Price
$95.00
Condition
used
Product Condition
Very good, tiny pinhole and some light smudges
Size
9" tall
Gold Standard Attack Ribbon Mocking Bryan’s 16:1 Plan – “Nit” Insult. This gold-colored ribbon comes from the bitter 1896 debate over William Jennings Bryan’s free-silver program. Printed “16 to 1 – Nit,” it mocks supporters of Bryan’s 16-to-1 silver ratio, using “nit” as a period slang insult for a simpleton. Distributed by gold-standard and pro-McKinley forces, these ribbons were worn at rallies and parades to attack the free-silver cause. A scarce and striking example of anti-Bryan monetary propaganda from the 1896 campaign.
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.
$95.00
used
Very good, tiny pinhole and some light smudges
9" tall