Historical Campaign Pins and Watch Fobs

• Historical Background
• Buttons
• Medalets
• Postcards
• Ribbons
• Sheet Music
• Resources

Pins and Watch Fobs: Historical Background

Lapel pins were quite fashionable in the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Watch fobs were another novelty item. It was a way for politicians to advertise themselves and the issues.

The currency standard was a major issue in the 1896 election between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan. McKinley, a Republican, favored gold, while Bryan, a Democrat, favored free silver. Gold and silver bug pins were worn as symbols to represent a person's position on the issue.

This exhibit of pins and watch fobs is courtesy of the Macy Hallock collection.

• McKinley Gold Bug 1896
• McKinley Coal Scuttle 1896
• Gold & Silver Bugs 1896
• McKinley Eagle 1900
• Wet Party 1904
• McKinley - Hobart 1896
• Bryan 1908
• Taft 1908
• Bryan 1908
• Taft 1908