Auction Watch: 1960's Professional Model Phillies Hat
1960s Phillies, Professional Model Wilson Hat - via Hunt Auctions
One of the more interesting items up for bid in Hunt Auctions' January 2016 Internet/Phone was a 1960s professional model Phillies hat.
Originating from an era void of official authentication programs, collectors considering a bid on equipment such as this have to rely on context clues when evaluating the hat's true authenticity. For online auctions, we expect to find information on wear, manufacturer tagging and sometimes, hearsay - this instance was no different...
With finding those important context clues top-of-mind, the written lot description sounded like what we should expect to see with regards to a 50-year old hat, "faded...frayed stitching on the brim, and what feels like some cracking within the brim." Another key comment points to the Wilson (manufacturer) production stamping on the underside of the sweatband - which was unfortunately, too faded to track back to a particular season.
Wilson Cap Coding - Example dates to a manufacturing month of April 1962
Overall, we have a few factors, such as the expected manufacturer markings and the hat's overall wear/usage that give us confidence in saying that this is the real deal. And, though unattributed to any particular season or player, having more certainty in it's origin, the hat can be considered a rare relic - which ultimately garnered a $99 winning bid.
More on Wilson's Cap Coding:
Wilson was one of the few manufacturers of professionals caps to provide insight into when a hat was made. During the 1960s-70s the company used a three-letter code to note the month and year in which a hat was made. While it does not necessarily correspond with a usage year - it is a good guideline.
PSA Card posted a reference for decoding the stampings a few years ago. I have replicated that guideline below for reference. Please note, the third letter is always "C", which stands for their "cap" product line.
Since the Phillies used Wilson during this time - be sure to check for a date code when considering the purchase of a vintage hat...
The first letter represents the last digit for the year of manufacture:
- A = 8
- B = 9
- C = 0
- D = 1
- E = 2
- F = 3
- G = 4
- H = 5
- J = 6
- K = 7
The second letter represents the month of manufacture:
- Z = January
- Y = February
- X = March
- W = April
- V = May
- U = June
- T = July
- S = August
- R = September
- Q = October
- P = November
- O = December