Political campaign medals have been sought after by collectors for over 150 years. Just as a collector today might stash away several George Bush buttons or try to assemble a comprehensive collection of Reagan buttons, Alfred Satterlee assembled during the 1850s and 60s a collection dating back to John Adams and Andrew Zabriskie assembled a collection of Lincoln medals and badges that included one ferrotype badge that he wore during Lincoln’s first campaign. During the past 50 years, the popularity and collecting of celluloid buttons has far outstripped that of medals, but medals do seem to be coming into their own today as more collectors focus attention on 19^th century material.  Click here for images of some favorite medals from my collection:  Favorite medals

    Many collectors of political medals also collect Washington inaugural buttons and would welcome the opportunity to acquire the rare Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams presidential mint medals. The era of political campaign medals may date back to the 1824 campaign (see Sullivan’s treatise which lists several small Jackson medals for the 1824 campaign) but certainly kicks off in earnest during the 1828 campaign. The 1828 medals for Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay are all either rare or scarce, and certainly represent some of the bluest of the blue chip political medals. Most of the large size medals from the early campaigns are "white metal" (a tin-like composition), although my collection includes a perhaps unique large size copper 1828 Jackson medal.

    Hard times tokens issued during the 1830s with political themes are listed as political medals in Sullivan’s book. These tokens substituted as money during the coinage shortages of the 1830’s. Many of these tokens are quite plentiful, although a few, like the Andrew Jackson #1 Hard Times Token (Sullivan 1832-1), are rare and disproportionately expensive, due to their desirability in the highly competitive Hard Times Tokens collectors arena. There are a number of small brass 1840 William Henry Harrison medals that by all rights should be considered Hard Times Tokens, but because they were not listed and numbered as Hard Times Tokens in the standard publications, they rarely bring more than $50 in mint condition in today’s market.

    Campaign medals perhaps reached their peak combination of quantity and quality during the 1840 campaign which pitted William Henry Harrison and his log cabin campaign against Martin Van Buren. The Van Buren medals issued during 1836 and 1840 campaigns represent some of the finest medals from an esthetic standpoint. The series of large size white metal Harrison tokens, each with a log cabin reverse, represents one of the better values for the dollar in the field of 19^th century political medals collecting.

    Between the 1840 and 1860 campaigns, there were a number of classic medals issued for candidates such as Zachary Taylor, Lewis Cass, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. Especially notable are the large size 1856 Buchanan medals with the names of the 31 states as rays on the reverse of one medal and a rebus obverse with a buck leaping over a cannon on the other medal. Another fine example is the large size 1856 John Fremont medal with a scene on the reverse depicting three men surveying land and the United States Capital on the summit of a range of mountains in the distance.

    The 1860 campaign is notable for the outpouring of Abraham Lincoln medals, many of which incorporate rail splitter imagery or anti-slavery themes. There are two sets of medals available for all four 1860 candidates. One of the sets is the "President’s House" reverse set that crosses over into the Civil War tokens collecting field, another area like Hard Times Tokens that substantially increases the popularity and demand of a medal. Lincoln medals are in general more plentiful than those available for the 1860 or earlier campaigns, but because of his popularity, Lincoln medals almost always bring higher prices.

    A good example of how Lincoln’s popularity affects demand for his medals is Lincoln 1860-41, a common Lincoln medal with an interesting reverse that depicts Lincoln splitting rails, a log cabin and the legend "THE RAIL SPLITTER OF THE WEST." This medal turns up regularly but usually commands a price of $100 to $150 in today’s marketplace. This price outstrips that of medals for other candidates many times rarer and on a relative basis, at least, the price for scarce or rare Lincoln medals. The reason for this price disparity is the fact that this medal includes all of the desired elements that a non-medals specialist would want in a Lincoln medal, and the fact is that most political collectors want at least one Lincoln medal and many non-political collectors, when they find that they can actually purchase an 1860 Lincoln campaign medal for $100 or $150 will jump at the opportunity.

    The 1860s represents the high water mark for medals collecting, and the collecting frenzy spawned the restriking of medals from earlier campaigns, usually in proof condition, and generally in multiple metals (i.e., generally silver, copper, brass and white metal). The silver (and perhaps in some cases the copper and brass versions) were most likely directed at collectors.  Restrikes from earlier campaigns are highly collectible today, especially given the scarcity of original versions of many of the restruck medals, but obtaining an original holed white metal strike is always desirable. Silver political medals are generally quite rare or in some cases unique, and represent a challenge for the political medals specialist. Noteworthy was the run of silver political medals collected by Andrew Zabriskie during the 1860s and auctioned off by Sotheby’s during 1999. A number of silver medals are included in my collection, including a substantial group from the Zabriskie collection.

    Medals continued to be a popular medium through the 1896 campaign when celluloid buttons all but took over, although the 1880s and 1890s witnessed a proliferation of badges in nontraditional materials and formats. An offshoot of political medals issued during the late 1890s is Bryan money. These medals addressed the great gold versus silver standard debate that raged during Bryan’s 1900 campaign. After 1896, there are some interesting medals but little collector interest or attention -- given the fact that the Sullivan medals book ends with the 1892 campaign and the further fact that medals are forced to compete for the collector’s attention with golden era celluloid buttons.

    Many large size early 19^th century medals were originally issued in just white metal. As mentioned above, some of these pre-1860 medals were later reissued in multiple metals for the collector market, along with various mule (mixing obverses and reverses that were not originally intended to be together) versions. Beginning with the 1856 campaign, many medals were issued for use during the campaign in white metal, copper and brass, with the copper and brass versions often originally costing more than the white metal counterpart. In addition to use of white metal, copper, brass and silver, 19^th century "medals" were also composed of lead, gold, aluminum, nickel, "composition" (a material that is similar to plastic or rubber), leather, porcelain, wood and paper.

    Anyone interested in campaign medals should familiarize themselves with the images of medals located elsewhere on this website. Sullivan’s book "American Political Badges and Medalets 1789-1892" is a must resource to acquaint the beginning or advanced collector with the DeWitt/Sullivan numbers used in identifying political medals. Sullivan’s book, "Collecting Political Americana" includes an introductory chapter on collecting political medals. Joe Levine’s (Presidential Coin and Antique Company) two Charles McSorley collection auction catalogs (1997 & 1998) are extremely useful as they provide a benchmark for what can be amassed by a sophisticated dealer/collector during a 40 year period of collecting. The two McSorley catalogs (along with the prices realized) also provide valuable and relatively current information regarding rarity and value – Joe Levine does an excellent job of providing background information regarding rare medals. Political medals collectors should also join the APIC, attend key APIC shows and obtain all of the auction catalogs issued by the various political dealers advertising in the Bandwagon (a newspaper sent to APIC members). Political medals can sometimes be found in the hands of coin dealers, and auction houses such as Bowers and Stacks occasionally include runs of political medals in their auctions.

    Condition has become increasingly important in both the numismatic and political fields over the past 20 years. The same holds true for the political medals arena, although condition lapses are inevitable and acceptable for rare medals from the early campaigns and, for many casual collectors, the issue of whether their only Lincoln or Grant medal is in extra fine or uncirculated condition is not important. Between those extremes is a wide range of medals where condition is important (i.e., is the medal generally in uncirculated condition or does it have some noticeable wear) but has not risen to the level seen today in numismatics, where one point up on a 60 point scale can sometimes double the price of a coin. Many political campaign medals made for use in the campaign have a hole for putting a ribbon or thread through for attachment to a ribbon, lapel or other item of clothing. The presence of a hole does not generally diminish the value of a political medal unless the hole was crudely made or poorly placed.

    Collecting political medals can be rewarding because the material is intrinsically diverse, attractive visually, and historically interesting -- instead of focusing on rare mint marks, die varieties or hyper-condition coins, a political medals collector can look forward to finding unlisted medals and purchasing them for a fraction of the cost of a rare coin or celluloid button. The hobby also rewards knowledge gained through experience and leg work – knowledge isn’t that easy to come by in this collecting area which makes it a powerful weapon. Finally, medals can be differentiated from celluloid buttons and coins in another important respect – the material is basically scarce to rare, with many medals rarely if ever coming on the market – a collection must be built through dedication and patience – you simply can’t create an instant collection by attending the next ANA coin show or political dealer auction. Simply being willing to spend money doesn’t mean that you can instantly put together a great collection. All of these factors makes the hobby fun and rewarding for the dedicated collector. Building a great political medals collection can be the ultimate political memorabilia /numismatic treasure hunt.  Homepage