Collecting Campaign Buttons for Fun and Investment

Campaign buttons or campaign pins as they are often called are used during elections for local, state and national elections to promote a candidate or political party. Sometimes, they are used to promote against a particular candidate.  Campaign buttons go back as far as President George Washington, although they came into more common use late in the 1800’s.

In the early days campaign buttons were actual clothing buttons that were sewn on to various forms of dress. In modern times the buttons have pins on the reverse to attach to clothing, hence the term pinback buttons.

Collecting campaign buttons can be both fun, interesting and sometimes profitable. In fact, the world record for a price paid for a campaign button was achieved in February 2018 when a rare George Washington button in excellent condition was sold for a record price of $225,000.

Since 1945 The American Political Items Collector (APIC) organization has brought together button and other political memorabilia collectors who share a common interest in political history and collecting.

The value of campaign buttons is generally determined by scarcity, demand, age, and condition.  The popularity of a particular President is often a key factor. For instance, buttons promoting.

In 1860 the first commercially produced buttons with a photo of the candidate were produced and called Ferrotype buttons or tintypes. These buttons, in good condition, can still be purchased for less than $1,000.

In later years buttons were produced by lithography  where the design was printed onto paper and then covered by a celluloid (essentially a thing plastic covering)  

The first mass produced buttons date back to 1896 when William McKinley ran for the office of President of the United States. In fact, while these buttons are over one hundred years old, many are still available for under $20 since so many were originally produced. Another method (commonly referred to as a lithograph button is where the design is printed directly on the metal button without the celluloid covering.

During the presidential campaigns of Franklin Roosevelt and his opponents, buttons were produced in the millions. During the 1940 presidential election, Republican Wendell Willkie produced millions of Anti-Roosevelt slogan buttons attacking Roosevelt and denouncing his campaign for a third term.

So whether you are just searching for a fun and interesting hobby or hoping to discover the next $225,000 button for a nice profit, collecting political campaign buttons can be a great way to enjoy collecting american history.