Price
$125.00
Condition
used
Product Condition
Very good, lower left corner fringe rolled slightly
Size
2.5" x 7"
1896 McKinley Sound Money Association Chicago Ribbon Badge. Original silk parade ribbon issued by The Chicago Business Men’s Sound Money Association, dated October 9, 1896. This ribbon is believed to have been worn during a massive Chicago parade reportedly drawing as many as 100,000 participants, organized to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire and to promote the Sound Money cause during the pivotal William McKinley presidential campaign. A striking and historically evocative artifact from one of the most consequential elections in American history.
The 1896 presidential election centered on the explosive debate over “Sound Money” (the gold standard) versus Free Silver, championed by William Jennings Bryan. Chicago became a focal point for organized pro-gold demonstrations, particularly among business and financial interests. Contemporary accounts describe a massive October 9, 1896 parade—held on the anniversary of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire—as both a civic commemoration and a powerful pro-McKinley political statement. Ribbons such as this were worn by marchers and supporters, making surviving examples tangible witnesses to the economic and political anxieties of the Gilded Age.
$125.00
used
Very good, lower left corner fringe rolled slightly
2.5" x 7"