Collecting Political Pinback Buttons

It's back again! Those old feelings of excitement I used to feel when presidential campaigns were in full swing. (Thank you, Joe!) My husband and I were political junkies, and that was before cable TV that makes it easy to binge-watch what's going on in that world and before Facebook memes were born. I'll get to those later, maybe even in a separate post because I love the humor in many of the memes going around. Right now I want to write about campaign buttons or pinbacks as we used to call what are officially labeled pinback buttons.

My husband never drove past a garage sale or flea market that he didn't stop and shop. He needed one of those bumper stickers that read "I Break for Garage Sales." And going to antique malls, auctions and estate sales was to him like going to corner bars are to heavy beer drinkers. I should know. The first seven months we knew each other (but wasn't dating) he was a heavy drinker, but he quit cold turkey and never looked back. Fact checking myself here: It's not quite that simple. He did quit cool turkey but that was a result of him getting drunk, hitting a parked car and spending the night in jail. Long story short he traded one addiction for another and I was the one who introduced him to getting up early on Saturdays to go to the flea market to look for hidden treasures from the past. The rest is history. If you've been following my blog for awhile you know how hard and long I worked at selling off all the stuff that he and I---mostly Don---had collected over the decades. He was a workaholic---another addiction---and he had a good income to spend on collectibles and it didn't take him long to become a knowledgeable collector. 

I collected Cracker Jack Toys back then---still have them all---and would often find them in button jars, junk drawers and cigar boxes. The first time Don found a 'Teddy Roosevelt for President' pinback while I was looking for Cracker Jack toys he was hooked on tiny collectibles like pinbacks and other smalls like Tom Mix or Roy Rogers toys that kids got from sending cereal box tops in to the companies that sponsored serialized stories on the radio. I still have his Captain Midnight decoder ring, signal mirror ring and bomb rings---at one time highly prized by boys. Don was one of those boys. His childhood collection got lost in the tornado but he managed to buy most of them back as an adult. I really should sell those cereal premium toys because they are worth several hundred dollars and I'd hate to see them get dumped as junk if I have to move out of independent living and into the building down the road where Amazon delivers cartons of Depends on a daily basis. 

Back to vintage political pinbacks: By the time Don died we had them coming out of our ears, most of them neatly organized and mounted in black, velvet lined collector boxes that we stacked on library shelves. It didn't matter what party the pinbacks where from or which candidate---winners and losers both. We loved them all. Plus we bought new ones both before and after the political seasons were over. We bought them before from the candidate's official websites to help support their campaigns. We bought them by the mixed bags full after the elections when vendors would unload them for deep price cuts to people like us who mistakenly thought we'd live long enough for them to be good investments. Hint: Fifteen years isn't long enough.

We had fun amassing political memorabilia so I don't regret the hobby. But even things that only measure between one and three inches like pinbacks if you get enough of them they take up a lot of space. So they got sold off before my move. Now, I only have a dozen or so in mason jar because by the time I thought I should save a few I'd already listed or sold all our political memorabilia on e-Bay. The political buttons in my jar are just random, misplaced political pins mixed in with other advertising pinbacks that I found while sorting other stuff. By the way, I sold several of Don's Teddy Roosevelt pinbacks for over a hundred dollars each, but there are so many fake ones around don't even think about buying one unless you know how to tell the difference.

As I started to say before, when Joe dropped out I got bit by the bug again when I saw a 'Thank You, Joe!' pinback on Facebook and I decided, Why Not! I don't shop for shoes or clothing like most my neighbors do. I don't go off campus to eat at fancy restaurants like many of my neighbors. I don't order wine with my meals here. So I spent the afternoon shopping at campaign head quarters, e-Bay, Amazon and Esty and bought some Harris - Walz pinbacks. Not that I'll necessarily have the guts to wear them here on campus but I might try the 'Cat Lady' one or the 'comma' one (see below photos). I wanted the 'Thank You, Joe!' pin but it was pricey and too big to fit in my jar. I shopped my little heart out looking for a 'Make America Joyful Again' pinback but I can only find those words on hats, t-sheets and socks. There must be a licensing issue with that phrase or it would be on pinbacks, but I'll keep looking just in case one turns up.

God, it feels good not to worry so much about the outcome of the November fifth election. It's still a worry, though, when Trump repeatedly tells his fan base that they "only have to vote one more time and they'll never have to vote again." Do his fans think that's a harmless joke or worse yet, do they fully understand and embrace those goals set out in Project 2025 to do away with the cornerstones of our Democracy? A lot is riding on this next election but at least I'm back to enjoying the campaign cycle again. ©

Until next Wednesday!

I got this one to give to my oldest niece. She and her husband are both teachers and they are thrilled with the ticket.

The childless cat lady thing is going to be iconic to this election which is why I wanted this one. I might not have a cat but I'm one of those childless women that J.D. Vance insults and places no value on our existence.

I love this one because I think Trump fans here won't get it and I can wear like a I'm in a secret club.

I bought an 8 pack of these one inch pinbacks to offer to others who I think might like one. Note the pin on the back that gives these buttons their official name.