Exceedingly scarce pin from the 1896-97 Whitehead & Hoag set, commonly known as "Cameo Pepsin" due to the advertisement sometimes present on the reverse of the pins (though the pins are often found with or without Cameo Pepsin advertising). The first large set of pins to feature baseball players, more than 140 subjects are known and more are added to the checklist as they are discovered. Typically subject to image fading and other condition flaws due to age, the pins are quite condition sensitive today. 

One of the subjects that helps date at least some of the pinbacks to 1896, second baseman Louis Bierbauer is pictured with Pittsburgh.  He was traded to St. Louis in early March of 1897, cementing the likelihood that at least Bierbauer's pin, and likely the entire Pirates team, were issued in 1896.  It was Bierbauer's acquisition by the Pittsburgh Alleghenys that gave the team the nickname "Pirates," as fans and media alike felt that the ballclub "stole" him when he was acquired after Philadelphia failed to re-sign him after the collapse of the Players' League.  The pin is gorgeous, with outstanding image contrast and only moderate soiling on the reverse.