This is possibly the first ever character premium badge as it was first offered Jan., 1900 in the publication “Tip Top Weekly” founded in 1896 by the publisher Street & Smith. The title of “first” is called into question only by a pair of badges featuring the dime novel character Fred Fearnot issued in the same general time frame but those 2 badges cannot be documented to a precise year. In any case, Frank Merriwell has stood the test of time as a fictional hero much more so than Fred Fearnot. The badge is 2-3/8” tall and was available for 2 coupons and 10¢ or 20¢ or the equivalent in stamps if the person ordering was a “member” (reader) but if not, the cost was 50¢. This example is one of only four we’ve seen with the top segment complete. Back of the piece also carries the maker’s mark “Whitehead & Hoag Co./Newark, N.J.” The suspended brass medallion with 5 cross-like segments pictures our hero at the center with surrounding text “True As Steel/Frank Merriwell.” Historic and Rare. NM luster. A gorgeous example probably impossible to improve upon. Comes with photocopy of Tip Top Weekly No. 426 (c. 1904) and the details of the badge offer on page 29.