1916 World Champion Red Sox pin

[sporteq]

Paul- the column is great! I'm glad your sharing all that great info. Would it be possible to see the backside of the 1916 Bo Sox pin?

That 1905 A's pin is a stunner! I love the ornate card board backing too. I belive there's only maybe half a dozen that have survived.. Does that sound correct?

Albert

[springpin]

Albert,

Sorry, not readily. The pin is locked up in a bank vault. I can tell you that it has a cardboard backing, if that is of interest to you. I lifted the image from my book.

[springpin]

Albert,

I'm sorry, I did not answer your other question. You should know by now I am generally incapable of giving a simple and short answer to any baseball pinback button question. Here is my take on the 1905 pin. Since it was originally designed to be displayed rather than worn, its chances of survival are higher. Since it is physically large, the odds of it getting lost or misplaced are lower than a small pin. I consider this pin to be almost like a small trophy. As such, the number of surviving specimens might be approached in reverse: how many were likely made? My guess is a very small number. We should also remember the Athletics were the losers of this World Series. Someone commissioned a lot of artistry despite not winning. Their manner of distribution is unknown, perhaps limited to front office people. I doubt if they were made available to the public.

I have seen only two versions of this pin: the original version with all the adornments (the one a reader posted), and just the pin minus all the adornments. So at least I will vouch for two. What is unknown is whether these pins get re-cycled among the auction houses every few years, or whether previously unknown specimens turn up. I am reminded of the old joke by Johnny Carson: there is only one fruit cake in the world. Every holiday season it gets passed off to someone else.

[sporteq]

Paul- please give us the long version.. the heck with the simple explanation.. haha. I do remember a version that come up to auction with a large chip missing out of the ornate cardboard backing. I don't recall what auction.

Albert