Let's See Your Legendary Winnings - Photos/Memorabilia/Autographs

[batsballsbases]

Mike,
Very nice postings about the pins that went in the Dreier collection. I posted up some of the pictures that were in the book Smithsonian Baseball Inside the worlds finest private collections. Im hoping that in the next Legendary auctions some of the pins that are seen in the photos and werenot in this auction start to become avialible to the collecting public again. As we all know it can take years for items to surface again . In pin collecting many pin lots were made so small lets say 50 at a time that for many to survive we may now only see a hand full of pins that are left. And in some cases it may be the LAST one that is left ,like the Chance 1910 world series pin. Also the Connie Mack W/S pin that Paul picked up may be one of just a hand full left.I have always been surprised that some of these pins are much rarer than some of the card counterparts I.E. t206 wagner 70-80-90 known examples?
Wagner our protection against loss pin 4 maybe 5 known to exist! I do believe one day that many of the rare pins will have their" day in the sun" as to a price increase just due to to rarity. I have seen a large pick-up in the last few years in pin collecting but it does seem to be alot more in type collectors I.E. collecting just Tigers pins, Cubs Pins, or world series pins. Good to see an intrest in these little circles of tin!!!!!

[bobfreedman]

Is there a price guide for these pins?

[batsballsbases]

Bob,
There are a few price guides on pins . Many are very incomplete as some only deal with pins that have a catalog designation that is already established. I,E. Cameo pepsin PE1 PM10 stadium pins and so on. A good guide is Pauls Book Baseball Pinback Buttons By Dr Paul Muchinsky who as a matter of fact goes by springpin . You will see his posts in this thread. You might want to contact him and see if the book is still avialible. I believe its around $100 but you can ask him. Ted Hake and Roger Steckler put out a book long ago that has alot of great info in it but is a little hard to find and prices are from 25+ years ago, but a great reference. Goes by NON- Paper sports collectibles. Im posting a picture of Pauls book (paul I hope you dont mind) A great picture guide of pins.

Bob ,
Just to let you know the pins that we have been talking about were just in the Legendary auction that just finished the Schmelzers Cobb sold for 6000 The Chance 1910 world series pin sold for 4500 and the Connie Mack world series pin sold for 2200 that is before the 19.5% comission!!

[mjkm90]

Bob,

Regarding pricing...this is one of my favorite elements of pinback collecting. With cards there is a great deal of standardization and accumulation of pricing data, SMR, etc. With pins, it's more of a feel and what you see in the market.

I love the fact that while condition is obviously relevent, it doesn't drive the value of a pin up, but will push it down. Pinheads (for the most part), don't care about a little rust, minor scuffs or scratches, and perhaps a touch of foxing. This is one of the reasons that professional grading hasn't caught on with pins. I don't know a single collector who submits pins, or purchases graded pins without busting them out. Grade simply doesn't matter as much as scarcity and the "look" of the pin.

Paul's guide is INVALUABLE, but it really is a guide rather than a value meter. Some prices are right on with current markets, others are less so. When you get into it, you will quickly discover what is rare and what is not. I have spent countless hours flipping through Paul's book and highly recommend it. I would love to see volume II some day Paul

[springpin]

Mike,

I have been asked about a "Volume 2" of the baseball book in the past by other collectors. I am leaning toward doing it for several reasons, among them are the omission of pins in sets (because they have been previously described verbally if not pictorially) and additional pins have surfaced since the book was published. The major reason for my doing so is to create a record as to what is out there to collect. We will never codify pins as cards have been codified, but it is fun to try to bring some informational structure to what is a rather chaotic area of baseball memorabilia.

A reason for not doing another volume is the day the manuscript goes to press, it is too late to include any "last minute" arrivals that could be presented. As such, the need for a "Volume 3" begins immediately, and so on. If I were to do another volume it would be in some electronic fashion (about which I know very little). If it couldn't be continuously updated, at the least it would be easier to produce subsequent volumes compared to hard books. However, I am old-school, and like the feel and heft of a real book. I would rather flip pages than scroll on a computer screen. But that is the direction the publishing world is moving toward, and I guess I would rather do an electronic book than no book.

Long story short, I don't know what I will do. I plan on retiring soon, and it is a project that I look forward to contemplating, if not doing. If I make the decision to do it, I will tell the Net54 folks first. By the way, because the book ("Volume 1") is getting on in years, I am now selling it for half price
($42.50) by contacting me directly.

Mike, your description of the relative irrelevance of condition to value with pins (especially compared to cards) is absolutely spot on. In a previous post Al described how scarce some pins are, with some being (apparently) unique. It is difficult to give much weight to condition when there is a single surviving specimen.

And thank you for your kind words about the value of my book to collectors.

Paul

[mjkm90]

Paul,

You have done a great deal for our hobby...cheers to you.

Regarding volume II. My preference would be hard copy with perhaps an electronic database for potential additions if you like. I'm old school like you Paul, but aren't most collectors of old "stuff"? I love having a book to hold and take with me and enjoy. I understand there will always be potential new discoveries, but there aren't as many as there once were. Beside, you said it yourself when you pointed out the beuty of pinback collecting when mentioning the codification of cards. I say THANK GOODNESS any book on pins will be incomplete. It would be a sad day (for me) when a complete Standard Catalog could be produced. Embrace the incompleteness Paul and sleep well knowing you have something to do when you retire.

I would also recommend taking advantage of your fellow collectors. THIS, would be the greatest opportunity for growth. I believe collectors would welcome the opportunity to contribute images, insights, and even tech help. Home scanners produce amazing images today, and the need for photography would be minimal. Scanned images are extremely easy to manipulate and use.

YOU CAN DO IT PAUL!!!

[perezfan]

Can we stop talking about the damned Pinbacks? I was the under-bidder on the Connie Mack, and really wanted that thing. Good thing for Paul that I stopped at $2,100, as I had my eye on a couple of things closing on Day 2. Otherwise, I would have driven him lots higher!

Seriously- many congrats to Paul and Al on the landmark Pin acquisitions. These pins truly belonged with the hardcore "pin guys" and not just a general collector like me. I'm glad they found their proper homes, and I'll just have to make a harder run in Legendary (part 2).

Regardless, this was a great auction and we can only hope that the memorabilia in REA is equal to it!

[batsballsbases]

Originally Posted by mjkm90

Bob,

Regarding pricing...this is one of my favorite elements of pinback collecting. With cards there is a great deal of standardization and accumulation of pricing data, SMR, etc. With pins, it's more of a feel and what you see in the market.

I love the fact that while condition is obviously relevent, it doesn't drive the value of a pin up, but will push it down. Pinheads (for the most part), don't care about a little rust, minor scuffs or scratches, and perhaps a touch of foxing. This is one of the reasons that professional grading hasn't caught on with pins. I don't know a single collector who submits pins, or purchases graded pins without busting them out. Grade simply doesn't matter as much as scarcity and the "look" of the pin.

Paul's guide is INVALUABLE, but it really is a guide rather than a value meter. Some prices are right on with current markets, others are less so. When you get into it, you will quickly discover what is rare and what is not. I have spent countless hours flipping through Paul's book and highly recommend it. I would love to see volume II some day Paul

Mike,
Couldnt have said it better myself!! But as you know Im more of a condition nut! But thats just me!