U.S. Political Memorabilia Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1896

The celluloid political button, which is the staple of most collectors, consists of a round piece of paper with a photo or slogan, covered in celluloid with a pin-back attached to it. Prior to 1896, campaigns used metal pins which framed small photos of candidates, as well as ribbons, coins and trinkets.

Answer: A button featuring pictures of both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates

Jugates are among the most popular presidential campaign buttons. Items with pictures that change when you look at them from different angles are known as flashers and were especially popular in the 1950s and '60s.

Answer: 1920 Cox & Roosevelt

The 1920 button showing James Cox and a young Franklin Roosevelt(there are several varieties) is the American political memorabilia equivalent of the upside down airplane stamp, the Honus Wagner baseball card or Action Comics #1. It is the legend of the hobby. These rare and desirable buttons have sold from $25,000 to $85,000, depending on condition.

Answer: All of these

Yes, almost anything and everything has been made to promote politicians. Besides the obvious buttons, stickers and shirts, there have been decks of cards, bottles of booze, canes, coins, ribbons, handkerchiefs, and almost anything else you can think of.

Answer: No

Many items, even older items, can be had for under $20. In addition, you can acquire current items from campaigns for almost nothing. If you go to campaign events, rallies or local campaign offices, you can almost always find a bumper sticker, button or brochure for free or a small donation (usually $1.00). Ephemera - that is items like brochures and buttons that are usually thrown away soon after they cease to be useful - often become scarce in the longer term.

Answer: A union trademark

The union bug is the small oval symbol, appearing on many items, that shows that the piece was union-made.

Answer: A cause item

There are many interesting items advocating for causes as opposed to candidates, including items promoting or opposing wars, prohibition, abortion, women's suffrage, strikes, civil rights and nearly every other political issue.

Answer: A coat-tail item

The idea is that the local candidate will ride the presidential candidate's coat tails to victory. One popular coat tail item came from one of Lyndon Johnson's early campaigns for congress. It showed a picture of young LBJ with President Franklin Roosevelt and read "Me and Roosevelt for Johnson".

Answer: False

In fact, there are many losing candidate items, and even third party items, that are quite valuable. The value of a political item has to do with many factors including its rarity, appearance, condition and popularity of the candidate. Sure, people love the popular presidents like Truman, Lincoln, Kennedy and Reagan, but there are lots of collectors interested in the losers and the obscure.

Many presidential collectors strive to have a button from every candidate in every presidential race.

Answer: The American Political Items Collectors

If this quiz has sparked your interest, you should check out APIC: http://apic.us/