The Stetson One-Hundred "100"

Optimo89 said:

Howdy all, I guess I’ll add to this thread with my local 100 find! I found my 100 complete with the case, plastic holder and a plastic cover with the keys. I bought it from the original owners grandson for $80. Yes, $80. It looks to have been never worn. It wasn’t broken in at all. It only has a slight blemish on the crown and it’s hardly noticeable. No amount of money will separate this hat from me. Size 7 1/2, I stretched it out a little bit and it fits my head perfectly! I may post my own thread with more pictures of the hat and the story how I found it or I can post it here. Just let me know!

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Optimo89 said:

Howdy all! I’d like do introduce myself then share with y’all how I found my cheap S100. My name is Elton and my favorite hat shape is the Optimo Panama hat (hence the name). I collect fountain pens, pocket watches, vintage wrist watches and straight razors in addition to hats. I usually scan through Facebook Market when I’m bored for anything I like to collect when I ran into the ad for this hat for $80. I nearly my pants when I saw the price so I jumped on it. I went straight to the sellers house and picked it up along with another Stetson 7x of the same vintage that was a smaller size and gave it to my fiancée. The 100 is a 7 1/2 and came complete with the Samsonite case, plastic hat rest and plastic hat liner. I reshaped the crown because I can’t pull off a small cattleman’s crease. I like how it came out and honestly there’s no amount of money that’ll separate the hat from me!

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Jesse John said:

You're probably wondering if the S100 above was snagged. Well, I can tell you it was. I am the new proud owner of the hat and boy, is it a beauty.

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BobHufford said:

Congrats Jesse John -- it is a beauty!

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Jesse John said:

You're probably wondering if the S100 above was snagged. Well, I can tell you it was. I am the new proud owner of the hat and boy, is it a beauty. This is my first S100 with the case (I own a beaver 100 and a later 7x) and I believe I'll have it for a very long time. I ended up cleaning the box out as well as conditioned the leather. The hat itself got a good brushing but could definitely use a professional's touch. Other than a few dirt spots, this thing is practically brand new. The original owner was an optometrist who lived in South Chicago (and his name was not Leroy Brown). The hat was purchased after the second World War, at that time this gentleman worked for Catholic Charities and rescued orphan children form South Africa and Europe. Im supposing this was a gift he gave to himself. I know I would. Anyway, it has a keyhole size tag (7 1/8) and no "Stetson 100" on the front of the sweatband. It does however, have the vertical "Stetson One Hundred" on the side of the sweatband. I am in awe. Now I understand why this was/is the cream of the crop. Still has the keys and plastic hat holder. I just want to stare at this thing all day. Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays friends.
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Jesse John said:

Anyway, it has a keyhole size tag (7 1/8) and no "Stetson 100" on the front of the sweatband. It does however, have the vertical "Stetson One Hundred" on the side of the sweatband.

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Hurricane Jack said:

Congratulations on a nice One-hundred & case! I can't tell from these pics so I'll ask, is the keyhole size tag black with a gold edge or black on card stock with the manilla card stock edge?

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deadlyhandsome said:

Way to go! That’s a very nice hat!

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Jesse John said:

You're probably wondering if the S100 above was snagged. Well, I can tell you it was. I am the new proud owner of the hat and boy, is it a beauty. This is my first S100 with the case (I own a beaver 100 and a later 7x) and I believe I'll have it for a very long time. I ended up cleaning the box out as well as conditioned the leather. The hat itself got a good brushing but could definitely use a professional's touch. Other than a few dirt spots, this thing is practically brand new. The original owner was an optometrist who lived in South Chicago (and his name was not Leroy Brown). The hat was purchased after the second World War, at that time this gentleman worked for Catholic Charities and rescued orphan children form South Africa and Europe. Im supposing this was a gift he gave to himself. I know I would. Anyway, it has a keyhole size tag (7 1/8) and no "Stetson 100" on the front of the sweatband. It does however, have the vertical "Stetson One Hundred" on the side of the sweatband. I am in awe. Now I understand why this was/is the cream of the crop. Still has the keys and plastic hat holder. I just want to stare at this thing all day. Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays friends.
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Jesse John said:

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Hey Jack, thank you! I don’t have another keyhole to compare it to, so it’s hard for me to tell as well. I’m going to assume if it were gold, it would be shiny. So I guess this would be card stock?

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Hurricane Jack said:

Looks like card stock. When you have time please post pics of any tags or stampings you may find behind the sweat.

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Jesse John said:

Sure will. Caught a glimpse looked like a white block tag if not mistaken. I’ll double check tomorrow! Does the quality change between years?

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Hurricane Jack said:

Didn't mean to imply that it did. Just trying to gather info for a timeline for when changes in the One-hundreds & 7X's came along. You have a very fine One-hundred. Wear it with pride & be a good caretaker.

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Jesse John said:

No no, wasn’t assuming such or taking it that way either! I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a quality difference. Just more a curiosity thing!! I’ll take more photos and add them this week. I’m going to baby this thing!!

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Jesse John said:

No no, wasn’t assuming such or taking it that way either! I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a quality difference. Just more a curiosity thing!! I’ll take more photos and add them this week. I’m going to baby this thing!!

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Just Daniel said:

It’s worth reposting these early ads for the 100 from other members. For what we can show, ‘51 is the earliest publication date for the Stetson 100. While the absence of proof is not proof of absence, previous ads indicate a $90 hat in ‘48.

In the intervening years the price point for the hat stayed at $100. I think we can presume quality differences through the years resulting from inflation, etc. Members have also noted the change.

In case any collectors have earlier ads, we’d love to see them Here are the Stetson 100 ads from ‘51 and ‘53.

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Just Daniel said:

Oh, and here is my obligatory “great hat!” post . I am a big Stetson 100 fan too, just the whole package. I may be a victim of marketing, whatever, it is totally part of the fun to have the hat, wear the hat, and know it is a given point in history.

And the 100s are pretty sweet, seeing other members enjoy them makes me feel old (even if I’m not) and nostalgic. Congratulations!

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Jesse John said:

Dan, thank you so much!! Yes, I’m a sucker for marketing as well. But how could you not be? How many high grade hats come in a leather case these days? Something about it just makes you feel... some kind of way? Empowered maybe?
To speak to your “old” statement. I’m 28! It speaks to my old soul. Which I think you have as well (along with the rest of us). I hope that more members can dig up info about this hat for the good of the order. Thank you again for sharing the previous posts. How many 100’s do you have?

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