1915 PM1 “Ornate Frame” Pinbacks of the Dreier Collection
During the adolescence of our industry there appeared a worthy reference guide titled The Sports Collectors Bible. And therein was posted a brief segment outlining the hobby’s meager awareness of a souvenir pin issue that first appeared about 1915. So remote was this production that it eluded any citing at all in the benchmark work of an earlier generation, Burdick’s American Card Catalog. The Sports Collectors Bible listed nine different known subjects in the issue, and designated it “PM1,” to presume that the pins had been sold originally as free-standing merchandise (and to imply that they were anonymously sponsored).

Modern reference annuals have indicated that the range of subjects - all of them baseball, of course - now lingers at about 30 different, when we factor the several documented variations. Moreover, the mainstream of those subjects cites the most popular stars of that era, which translates to a rich yield of now-enshrined superstars. As “checklists” are concerned though, that of PM1 pins has probably not yet reached full maturity - as a function of the stark paucity of these pins, the roster of the issue will likely, but glacially, continue to expand.

It has long been assumed that PM1s were dispensed in 1915, and with our current body of knowledge, all indications fairly affirm that vintage. Emphasis of the players selected for the production tends to support that interpretation, as uniforms reflect the 1914 season...with a few exceptions, but always pre-dating 1915. As may be interpreted in our listings here, a couple of these players had actually jumped to the maverick Federal League for the 1914 season.

PM1s were souvenir pins, probably sold in one or possibly several different sites - we’d assume Major League facilities, but that notion is by no means absolute. In fact, when considering their scarcity, it’s difficult to imagine a pervasive marketing success for the issue much beyond a rather remote venue - and quite briefly at that. Here offered, individually, is perhaps the largest holding of PM1s in our industry. In our detailing for each of these little treasures, do note that a few of them are accompanied by their original retail card mounts (at 10 cents apiece); a couple others are offered as complementing pairs - comprising their standard broach as well as corresponding straight-pin attachments. (The latter were evidently devised for distaff fans who cared to display images of diamond heroes on their luxuriant ribboned hats.) With the exception of one piece, which is listed in our offered selections, PM1s featured one player - sometimes with the benefit of a captioned last name, and sometimes not. The player images are encased action photo prints that are embellished in oval-shaped metallic finery that measures about one inch horizontally. In turn, the affixing devices were attached to the reverses either by soldering or by being held in by the backing. It may be assumed that all the metallic considerations of these pins are NM or stronger; our evaluation of each of these listings is predicated on the condition of the paper image as determined by degrees of creasing, foxing, clarity and light.

Here then is an opportunity to capture one, or several, of these exquisite pins from the inordinately rare production we know as PM1. For each, we will identify the featured player’s 1914 team along with details regarding condition.


CLOSE WINDOW