Spring Premier Auction 2013

Here are two important souvenir pinback buttons from the franchise's glorious "Whiz Kid" season in 1950 when the club upended the defending National League champion Dodgers on the final day of the season. The first is a 1 3/4-inch in diameter Philadelphia Phillies National League Champions white button with red lettering, plus a 2-inch white and 1 1/4-inch red ribbon along side a gold-color 2-inch bat and ball charms. All elements are in excellent condition, with slight tarnishing and rust on the back of the oval and a tiny bit of apparently tape residue on the front and the bat. The second pinback, same 1 3/4-inch size, features a blac-and-white photograph of Robin Roberts, two 3 1/2-inch red and white ribbons attached, along with a chain with small charms of a baseball and glove. The reverse of the pinback shows about the same level of tarnishing and rust as the first pinback, while the ribbons show some staining and the red one has a couple of holes with fabric loss. The chain of holding the charms shows a good deal of wear and tarnish, a bit less so on the two charms. All in all, two nice condition artifacts from one of the most important eras in Phillies history.