I had to take a couple of weeks off, so if anyone was wondering why there was not posts for the last two weeks, the answer was grad school. I just started a Ph.D. in STEM Education, and was trying to get organized to both teach AND learn. Just teaching was bad enough (I thought!)
What I have for you today is two pins from two different eras. The awesome thing is, the one that looks old, isn’t. The one that is rather plain? It is rather old. Both have very interesting and unique characters.
I am putting these together because they are about the same size. Both are just over a centimeter wide. The first, is a theater pin, showcasing the two faces, one of comedy, one of tragedy.
[click to enlarge all pictures. They are beautiful pins.]
One might be tempted to say this is an old pin, but the College Seal on it gives it away as rather new. That is the post-1937 Seal, the Seymour Seal. The detail work on the front is beautiful. I don’t know what type of gold, but it is gold, that much is clear. There is absolutely no tarnishing or patina on it.
Next, is a sterling silver pin, with our friendly manufacturer, CMR on the back.*
There is no way my picture does this pin justice. The purple is a rich purple, while the gold catches and reflects the light in a beautiful way. That back with the CMR triangle? We saw that with the Spoon I posted last time. But there is a big difference between the two CMR’s. This is larger, and the triangle is raised dots. The spoon is an impressed CMR. If I was a betting man (and I do live in NV) I would place this pin older than the spoon.
The other reason why I would date it older is the fact it just says Knox. The college seal of 1903 (The Robert Finley Seal) was wildly popular, and was used in several pins (according to the Knox Student and Gale). I wish I could find some of those pins.
The backs give away which is older. The simple pin back of the oval Knox is much older than the more complicated pin on the Comedy/Tragedy mask.
I would love to find more pins like these. I know they existed, but I have not seen them come up for sale. These are exceptionally rare in my experience.
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*http://www.silvercollection.it/AMERICANSILVERMARKSRDUE.html
CHAS M. ROBBINS – Attleboro, MA
Founded in 1892 by Charles M. Robbins. In 1912 Robbins Company was formed and in 1963 became a subsidiary of Continental Communications Corporation.