Interesting Bell Pins - not mine

[HarrySmith]

Just stumbled on this auction for a set of Bell pins. Has anyone seen anything like this before? I do not think they are official Bell items, they did not use the names that are on them. They look pretty nice, must have cost a pretty penny to manufacture. I wonder how many sets were made?

https://www.ebay.com/i/193656566388

[Key2871]

Bell used to give out pins to employees for years of service. But those maybe from Franklyn mint, or some place like that.
They are nice.

[HarrySmith]

From the names I am thinking a collector had them made. I do not think "Butterstamp" was an official name.

[Key2871]

Your right, i missed that. But they are basic in detail as well. So I'd say they arent from Ma Bell.
.i gotta get a better phone..

[Jim Stettler]

I think that is a set from the telephone  pioneers. the pins were issued individually. If you 'subscibed' to the pin program you also got a nice frame to put them in.
I have a framed set somewhere. I am pretty sure these are the same pins.
Regarding 'butterstamp' , in the 60's-70's Bell referred to the set as a butterstamp in their historic displays.

[HarrySmith]

Thanks Jim. Pioneers would make sense. I was not aware Bell ever used Butterstamp.

[Jim Stettler]

Thanks Jim. Pioneers would make sense. I was not aware Bell ever used Butterstamp.

I don't think they did before the 60's . It was probably internal slang for the set.

[Key2871]

I don't think they did before the 60's . It was probably internal slang for the set.

That sounds very polusable they do look mass produced.

[.....]

This is the sellers description of the pins.


Up for auction/sale is a rare set of 10 gold tone and colored enamel lapel pins which feature the first 10 series of antique phones released from 1876 to 1897. I tried to date these pins, but there are no manufacturer's marks and I found no other examples of any of these pins.

The estates sale I acquired these at had a lot of vintage phone company items, so my guess is these were available made available to phone enthusiasts at some point, and most likely date to the 1970s/1980s, but it's just a guess.
This is a list of the year, color, and text, on each of the 10 pins, I also tried to research the manufacturer:

          Year   Color    Text   Company
1876   Cinnamon   Bell's Centennial Model   Bell
1976   Pale Blue   Liquid Telephone   Bell
1877   Deep Red   First Commericial Phone   Bell
1878   Dark Blue   Wall Set   Bell
1878   Green   Butterstamp   Bell
1880   Marbled Blue   Blake   Francis Blake Jr.
1882   Brown   Magneto Wall Set   Western Electric
1886   Hunter Green   Long Distance Transmitter   Bell
1892   White   Desk Set   Bell
1897   Spotted Blue   Desk Set   Stromberg Carlson

A few of these phones can be reviewed at www.phonedoc.com/Telephone_Story/) If you're a phone company employee or enthusiast who enjoys a bit of flair, here's a very unique set of pins which are sure to capture the attention of others...
The pins are in excellent condition with only very minimal (if any) signs of age or wear, and come in a durable storage case. Only 9 of the pins had their original retention clips, so I added in one I had from another tie tack. All of the pins measure roughly 7/8" in diameter and are made of a gold toned alloy with varying enamel colors.
I have described these pins as best I can, but to augment my description I have provided many high-resolution images of the pins to allow for a detailed review of quality, condition, and desirability.
These will be packaged with care to best ensure this very unique and difficult to find set of pins arrives as pictured and described.
If you have any questions, additions, corrections, or concerns, feel free to message me.

[Jim Stettler]

I think they were early 1980's. I got mine as part of a collection from a we executive that retired after his final project , which was the western electric ( temp) network for the 1984 Olympics.
I think he said they were made shortly before the break-up, last pin was created in 1983-84 was my impression.

I bought the collection 1-2 years before 1994. I am going of memory and impressions from that time.
Jim