Staple pickups originally turned up in various guises on Hofner® guitars - and theres quite alot of mystery surrounding them to boot.

The most common misconception is that all staple pickups are actually humbuckers (or Mini humbuckers!) - and this isn't always true. Most "Staples" (with the exposed staple poles) are actually single coils, with the staple being used to extend the magnet field.