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. 

Though all the Whitehead & Hoag pins are rare, the examples picturing the entire teams are extraordinarily so.  This example pictures the various members of the 1897 Buffalo Bisons, one of five known teams to appear in this complex and fascinating issue.  The pin itself has been graded VG 3 by PSA, with heavy toning and a bit of patina on the reverse, along with some visible wear at the curl.  The image, a composite of 15 members of the team, is somewhat faded, though all the subjects are visible in the image.  This pin is actually a known variation, as a second variation contains no date, but a photographer's credit on the pin.  An extremely interesting pin from this unusual set.