Truly, those are two enigmas....

The Colt .45s graphics should definitely be on the front side, since they came first. Cannot conjure up a reason why the Astros portion is on the front.

The Expos Pennant may have been taken from old/existing stock. The gap between the Batter and the team name is very wide (and not the norm). So perhaps it was an unused generic "Batter" pennant that later was purposed for the Expos.

I know this process was done (to some extent) back in the day, and is the only explanation I can think of. In addition, that same generic Batter Mascot was used for many teams, as discussed earlier in this thread. So it might make sense that a small left-over stash of these was retained for this very purpose (rather than wasted/discarded).

That said, it's the only one I've ever seen, and is by far the most attractive and interesting Expos Pennant extant. :cool:

re: the Expos pennant...

I've seen that batter on hundreds of pennants but don't think I've EVER seen the large ball with "movement marks" around it.

"One of baseball's least interesting teams"??

Ever heard of the Tampa Bay Rays? :D

There’s a Milwaukee Braves Pennant with the same Batter and “pulsating” Ball, but it’s full-sized.

I don't even acknowledge the existence of any team that came into being post 1980. ;)

Penguins Pennant
 

Picked up an insanely rare 1969-70 season Pittsburgh Penguins pennant.

I've never seen another one for sale in my almost 9 years of collecting hockey pennants.

The second photo is an image from the Penguins first-ever Stanley Cup Playoff game in April of 1970 against the Oakland Seals. You'll see on the novelty items for sale page that this is the exact Penguins pennant they sold at the game during the 69-70 season for $1. This is how I was able to determine when this was sold.

It's actually quite odd that this pennant is so hard to find. Maybe they just never made many of them for sale, or people just didn't buy them.

Great Penguins pennant and your post is very timely. I was just about to pose the question: Does anyone have photos or other provenance of any of their pennants that helps pinpoint their origins? Very cool that you're able to connect the dots on this one.

I'd love to see what others have been able to find.

Thanks. Great question actually. Outside of the common hockey pennants - NHL services dated ones and 1980s and prior, finding images of vintage hockey pennants are near impossible. Most team programs from the 70s and prior didn't have images- and if they did, they didn't show pennants- mostly t shirts and pucks. To be honest, I didn't even know this Penguins pennant existed until I flipped through this game program and saw it. I like to collect first year/first game hockey items.

That's a great Penguins Pennant. Do you know for sure that it was sold at the stadium? Perhaps it was sold only via the Catalog, and that explains the rarity.

I'm guessing 98% of all pennants were to sold to fans in person/at the stadium, as opposed to them mailing in. I worked for a major (top 10) Food Company, who did Mail-in discount coupons as well as IRCs (instantly redeemable in-store coupons). Redemption rates on the IRCs were in the 90% range, as opposed to roughly 2-3% redemption for the mail-in type.

Most people just don't make the effort to complete paperwork and mail-in, and seem to prefer the ease of an impulse-driven purchase.

Just a theory... However, if you know for a fact that this pennant was sold at souvenir stands within the stadium, then nevermind :o

Great point. I actually have no idea, but you very well may be correct that it was only available via mail order since it's doesn't denote availability at souvenir stands and says you have to mail in to get those items. I bet you're correct that this was specifically done up by the Penguins for mail order because NHL Services licensed pennants throughout the league from 1968-1970. I'm sure you've seen the common dated ones that are all over eBay. A few from 68 and 69 are tough to find like the Penguins and Seals.There are also glitter varitions of those same NHL Services pennants, which are very tough to find. I actually have almost the entire glitter set- missing Atlanta Flames, Red Wings, Canadiens, Rangers, Penguins, Bruins and Leafs.

Here's few example of "provenance":

I don't know the year of the ice cream bar wrapper but I know the Giants pennant pictured ("crowd at feet").

The 1964 Giants merchandise mailer shows some pennants (the Giants one is somewhat rare).

The picture of the vendor is from the 1961 All Star Game.