Graded Gem New 65PPQ by PCGS Currency. Individuals from this ephemeral (and redeemable) issue served as trade cards, coupons, and advertising handbills. Overprinted with advertising for local merchants, this particular example was commissioned by Hayes Bros. Jewelers of Austin, Minnesota and imprinted with that company's details. Although the fragile entries from this release are typically found in heavily circulated condition or with pieces missing, the specimen seen here exhibits four corners that culminate in sharp points, surfaces that project phenomenal print clarity, and a crisp and fresh overall presentation.

The delicate, 3-1/4" x 7-5/8" piece features a portrait of A.G. Spalding (with his facsimile signature) on an elaborately designed obverse, and his likeness is complemented in that motif by a full-length batting pose of legendary Chicago great Cap Anson. The composite-style reverse features twelve representatives of the 1887 Chicago White Stockings club and includes: Cap Anson, Mark Baldwin, John Clarkson, Tom Daly, Dell Darling, Silver Flint, Lou Hardie, Fred Pfeffer, Jimmy Ryan, Marty Sullivan, Billy Sunday and Ned Williamson.

The black-and-green inking of this exceptional piece -- which upholds a quality of appearance that belies its 120-plus years of existence -- commands awe in the observer. The depth of the print is doubtless enhanced in visual terms by a specification alluded to in PCGS's grading assessment: "PPQ." This notation indicates that the stock composition remains unpressed, is fully original, and is thus suitable to receive the company's "Premium Paper Quality" accolade. By any measure -- aesthetic or technical -- this is certainly one of the finest of its scarce type graded to date, in Gem New condition.