Early Ty Cobb Pin Identification Help Needed!

[jamorton215]

I recently picked up a pair of Ty Cobb pins at an auction - and bought them on a whim as I couldn't find ANYTHING about them online.

They look identical to the Sweet Caporal pins from 1910-1012, but these are bronze and have an embossed image of Cobb.

Hoping this community can help me figure out what they are/where they came from!

Year?
Maker?
Is it from a set?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Hankphenom]

Seen one before somewhere. Way cool pickups. I'm a little wary, but they sure do look old and I'd guess they are.

[mrreality68]

No info on it
Hopefully it is authentic that would be a great find/addition to anyones collection

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Seen one before somewhere. Way cool pickups. I'm a little wary, but they sure do look old and I'd guess they are.

I am with you. It sort of has a look of a later pin but hope not.
.

[jamorton215]

Yeah I just had a friend send me a link to one that Heritage auctioned off in 2019 and they said they "believed" it was made after his playing days, but they didn't display any confidence in that. They had it marketed as a 1950's pin.

Even if it's not from his playing days, it's still really neat in my mind. I plan on displaying at least one of them alongside my T206 Cobb red portrait.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by jamorton215

Yeah I just had a friend send me a link to one that Heritage auctioned off in 2019 and they said they "believed" it was made after his playing days, but they didn't display any confidence in that. They had it marketed as a 1950's pin.

Even if it's not from his playing days, it's still really neat in my mind. I plan on displaying at least one of them alongside my T206 Cobb red portrait.

I would have guessed 40s or 50s. Cool pin.
.

[dbrown]

They remind me a bit of this 1960 press pin in terms of design and material, though the backs are very different:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/114362326086

[swarmee]

Maybe created around the first HOF induction in 1936?

[phlflyer1]

It would appear that the earliest that Orange was introduced to the Tigers uniforms was 1927.

http://wearefanatics.com/evolution-d...tigers-jersey/

So definitely not earlier than 1927 but I would agree with others that it looks more like a 40's-50's or so era pin.

[Hankphenom]

So interesting. How about the backs? Do they look professionally done or by an amateur? They look pretty crudely done to me. The fronts look professional to my eyes, with the artwork, enamel, paint, etc. If it's an amateur, it's one who has access to some fine metalworking equipment and knows what they're doing from an artistic standpoint. To those who are guessing 1940s or 50s, what is it about them that suggests that? They look a lot older to me, but maybe that's just the oxidation. The orange could be a clue, but also, Tigers are orange, sort of, so the use of that color isn't dispositive as to age, either, I would say.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

So interesting. How about the backs? Do they look professionally done or by an amateur? They look pretty crudely done to me. The fronts look professional to my eyes, with the artwork, enamel, paint, etc. If it's an amateur, it's one who has access to some fine metalworking equipment and knows what they're doing from an artistic standpoint. To those who are guessing 1940s or 50s, what is it about them that suggests that? They look a lot older to me, but maybe that's just the oxidation. The orange could be a clue, but also, Tigers are orange, sort of, so the use of that color isn't dispositive as to age, either, I would say.

On the red one Ty looks a little too unscathed. A bit higher relief, to me, than I would expect from a 1900s-1920s pin. Also, the oxidation doesn't quite look old enough to me.
It's sort of hard to explain but they just don't look to be from the early years compared to other earlier ones. Maybe someone will find a promotion ad with them or something >..

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

So interesting. How about the backs? Do they look professionally done or by an amateur? They look pretty crudely done to me. The fronts look professional to my eyes, with the artwork, enamel, paint, etc. If it's an amateur, it's one who has access to some fine metalworking equipment and knows what they're doing from an artistic standpoint. To those who are guessing 1940s or 50s, what is it about them that suggests that? They look a lot older to me, but maybe that's just the oxidation. The orange could be a clue, but also, Tigers are orange, sort of, so the use of that color isn't dispositive as to age, either, I would say.

Yeah, on the one back that is shown, the clip, or whatever you want to call it, looks like it was attached with a really amateurish soldering job. Would love to see the back of the other pin to see how that clip was attached. Could be that was a repair a former owner did to re-attach the clip, but who knows. Like Leon said, something about those pins doesn't look like they would be from his playing days.

[gnaz01]

I've had one for years, and still don't know anything about it, but here is mine