Cleveland World Series press pins

[Rob D.]

Mike R.,

Jim Kovacs' ads ran in SCD for a long time, maybe spanning two years (1979-80? 1980-81?). He was a regular advertister. Not every week on the back page like Hall's Nostalgia, but he had a good-size ad every other week or every three weeks. And always included was the 1963 All-Star press pins for sale for like $50 (not sure of the price; I'm going on memory). I always noticed that, because I would see Kovacs set up at mall shows -- and he never had any press pins with him. I was a teenager at the time, and Kovacs was famous for being incredibly rude to seemingly anyone younger than 30, so I never got up the nerve to ask him about the press pins.

It was years later that a veteran collector friend and I were talking about the old days, and he related approaching Kovacs and asking him how many 1963 All-Star press pins he once had.

"Ah, not that many," Kovacs said. "I always included that in my ads to attract attention and maybe drum up business."

And all that led to the accepted school of thought that the 1963 All-Star press pin is available in larger-than-normal numbers.

I dug out my copy of SCD's Complete Guide to Baseball Memorabilia from 1992. Here are the values listed for All-Star pins from 1960-64:

1960 Kansas City: $350-$500
1960 New York (Yankees): $400-$500
1961 Boston: $600-$700
1961 San Francisco: $650-$750
1962 Chicago: $425-$500
1962 Washington: $350-$400
1963 Cleveland: $100-$175
1964 New York (Mets): $250-$300

Malloy's Sports Collectibles Value Guide from 1993 lists these values:

1960 Kansas City: $350
1960 New York (Yankees): $375
1961 Boston: $600
1961 San Francisco: $650
1962 Chicago: $450
1962 Washington: $300
1963 Cleveland: $100
1964 New York (Mets): $250

Thanks for the kind words.

Rob