Consumer Champ: What are those campaign souvenirs really worth?

Bill Clarke, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 24, 2008 at 3 p.m.

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Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

Sally Starr, antiques expert and owner of Starr Antiques

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

A ticket to the 1908 Democratic National Convention, held in Denver, and a William Jennings Bryan bookmark owned by Beulah Stache.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

Charlie Jones holds his "George Wallace for President" campaign button that he found in a Denver street.

A Spiro T. Agnew wristwatch belonging to Pat Pendleton was appraised at about $35.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

Ann Jeffries holds a cigar case with a Henry Clay painting on the cover. She says it's been in her family for generations.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

Tom Gray's Pat Schroeder presidential campaign button from 1988 is only worth about $8.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

Steve Silverman, regional attorney for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, is reflected in his framed political poster of Woodrow Wilson for president and Thomas Marshall for vice president.

From a pair of Eisenhower's eyeglasses to a Henry Clay coat-pocket cigar case, from stuff stored in an old box or a dresser drawer to materials that had been carefully curated and were worthy of display in a museum, we were overwhelmed by readers like you whom we asked to show us their "stuff."

Nearly 200 people e-mailed in response to our invitation to bring in their presidential memorabilia and have it appraised.

Unlike stamps or coins, campaign memorabilia seem to have a vitality and energy that reflects the sometimes-roughneck and always-vigorous nature of our political system. And the people who collect everything from Presidential Inaugural invitations to simple campaign buttons all were curious about the value of some item or oddity.

With the eye of antique-store owner Sally Starr, we were able to help.

"Three things determine the value of these things," she said. "The age of the item, the rarity of the item and the market among collectors for the item."

Think your "I Like Ike" or "Nixon's the One" buttons are worth something? Think again. Starr says that, almost without exception, anything dating back to Franklin Roosevelt is fairly common and has little value. Even an original newspaper chronicling President Lincoln's assassination is common enough that collectors will pay little to get hold of it.

"Interestingly enough, though," Starr added, "political memorabilia for those who lost sometimes carries a higher value" among collectors who specialize in lost causes . . . and losing candidates.

At her store, Starr Antiques, 2940 E. Sixth Ave., she proudly showed us four banners dating back to the Benjamin Harrison campaign of 1888 that carry themes that still have political value today: "Protection and Prosperity" and "No Compensation With Half Pay."

Starr doesn't seek out political memorabilia; she acquired what she has when buying collections from estates. But she does do appraisals and knows how to do her research.

Incidentally, the Eisenhower eyeglasses submitted by one reader, gathered when Ike and Mamie spent summers in Denver, would have value only to a museum. And the POW bracelet with John McCain's name on it submitted by another has little market value, Starr says, because there's no way of knowing how many were made.

For all those who submitted but didn't make the cut this time, give us another try in four years.

Note: Starr's appraisals listed here are suggested prices for sale to another collector; dealers would pay less.

Barbara Ryan:

* This one-time political reporter brought in a "Taft for President" badge.

Not William Howard Taft but Robert Taft, the senator from Ohio who was Eisenhower's rival in 1952. Mint condition.

* Appraisal:$45 to $145, probably on the higher end, Starr says.

Ann Jeffries:

* Cigar case with Henry Clay painting on the cover

"Been in the family for generations," Jeffries said. "And I wouldn't dream of selling it." Starr said these cases, dating back to the mid-1800s, "usually had naughty ladies on the cover, so this one's worth more."

Appraisal: $1,000 to $2,000

Tom Gray:

* Pat Schroeder presidential campaign buttons

Remember the Colorado congresswoman's slogan, "When she wins, we win"? Gray says he thought they'd have no value here, since Schroeder's base was in Colorado.

* Appraisal: $8

Charlie Jones:

* "George Wallace for President" campaign button

Jones was a Postal Service special-delivery carrier 30 years ago when he found it on a Denver street. "I want to keep it for the sentimental value," he told us.

* Appraisal: $8

Pat Pendleton:

* Spiro T. Agnew wristwatch, working condition

"It made me laugh and I'm a lifelong Democrat," Pendleton told us. The Nixon VP, convicted on bribery charges, sparked a lot of controversy after lashing out at the "nattering nabobs of negativism" in the media. His hands show you the time.

* Appraisal: $35 range

Beulah Stache:

* Ticket to the 1908 Democratic National Convention, held in Denver, and a William Jennings Bryan bookmark depicting the convention setting.

These came from Beulah's family and aren't for sale.

* Appraisal: $85 to $185, "probably on the high side of that," Starr says.

Carefully curated collection too much to digest

Steve Silverman drove up to Starr Antiques with a car trunkful of memorabilia and ephemera dating back to the Warren Harding administration. Silverman had lovingly curated everything, putting items of a common theme in the same display case.

An example: Arizona Rep. Morris "Mo" Udall's 1976 presidential campaign. He lost to Jimmy Carter, but his campaign lives on in Silverman's display along with campaign buttons from son (and Colorado congressman and Senate candidate) Mark Udall.

Silverman has been collecting since his teenage years in Iowa when he helped out at a state convention. He also had a display case packed with material from the JFK/LBJ Inaugural - everything from an invitation to passes, badges, buttons and other souvenirs.

Silverman was the lone exception to our observation that collectible material is generally stashed away in plastic bags, cardboard boxes or the occasional dresser drawer. His collection is worthy of a museum of its own. Maybe one where he could also show his archived collection of Olympic Games memorabilia.

Starr said this one was too much to digest all at once and suggested that Silverman needs to check in with a nationally recognized collector/trader for a definitive appraisal.

Finding appraisers

Sally Starr (sally@starr antiques.com) offers appraisals at $25 an hour. She's experienced but not certified, a requirement some insurance companies have when receiving an appraisal.

Ron Wade does a great business in buying and selling political memorabilia, and he is certified. But Wade lives in Longview, Texas. His Web site: ronwadebuttons.com. Wade will accept shipments for appraisal purposes.

Another longtime buyer and seller of political memorabilia was Earl Dodge.

He lived in Lakewood and was a handy resource. He also was the perennial presidential candidate of the Prohibition Party. Sadly, Dodge died last fall during a business trip, but part of his legacy to his family was the knowledge of what campaign material is worth. On the Web site buttonsbydodge.com, family members are selling much of Dodge's extensive button collection. They also are selling campaign buttons made for his seventh run at the presidency, a campaign cut short by his death at age 74.

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