Memorabilia Authentication and Research Services has unveiled a new holder for pinback buttons and the company also plans to enter the grading market for a collecting niche that dates back more than a century.

 

After four years of market research and product development, MEARS has officially entered the grading & encapsulation business.

The company’s first new product line will be pinback buttons, both celluloid and tin litho. First introduced to the public in 1896, pinbacks represent politicians, sports, products, and many other areas of pop culture and have long been a popular collecting niche.

“We chose pinback buttons since there were a lot of similarities to currently collected items,” said MEARS president Troy R. Kinunen. “Pinbacks can be checklisted, graded by condition, and with our new patent pending holders, MEARS will be able to accurately and consistently authenticate, evaluate, and preserve your pinbacks.”

The company tested 1200 pinbacks before creating its new holder, one designed to eliminate damage to pins that other holders may cause. The holders were unveiled to the public at last week’s Premier Collectible Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. The MEARS website will be home to a population report, database with images and other collector-oriented features.

MEARS unveiled its planned grading criteria exclusively to Sports Collectors Daily.

“The criteria is not set in stone,” Kinunen said. “There are many advanced collectors that have much more experience with pinback button collecting than me. I welcome any feedback, comments, thoughts, or criticism of our proposed scale.”

All feedback will be critically assessed and taken into serious consideration before final criteria is decided. Please direct comments to troy@mearonline.com.

The MEARS Process and Definitions For The Identification, Authentication, and Grading of Pinback Buttons

Identification is the process of determining the catalog designation of each pinback button by MEARS. Each newly evaluated pinback will be given a MEARS catalog designation that will serve as the reference identification for all future submissions. Each unique pinback button will have a unique catalog designation as assigned by MEARS. A photograph of the button and the designation name and number will immediately be archived in the MEARS website and available to all members for reference. Updates will be done in real time at the moment of grading. All pinbacks will be categorized by Main category, sub category, size, process (celluloid vs. litho) and title. Identification information will be included on the holder label. Example:

Political, presidential, 7/8”, celluloid, Abraham Lincoln 1909 gold border Centennial, Example: MEARS Certification Number 0000001

Authentication is the process of determining the validity of the pinback. Each button will be examined under a digital microscope. The molecular printing pattern will be compared to known authentic examples. All pinback buttons will be subjected to a black light to determine the presence of alterations, paint filler, and composition of materials. Each pinback button will be measured and the size recorded. A worksheet will be used to record the evaluators’ findings. This information will be recorded and made available on the MEARS website.

Grading is the process of determining the condition of each examined pinback button and providing a slab. Each button will be assigned a grade on the scale of 1 to 10 as per the criteria outlined below.

Slabbing: Pinbacks submitted to MEARS will be encapsulated in a new (Patent Pending) and revolutionary holder. Each holder has been custom designed to fit any pinback button produced from 1886 to present that measures 7/16” to 3” in diameter. The cavity of the holder is significantly deeper than current pinback button holders on the market and was custom designed for pinbacks.

Our Research & Development department designed this holder after sampling and calipering 1200+ different pinbacks from all eras and manufacturers. The sampling allowed MEARS to determine the proper depth needed to safely house a pinback button without causing damage from contact with the holder. Custom fit gaskets were designed to properly house 19 different sized buttons.

The MEARS label is 33% larger than the competitors, which allows for larger and additional information to be included on the flip.

The case is manufactured from surgical grade polycarbonate, which creates clarity in viewing and is scratch resistance when handling. Each case is also stackable.

A safety ridge and 4 tamper resistances closures were designed to break if tampered with which will render the holder useless and notify potential owners that the item’s integrity was breached.

Process of Grading:

The goal of the grader is to accurately and consistently assign the main category grade of 10, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1. With 10 being almost impossible, the grader has to consistently hit the grades of 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 for the first part of the evaluation. Meaning, does this button have the overall characteristics as defined by MEARS as a 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9? This calls for the graders to hit 1 of 5 main categories.

Any button achieving the 1-9 grade possesses all of the high range characteristics of that grade with no minor or major points of subtraction, see below. Once the grader determines the overall top range grade, then the minor or major flaws are evaluated. If none are found, the grade remains at the top condition range, if there are flaws, the predetermined point scale of deductions determines the amount of subtracted points. All of this is recorded in the MEARS database and members can see the evaluation and grading point process.

This grading was determined based on the industries current history and use of a very simple grading standard. Currently accepted grading is for pinback buttons is

Poor
Good
Very Good
Excellent
Mint

It is MEARS intention to respect the traditional grading of this product line while acknowledging the accepted standards and marketing needed to promote professionally graded items. With professional grading, there is a need to assign a numeric grade, as that is the accepted standard of the market. Therefore, we propose the following blend of old time grading with the modern accepted grading terms:

Old/ New

Poor = MEARS Poor 1

Very good = MEARS VG 3

Excellent = MEARS EX 5

Near mint = MEARS NR MT 7

Mint = MEARS MT 9

Gem = MEARS GEM MT 10

10.0

MEARS:Gem Mint 10: Pinback Buttons

Item has been identified, cataloged, evaluated and deemed authentic. Authenticity was completed by a comparison of printing methods and compared to known examples archived in the MEARS database. Examination of the surface wear was determined to be evaluated at 0 %. There are no signs of handling wear. If backpapers are present the fact will be noted on the label and condition noted.

· Item centering must be near 50/50
· Pinback Button curls, front surface, and reverse must exhibit 0% surface wear
· Must exhibit original factory gloss and color
· Perfect focus and image registry
· Back paper must be perfect if present

9.0

MEARS: MINT 9: Pinback Buttons

Item has been identified, cataloged, evaluated and deemed authentic. Authenticity was completed by a comparison of printing methods and compared to known examples archived in the MEARS database. Examination of the surface wear was determined to be evaluated at 10 %. This is the maximum grade of this condition range and there are no negative traits present.

· Item centering must be near 50/50
· Pinback Button curls, front surface, and reverse exhibits 10% surface wear
· Must exhibit original factory gloss
· Perfect focus and image registry
· If present, major flaws on back paper

7.0

MEARS: NRMT 7: Pinback Buttons

Item has been identified, cataloged, evaluated and deemed authentic. Authenticity was completed by a comparison of printing methods and compared to known examples archived in the MEARS database. Examination of the surface wear was determined to be evaluated at 30 %. This is the maximum grade of this condition range and there are no negative traits present.

· Item centering must be near 50/50
· Pinback Button curls, front surface and reverse exhibits 30% surface wear
· Must exhibit original factory gloss
· Perfect focus and image registry
· Condition of backpaper noted when present

5.0

MEARS: Excellent 5: Pinback Buttons

Item has been identified, cataloged, evaluated and deemed authentic. Authenticity was completed by a comparison of printing methods and compared to known examples archived in the MEARS database. Examination of the surface wear was determined to be evaluated at 50 %. This is the maximum grade of this condition range and there are no negative traits present.

· Item centering must be near 50/50
· Pinback Button curls, front surface, and reverse exhibits 50% surface wear
· Must exhibit original factory gloss
· Perfect focus and image registry
· Condition of backpaper noted when present

3.0

MEARS:Very Good 3: Pinback Buttons

Item has been identified, cataloged, evaluated and deemed authentic. Authenticity was completed by a comparison of printing methods and compared to known examples archived in the MEARS database. Examination of the surface wear was determined to be evaluated at 70 %. This is the maximum grade of this condition range and there are no negative traits present.

· Item centering may be an issue
· Pinback Button curls, front surface, and reverse exhibits 70% surface wear
· Must exhibit original factory gloss
· Perfect focus and image registry
· Condition of backpaper noted when present

1.0

MEARS: Poor 1: Pinback Buttons

Item has been identified, cataloged, evaluated and deemed authentic. Authenticity was completed by a comparison of printing methods and compared to known examples archived in the MEARS database. Examination of the surface wear was determined to be evaluated at 90 %. This is the maximum grade of this condition range and there may be a combination of negative traits present.

· Item centering must be near 50/50
· Pinback Button curls, front surface, and reverse exhibits 90% surface wear
· Condition of backpaper noted when present

Now that the pinback button has been roughly range graded or categorized, details and discriminators will be identified and recorded in order to achieve a final grade. This is accomplished by factoring in and accounting for both major and minor flaws.

Major Flaws (Point assignments to be determined)

Surface scratch that penetrates surface/covering and exposes bare metal.

Separation of celluloid covering

Staining

Reverse rusting

Light staining to backpaper

Heavy staining to backpaper

Crease or tear to backpaper

Broken fastener (Cannot grade higher than C3)

Back Paper evaluation

Spotting (determine degree of spotting, and according point deductions)

Minor Flaws (To be determined)

1 Point & ½ points deductions

A panel of experts will help determine the deduction assignments of both major and minor flaws. Each category of flaw will be labeled with its accompanying point deduction. These points will be subtracted from the main range of the grading category. A combination of points may occur.

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