Did anyone notice?

[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.

[Rob D.]

Good stuff, Paul. I appreciate you sharing it. Didn't notice but will go back and look.

[MK]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see any difference between the back of the Wagner pin and the other Hermes pins.

[perezfan]

Same here...

Wagner's verso looks just like the others. This Pin of unidentified player (Camnitz?) appears to be the one with a point of difference...

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/Lot...--Unidentified

And here's the more traditional Wagner...

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/Lot...--Honus-Wagner

[springpin]

The other pins have a thick collet under which is a coiled spring pin. If you wanted to, you could remove the spring pin from the back of the pinbacks. Unless my eyes are deceiving me, the straight part of the pin on the Wagner pinback comes out of a small square hole in the back plate. No collet seems to be holding it in place. I have no idea how you could remove the pin from the Wagner pinback without damaging the structural integrity.

I will also add I generally do not like to make comments about pinbacks from pictures of them. I would definitely prefer to inspect the Wagner pinback in person, but it is not mine to do so.

[batsballsbases]

I to dont see what you are talking about Paul. Looks like a collet and spring pin to me. As for the other pin it also is just a spring pin and collet system just with the pin connecting into the small pin holder. Have seen many of this type on the PM10 stadium pins. Here is one out of the pin.

[slidekellyslide]

My guess is that the Wagner has a borrowed springpin from a different pin.

[MK]

Paul, I think your eyes are in fact deceiving you. If you look closely at the back of the Wagner, you can see some of the spring pin between 9:00 and 10:00. The black hole you see is just a shadow.

[perezfan]

Yup... You can indeed see it right at 10:00. Good eyes, MK!