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March, 2020 The Antique Shoppe Page 27
Political Parade
By: Michael McQuillen
Spring is just around the
corner and with that arrival,
even more opportunities to hit
outdoor antique shows and flea Q: Recently my family and I
markets! With this column, I
am beginning my 28th year of
writing Political Parade and am
excited to be continuing this fine
tradition. On a personal note, in
addition to working with political
buttons and other historic
collectibles professionally over
that time, I have had the honor
to serve as an elected official
in Indianapolis for the past 14
years, first as a Township Board
Member, and most recently for
12 years as a City-County
Councillor. As of January
1, I became “Joe
Citizen” once
again and look
forward to
having
more
time to
spend
on the
button side of
politics!
As the 2020
Presidential campaign
continues to fire-up,
there has been a noticeable
influx of new political collectors
entering the market. This is a
trend that happens every four
years as campaign fever affects
our nation.
Political campaign debates,
rallies, fundraisers and other
events will see the production
of countless buttons and items
for all of our favorite politicals
and hopefuls and we move
towards finding out who will
the “finalists” for the November
2020 election.
Please feel free to keep me
posted on neat and notable
items you find as the year
progresses and I will include
some of them in future columns.
Have fun collecting!
ABOVE: I Like Ike fans probably waved scarves like this colorful example at more than one
political rally in the 1950s. Retail value - $40.
In to the Mailbag:
A.R. of Cincinnati e-mails:
were cleaning out my Grandfather’s
estate. He was an accumulator of
all kinds of things but not really a
collector of anything if that makes
sense. When he passed away at
95 years old, he left a house full of
items including a 26 inch square
Eisenhower picture campaign scarf
that pictures his and is a bright red
in color. Is it rare and what’s the
value?
While that particular
A: scarf or bandanna is not
really rare, it is a great vintage
1950s campaign piece that
would look great framed
on any collector’s wall.
Average retail
value - $40.
Q:
J.E. of
Minneapolis,
MN writes: Over
the years I have
purchased a number
of old political pin-backs
as I was a History Major in
school, and have always had a
fascination with Presidents and
Politics. Most of the buttons I
have picture William Jennings
Bryan who ran for President
three times and was never
elected. I have over 30 of them
that measure a little less than an
inch in diameter, and picture him
with red, white and blue designs
of flags and banners. A few have
silver backgrounds as well. Do
you need to see pictures or are
these all worth about the same
amount? Thanks!
Bryan is a fascinating
A: candidate to collect as
many of the items produced for
his campaigns were made during
the Golden Years of campaign
buttons. A lot of factors go into
valuing buttons, like condition, BELOW: William Jennings Bryan ran
unsuccessfully for President three times.
scarcity and desirability. Buttons Small 1” picture campaign buttons like this
made in small quantities for
one sell for around $25 in great shape.
special events are going
to sell for more that
mass-produced B.C.
buttons for Q: emails:
example. Hi Michael!
Keeping You always
all of that write about
in mind, campaign
however, buttons but
I will tell I seem to
you that the remember
more common you
Bryan picture mentioning
buttons in very Police & Fire
good condition inthat Badges in the past.
size are going to sell in the Are badges cross-over items
$25 - $30 range. I will remind for political collectors? Am I
you that slight variations or correct that you collect those as
very unusual designs can sell for well?
many multiples of that amount
- so a picture is always worth a Thanks B.C. What a
thousand words! A: great time to ask me
that question. Yes, I as well as
many other political collectors
like public safety badges in
addition to our campaign
button desires. Your question
is actually very timely, because
as of the time of writing this
column, eBay has begun to
stop the sales of practically
ANY Police & Fire Badges on
their site. For some time there
has been a prohibition on the
ABOVE: Most political collectors wouldn’t selling of modern or current
be overly excited about this Indianapolis City- badges for obvious reasons,
County Council campaign button. Especially antique and obsolete badges
since the candidate did not win this year! were never prohibited, until
Retail value – about a buck!
now. eBay has begun removing
almost all badges recently, citing
concerns about their misuse.
This is a ridiculous justification
in my opinion as I cannot
imagine anyone successfully
impersonating an office with a
75 year-old badge. So, long story
short there is one less venue for
the selling of badges in our world
of collecting.
Michael McQuillen has been a full-time
dealer, collector and expert in the field of
Political Americana for 30 years. His column
Political Parade has appeared regularly in a
number of antique & collectible publications
since 1992. He invites readers to write or
email with any questions or suggestions.
Michael J. McQuillen can be reached by
writing him directly at P. O. Box 50022,
Indianapolis, Indiana 46250-0022, e-mail:
michael@politicalparade.com or through his
web-site: www.PoliticalParade.com