IT'S TIME FOR: VINTAGE POLITICAL BUTTONS

With a presidential election and inauguration fresh on our minds, we chatted with political button dealer and expert Ron Wade, who is based in Longview, Texas, about collecting political memorabilia. “Of all the political stuff out there, buttons are always the leading objects for collecting,” says Wade, who explained that the first political buttons:
> Date from 1789
> Were made of copper
> Were clothing buttons worn by George Washington on his coat. “They were more commemorative than political,” says Wade. (Candidates didn’t wage campaigns until the 1840s). The 1789 buttons depicting George Washington and an eagle rarely come on the market, says Wade, and when they do, they bring $2,000 each and up.

Political buttons took many forms over the years:
> In the 1840s, political buttons resembled metal coins, with a hole to tie a ribbon through, and hang on a lapel, says Wade.
> In the 1860s, pictures of the candidates adorned buttons for the first time. “They were tiny tintypes in a metal frame, with a ribbon or stick pin,” says Wade.
> In 1896, buttons emerged as pieces of metal with paper and celluloid, similar to today’s buttons (except that celluloid, which was flammable, has been replaced by plastic).
> In addition to buttons from presidential campaigns, buttons were produced supporting myriad causes or commemorating important dates—from women’s suffrage to the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth.

Wade advises collectors interested in political buttons to:
> Look for something appealing to the eye
> Check online auctions regularly. “They have the largest number of items out there,” says Wade.
> Educate yourself about fakes. One note: authentic buttons rarely have a date on them because they were such current objects.
> Look for photo buttons of presidential and vice presidential candidates. “The most valuable buttons show photos of both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates together,” says Wade.
> Expect to pay from $35 to $45 for good antique buttons. Rarity drives the prices—sometimes way up. “The most sought-after button is from 1920, features James Cox for president and Franklin Roosevelt for vice president, and starts at $20,000,” says Wade.
> If you want to collect a button from a current campaign, Wade suggests seeking out buttons produced in a small quantity by a local campaign headquarters. “If there’s an attractive button showing, for example, both Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and only 100 of them were made by a small office, the value of that button will go up quickly,” says Wade.

Wade’s own interest in political buttons started when he was 10 and his father bought him a Richard Nixon button as well as a John F. Kennedy button. “Now I’ve got tens of thousands of buttons,” he says.