Price
$135.00
Condition
used
Product Condition
Very good, 3 small pinholes
Size
9" tall
Pro McKinley Gold Standard Attack Ribbon Mocking Bryan’s 16:1 Plan – “Nit” Insult. This unusual gold-colored ribbon comes from the heated 1896 monetary battle between William Jennings Bryan’s free-silver movement and supporters of the gold standard. Boldly printed “16 to 1 – Nit,” the ribbon mocks advocates of Bryan’s 16-to-1 silver ratio by labeling them “nits,” a period slang insult for a simpleton. Distributed by pro-McKinley and Sound Money forces, these low-cost ribbons were worn in parades and rallies. A scarce and pointed example of anti-Bryan campaign propaganda from the pivotal 1896 election. Original, of course.
The 1896 campaign centered on whether the United States should adopt Bryan’s free and unlimited coinage of silver at a 16-to-1 ratio to gold. Supporters believed it would ease debt and expand the money supply. Opponents—Republicans, business interests, and Gold Democrats—warned it would wreck the economy. The clash produced some of the era’s sharpest political satire, including ribbons like this one openly ridiculing silver advocates.
$135.00
used
Very good, 3 small pinholes
9" tall