George A. Chancellor, Jr. was a dedicated collector of many things, including fishing lures, which are among the items currently on the block in an Internet auction that will close on April 24, 2010.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – A major multi-estate sale featuring more than 300 quality consignments from four prominent local estates is currently being held online and will close on Saturday, Apr. 24, 2010.

The sale, which is being hosted by The Specialists of the South, Inc., features a formidable lineup of items from four principal consignors, including the estate of Barbara M. Sanders, who lived in Panama City since 1965. Her father was a prominent Boston banker and his parents were from England and Scotland. Many dishes in the sale came from Sanders’ aunt, who lived in Cornwall, England, and a handsome antique secretary also originated in Cornwall.

A friend of Sanders’ father was author Benton MacKaye, who was known in conservation circles as the “Father of the Appalachian Trail.” A signed copy of his New York play, “Bunty Pulls the Strings,” will be offered in the sale. Also sold will be postcards from a trip that Sanders took just prior to the outbreak of World War II, along with other pieces of ephemera.

Three primitive tables—two tall side tables and a drop-leaf table—made from Vermont pine, comes from the Barbara M. Sanders estate.

Additional items from the Sanders estate include three primitive tables—two tall side tables and a drop-leaf table Sanders made from Vermont pine and which Sanders acquired in the 1930s and ’40s while living outside Boston; and many Oriental items purchased in Tokyo and Hong Kong in 1963-64, including three large Oriental chests (all of them custom-made for Sanders and one retrofitted for electronic components); small tables and other Orientalia.

Online bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted and the live sale will begin at 9 a.m. (Central Standard Time).

The second major consignor is the estate of George A. Chancellor, Jr., a retired school teacher who taught math but was known mainly as a historian. Chancellor was also a dedicated collector of pipes (to include Meerschaum and silver decorated examples), match book covers, political buttons, older magazines, vintage fishing lures and a vintage record player and 78 rpm records. All of these will be sold Apr. 24, in some cases as multiple lots.

Also from Chancellor’s estate is a children’s roll-top desk with Art Deco handles and chair, believed to have been purchased for him by his parents when he was in the first grade (circa 1940); and a vintage Elvis costume made by his wife and worn by him on many occasions.

Pipes from Chancellor's collection will include Meerschaum and silver decorated examples.

The third consignor is a local woman whose grandparents—Charles and Juanita (Gaddy) Thomas—relocated from North Carolina to Quincy, Fla., in the 1920s. Charles was in the lumber business, but he was also a horse enthusiast. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas both collected antiques. The sale will feature a sterling presentation bowl engraved “St. Petersburg 1948 Horse Show” and a large Gorham Chantilly flatware service, monogrammed (MAT, for the the consignor’s aunt and Charles’ daughter, Margaret Ann Thomas) and weighing in at a robust 205 silver troy ounces.

The fourth and final consignor is a woman who, along with her daughter, collected the Azalea pattern for over 40 years. The Larkin Tea Company was the sole distributor of these dishes from 1918-1941 and people would eagerly redeem coupons to acquire them. Hand-painted Noritake pieces with beautiful flowers will be sold and are dated by the markings: (Blue 1904-1920, Green 1921-1924, Red with one number 1925-1933, Red with two numbers 1934-1941).

Other furniture pieces that will be offered in the sale but not listed above include a glass curio on tall legs, a small fainting couch, drop-leaf tables (to include some pine and a nice small Duncan Phyfe-style mahogany table), antique piano stools, wing-back chairs, a painted tray top tilt table, and a 1970s Heywood Wakefield table with three leaves, eight chairs and a china cabinet.

Decorative accessories and collectibles will feature Haviland Apple Blossom china, a tall blue cut to clear vase, Rosina bone china, Capodimonte flowers, cut and pressed glass, Whitehall & Colony depression glass, Cloisonné, Imari, wood carvings, early 1900s “National Geographic” magazines, children’s books, “Women’s Home Companion” circa 1900 magazines, and artwork.

For more information about this auction, call 850.785.2477, e-mail to specialists [at] knology [dot] net or visit The Specialists of the South Web sites: SpecialistsoftheSouth.com or PanamaCityAuction.com.

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WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

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Common or scarce? Political buttons were created for campaigns, for issues, even for special events—or sometimes just because. With so many different kinds of political campaign buttons available since they were first created in 1896, and more than 3,000 for the Obama campaign alone, how can you know which ones to collect? I spoke with Mark Evans of Collectors Archive of Avon, New York, a long time political collectibles dealer, about the tried and true method of determining what is collectible.

“An awful lot of it is supply and demand and the graphic appeal of the item,” Evans says. “There is a wonderful button of Teddy Roosevelt with draped flags in his Rough Rider hat when he ran for Governor in 1898, but it’s very common. There were thousands and thousands of them made.” But, because of Teddy’s outsized personality, collector’s demand for this particular button has pushed the value for this relatively common button higher.

A more recent example of this phenomenon is the “In Your Heart, You Know He’s Right” campaign button of the Barry Goldwater presidential campaign of 1964. The satirical buttons of this campaign, such as “In Your Guts, You Know He’s Nuts” or “In Your Heart, You Know He’s Right – Far Right” also have values much higher than the supply.

With 3,000 buttons for the Obama campaign alone, how do we determine what is valuable as a collectible? Look for buttons that were used for a one day event, Evans says. Buttons of this sort were made in much more limited quantities, usually by local clubs or commercial companies and so their value remains high. Also, look to a candidate’s initial runs for political office. A Joe Biden campaign button for president in 1988, for example, now sells for $20 to $50 when just recently it was only about $2.

Matched pairs are also collectible. This is a commercially produced button series where both the president and vice president candidates are each produced on a separate button. Collectors go out of their way to find the mates, producing an instant collectible.

“Another factor,” Evans says, “is how well a button is made.” Evans shows a 1980 campaign button for Ronald Reagan where the graphic, while interesting and unusual, was poorly made. Spots, or foxing, started appearing on the paper reducing its value considerably. On the other hand, an interesting or unusual illustration, where the colors are bright and the quality is good, will only increase in value as a collectible over time.

So, to find value in political buttons, it is more than supply and demand. An unusual or catchy campaign slogan, buttons used for one-day events, early campaign buttons of elected presidents and vice presidents, matched pairs of candidates produced commercially, and unusual buttons that are well made. These are all factors in finding continued value in political button collectibles.

Still, there is one last thing to remember when collecting political buttons that tends to make all the difference. “As a collector, you should collect what you like,” Evans counsels. Hard to do in politics, but this is really the last word in collectible political buttons.

Watch a video with Tom Carrier talking to Mark Evans about political buttons here.

Tom Carrier is a general Worthologist, with an expertise in a wide variety of subjects.

WorthPoint: Get the Most from Your Antiques & Collectibles.

WorthPoint was a sponsor of the American Presidential Experience in Denver, Colo., earlier this year. This travelling road show of the American presidency was set up just outside Invesco Stadium in Denver as part of the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Inside were exhibits such as a full-scale replica of the Oval Office, the C-SPAN rolling studio, and campaign memorabilia of the past. One of the exhibits was a collection belonging to Mark Evans of Collectors Archives that featured the political items of the 1908 Democratic National Convention which was held, as it happens, in Denver as well.

That year, William Jennings Bryan was nominated for president rather overwhelmingly, but he left the nomination of his vice president completely up to the convention. The convention chose John W. Kern of Indiana as the vice presidential nominee. So, the Democratic ticket of Bryan and Kern was set for 1908 at a time when colorful and elaborate convention badges were the norm.

John Olsen, curator for the exhibit and WorthPoint Worthologist for political buttons, shows off some of the more unusual convention badges, such as the delegate badge for the Maryland delegation. In gold and black—colors from the Maryland state flag—a bow tie made from a small silk American flag with a pin featuring the coat-of-arms of Maryland in the center. It also features a black and gold rosette at the top with an American flag in the center. The gold filigree along the sides and bottom with the words “Delegate, National Democratic Convention, Denver, July 7th, 1908” sewn on silk really emphasizes the extravagance of only one of the many convention badges.

Alongside the convention badges were individual ones created specifically for Bryan Clubs. These were local organizations created to promote presidential candidates of the time. The badge for the Lincoln Bryan Club of Denver is an elaborate red, white, blue and silver silk oversized delegate badge complete with a very detailed button featuring William Jennings Bryan and the issues of the day added to the ribbon.

The centerpiece of the collection was the oversized photo image of William Jennings Bryan as a political button in perfect condition. “That button in that condition is worth easily over $2,000,” Olsen says.

In addition to the delegate buttons and pins are the tickets. Yes, everyone needed a ticket to attend the convention, even the delegate. A different ticket was issued for each day of the convention. Today, the specially manufactured elaborate credentials serve the same purpose, except the tickets of 1908 came with a coupon or stub. You presented the ticket and, like the movies today, the coupon was torn off by the convention staff as you entered the convention floor. “Now, (a) convention ticket would be more valuable if it had its original stub attached to it,” Olsen says. A complete ticket with stub in good condition would be worth about $50, but one without would be worth about half that.

While Bryan lost the election in 1908 to William Howard Taft, the items from his campaign and the 1908 convention that nominated him remain very popular and valuable political collectibles. It just goes to show that even in defeat, you can still be called on to serve your country as a valued collectible.

Watch a video of Tom Carrier talking with John Olsen about the 1908 National Democratic Convention by clicking here.

Tom Carrier is a general Worthologist, with an expertise in a wide variety of subjects.

WorthPoint: Get the Most from Your Antiques & Collectibles.

Now that you have started your collection, the most important thing to do with your buttons is to learn how to take proper care of them. If you fail to do this, you are risking having your buttons permanently stained or cracked, which will greatly reduce their value and, more importantly, detract from their aesthetic beauty.

What typically causes damage to political buttons? The four main causes of damage to buttons are storing buttons in a careless manner, direct light (especially sunlight), moisture, and extreme changes in temperature.

1916 Charles Evan Hughes button, from the front the button appears near perfect but when viewed from the side, much of the collet on the right hand side is exposed.

If you store your buttons by just throwing them into a box or drawer then it is likely that the surfaces of many of the buttons will be scratched by the pins of the buttons around them. Litho buttons (where the image has been directly printed onto the metal surface of the button) are particularly prone to this type of damage. On several occasions, I have seen large boxes containing hundreds of brand new litho buttons, received directly from the manufacturer, having nearly every button scratched. All the buttons had been shipped all jumbled together in groups of one hundred buttons per bag. This is why it is important to take the time and effort to store any large quantity of buttons neatly in rows in a face-to-face and back-to-back manner. By doing so, the buttons shift very little when moved and can not scratch one another.

Another all too common way of damaging buttons is exposing them to direct light. Direct light, regardless of its source, can fade the printing and colors of a button. The color red is particularly prone to fading by direct light. While direct sunlight is the most damaging, fluorescent light is also very damaging to buttons and any other graphic material. Collectors need to take special note of this since the new energy efficient light bulbs are compact fluorescent will be the only type available in the very near future. If you choose to display your collection on your walls or under a glass display case, you must make sure these items are lit by indirect light only. You should also rotate your items at least every six months.

When I was given a tour of Terrace Hill—the home of Iowa’s governor—one of the staff informed me that a prior Iowa governor had stored many of his most prized pieces of political memorabilia in the hallway between the governor’s office and the first lady’s office on the second floor. Unfortunately, there was a large window on the opposite wall from where the memorabilia was displayed. Sunlight may have beautifully lit up this hallway for several hours a day but it also greatly faded many of this unidentified governor’s prized mementos from his prior campaigns, as well as the presidential buttons he had collected. When I heard that Iowa’s current governor, Chet Culver, was planning to store his buttons in the same place, the next time I saw him, I was bold enough to personally warn him about the damage of continuing to display his collection in that location. It happened that I had a personal stake in this matter, since I had given him a collection of buttons from his father’s campaigns for the U.S. Senate in 1974 and 1980, and did not want those items damaged.

This 1904 Alton Parker button has a major crack on the lower right hand side detracting greatly from its visual appeal.

The biggest cause of damage to buttons is moisture that seeps underneath the celluloid or acetate and rusts the metal collet (the metal band used in the manufacture of a pinback, placed on the backside to secure the paper and celluloid attached to the front of the button) and frequently the metal disc on which the button paper rests. This rust creates black and/or brown spots to appear on the paper. This process is called “foxing,” and significantly reduces the value of any button.

Buttons exposed to extreme temperature and humidity changes can cause the celluloid (the plastic that covers a button) to expand and contract. The result of this process repeating numerous times is cracks in the celluloid on the front, and/or separations (when the celluloid pulls away from the rim of the button). Personally, in order for me to buy a cracked button or a button with a separation problem, the button would have to be extremely rare and inexpensive. Significant celluloid cracks make almost any button worthless.

This Jesse Jackson flasher from the 1970s (an educated guess) has a crack in the worst place, right through his face and a stain or foxing directly underneath it. Yet, it is one of my most prized buttons because I have yet to learn the exact origin of when it was made and why.

To prevent cracks and separations from happening to your buttons, you should store them in the same temperatures and humidity that make you comfortable. The average person is most comfortable when their house stays consistently around 72 degrees and not too dry or too humid. The same goes for buttons. Typically, you do not want to store your collection in the basement, attic, or garage. On the other hand, there are many people who have central air conditioning and finished basements that do not see a large fluctuation in temperature or humidity. In those situations, it is fine to store your collection there. If you are forced due to space limitations to store some of the overflow of your collection in your garage, as I am, I would recommend storing these items in sturdy Rubbermaid containers. This type of container will at least keep the buttons dry, out of the light and not directly exposed to the weather.

This 1908 William Howard Taft button has very slight staining to the right of his head. It could almost be mistaken for shading by the artist.

How do condition problems affect the price of political buttons? As typical with most collectibles, the first factor in the value of political buttons is rarity, the second is desirability, and the third is condition. The difference with political buttons is that there is no official grading scale or professional grading service companies. The most widely trusted price guide on political buttons, Ted Hake’s “Encyclopedia of Political Buttons,” has an update done only every few years and all the prices are based upon mint examples. Furthermore, this price guide only lists political items from 1792 thru 1976. To track the prices of buttons produced from 1980 to the present, as well as the trends of the value of older buttons, one must subscribe to several auctions and create your own database of prices. While most auctioneers take great effort to detail any imperfections in the buttons they are offering, there is still no way for any auctioneer to determine exactly how much he/she should discount his estimate from a button’s mint value in order to compensate for any flaws in any given button.

In preparation for writing this article, I decided to consult several long-time American Political Items Collectors (APIC) members about how various types of damage affects the value of political buttons. Hake, himself, responded that “any visible stain reduces prices by 50 percent, any visible crack 75 percent.” Another highly regarded auctioneer, Al Anderson, from Troy, Ohio, wrote to me about a rule developed by his good friend, Dr. Jeff Pressman of San Diego. Dr. Pressman’s rule is “when you see the item, do you say ‘Wow, it’s beautiful or great,’ or do you say, ‘Boy that cut, stain, foxing, or off-centeredness bothers me.’ If you see the beauty you can live with it and like it, just decide on a value. If the first time you are bothered by the problem, you will always be bothered by it and should not buy the piece—at any price.”

Group of seven William Jennings Bryan buttons from 1896 and 1900 with various condition problems including chips, foxing, celluloid separations, and dents. Some of the problems are more noticeable than others. The damage on each one greatly reduced its monetary value but not its historical or educational value.

Personally, the best guidance I can provide in regards to judging the value of a button with condition problems is to give a couple of anecdotes as to what I perceive is the typical attitude towards condition problems. One of my best friends in APIC owns a rare William Jennings Bryan button from 1896 that in mint condition would be valued at about $1,000. But because of some stains on it, he was able to purchase it for only $50. During a visit to the house of another APIC friend, along with two other APIC members, I noticed a shoe box full of buttons from the classic age of political buttons, 1896-1920s. I did notice that virtually all of them had some significant condition problems but still historically significant. In mint condition, most of these buttons would be valued from between $30-$75 each. When I inquired if they were for sale or not, my friend said, “Take whatever you want for free.” The three of us visitors were like kids in a candy store with huge grins on our face. We were thrilled to take our friend up on his offer because these buttons were still quite displayable and it is always better to have a damaged example than none at all.

I think it is important to remember when considering buying a button with condition problems is that these buttons are still historically valuable. Buying such buttons is a great way to build a collection of rare and historically significant buttons without having to break the bank. When you can afford to upgrade your collection to include better condition examples, you definitely should. But, until that point, why not have a collection of highly sought after buttons that just happen to have a few spots of foxing or a small crack on the side?

Beyond the tips and tools already provided, what else can you do to preserve your prized political buttons? What if you want quick and easy access to your buttons? Do you need to transport your buttons frequently? What is the best way to display your collection? These types of questions will be answered in my next article, “The Preservation and Displaying of Political Campaign Buttons.”

John Olsen is a Worthologist who specializes in political and campaign buttons and pins

WorthPoint: Get the Most from Your Antiques and Collectibles

Although there are many local campaigns (State Senate, State Representative, U.S. Senate, U.S. Representative, and Governor) for which only a few designs and varieties are ever made, the number of different button designs and varieties produced for the campaigns of the Presidential nominees is impossible to determine. In addition to the designs produced by national campaigns of the presidential nominees and a few well known button manufacturers, there are also local state and county parties, college party organizations, labor unions, local vendors, and individuals that also make buttons every four years. Therefore, no matter how items you have in your collection of a particular candidate, you can be pretty certain that it will never be complete. Since it is the hunt for new items that is half the fun in collecting, political button collectors have an endless source of enjoyment searching for items to add to their collection.

This is especially true for me because I happen to specialize in collecting non-partisan vote items. This means buttons simply encouraging people to vote without party affiliation listed. Every two years, there are buttons made by a countless number of groups, especially non-profits that launch voter registration and Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) campaigns. Many of these efforts are quickly formed and then disappear after Election Day and given a new name two or four years later. Therefore, the number of items which I could add to my collection grows greater every two years, but by how much I will never know.

During the 2008 election, I heard rumors that one well known political button manufacturer produced more than 40,000 different styles for Barack Obama alone. While this number seems greatly exaggerated, there is no way to be certain. Yet, it would not surprise me if there had been 40,000 different Obama button styles made prior to Election Day 2008. Then, there will likely be at least a 1,000 more different styles created for Obama’s Presidential Inauguration.

In most other hobbies—such as stamps, coins, sports and non-sports trading cards, and comic books—the number of manufacturers of these items is fairly limited. Most of these manufacturers release information to the public regarding the exact number of different items they produce and the quantity produced for each item. Since the production of coins and stamps is dictated by the government agencies that produce them, the information is required to be made public.

Wendell Wilkie: A metal pin back campaign button for the Republican ticket in 1940 of Wendell Wilkie and McNary running against, and losing to, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, made by Greenduck Company, Chicago, Ill. This button shows a few surface scratches.

2. There is virtually no way to restore a damaged political button to its original condition.

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard on the Antique Roadshow the appraiser telling the owner of an item that with careful restoration by a professional, the item’s value could increase by 20 to 30 percent or more. Political button collectors can only wish this was true for their items. With the exception of surface dirt, the damage to a pinback button is permanent. The only conceivable way to repair a pinback button whose plastic covering has been cracked is to dismantle the button and replace the celluloid/acetate covering the paper. This process is so difficult and uncommon within the hobby that it is virtually unheard of. In addition, an alteration to a campaign button such as this basically constitutes creating a reproduction, even though the button paper would be original. Besides damage to the celluloid, another permanent type of damage includes foxing, which is when moisture gets underneath the celluloid and rusts the metal backing. This rust creates brown or black spots on the button paper.

John F. Kennedy: A button from JFK’s Inauguration Day, 1961.

3. There are no annually produced price guides produced for campaign buttons.

Oh, how I wish this was possible. Since there is no way to accumulate an example of each button produced for any given candidate, even just a complete listing of political buttons is impossible, let alone a price guide.

In the past, there have been efforts taken on by various members of the American Political Items Collectors (APIC) to produce “projects” for a given candidate or election. This type of effort involves a large number of members sending images of items from their personal collection which are related to a particular election or candidate to one or more selected individuals. These individuals would then spend many hours weeding out the duplicate images and then organizing them into categories to be photographed and published in the APIC’s quarterly publication, the Keynoter. I am not aware of any such project done for any election or candidate after 1980.

As for actual price guides, the most highly respected price guide in the hobby is Ted Hake’s three-volume Encyclopedia of Political Buttons. Unfortunately, the “Hake guides” only cover campaign memorabilia related to presidential campaigns from 1792 through 1976. The overwhelming challenge of updating such a price guide makes it time and cost prohibitive. Additionally, while the number of collectors of political buttons is not small, between 7,000 and 10,000 nationwide, it is a fraction of those who collect sports trading cards, stamps and coins. With a relatively limited market for a political button price guide, it would not be economically feasible for an author to undertake and publish such a comprehensive project.

These limitations has not stopped author, Mark Warda from writing and publishing a price guide called, 200 Years of Political Campaign Collectibles. Warda does not attempt to be exhaustive in his listings. He uses examples of specific types of items that the collector is likely to encounter. He then gives price ranges, rather than a single dollar amount for an item. In regards to buttons, he depicts just a few buttons for each candidate, some very common and others very rare to show examples of what collectors might find in their searches.

The only hope of ever having an exhaustive price guide would be for a group of dedicated collectors to create an on-line listing of political buttons. Once this is accomplished, they could have members of the political collecting community post prices as they see them sold in the marketplace, along with proper citation as to where, when and for what price each specific button sold for. As more auctioneers such as Heritage Auction Galleries provide on-line access to their auction archives, maybe such an on-line price guide could be developed in the future. Of course, even an on-line price guide would never be fully complete.

The best way for collectors to keep up to date with prices is to attend political memorabilia shows, subscribe to multiple auction catalogs, and watch on-line auctions as diligently as possible. To do this with a high level of thoroughness would easily consume the same number of hours as a full-time job. While there are many who do their best to keep up on the values of all presidential campaign buttons (as well as other types of presidential campaign items), especially those from the period 1896-1920s—the golden age of buttons—most dealers resort to pricing their buttons based on their past experiences.

Eugene Debs: A 1910 Socialist Party Eugene Debs Political Button.

4. There is no set grading standards for buttons.

Most other hobbies have established grading standards to rate the condition of items within a given hobby and therefore accurately set a scale of prices for each grading level. This is not the case within the political button collecting world. The most typical types of damage seen on political buttons are scratches, fading, foxing (brown or black spots on the paper underneath the plastic covering), and celluloid cracks. Slight scratches are the most prevalent of all types of damage and have the least affect on prices. The other types of damage described above have severe affects on the value of buttons. Virtually all of them reduce the value of any button at least 50 percent, if not greater.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: “I Want Roosevelt Again” pin by Bastian Bros., NY

5. The Federal Hobby Protection Act of 1973 forbids the reproduction of political items unless they are marked in a very specific way.

The Federal Hobby Protection Act of 1973 sets very strict rules under which reproductions of political items especially buttons can be made. While this act also sets guidelines for the reproduction of coins, these two hobbies are the only two protected by this act. Unfortunately, a recent effort to broaden the Hobby Protection Act to encompass many other antiques and collectibles failed. So, while political button collectors still have to keep a sharp eye out for reproductions, which are virtually worthless, the Hobby Protection Act deters many manufacturers and individuals from designing and selling political items that appear old and meant to deceive collectors.

John Olsen is a Worthologist who specializes in political and campaign buttons.

WorthPoint: Get the Most from Your Antiques and Collectibles

Jim Warlick is a Political Worthologist for WorthPoint. He knows political buttons. He is the President and CEO of the USA Button Poll, which has accurately predicted the presidential elections with the exception of 2000 since 1988. He also owns a political memorabilia store in the heart of Washington D.C., where you can find your candidates mug on everything from hats to cuff links and buttons. In this video he concentrates on historical political buttons.

WorthPoint – Discover Your Hidden Wealth

An “I Like Ike” button on your lapel told everyone where you stood on the issues of the day and for whom you intended to vote. It is an individual statement on an individual election. But can campaign buttons—or more specifically, campaign-button sales—be used as an accurate predictor of election results?

Jim Warlick, WorthPoint’s political Worthologist, has been conducting this unscientific poll since 1988, and his results have accurately predicted the president every year except for 2000.

Warlick, who is an expert in U.S. political and campaign memorabilia, had always thought that the sales of campaign buttons, placards and signs would be a better indicator of how an area was going to vote, as opposed to telephone polling, because in phone polls, there is no accounting for fibs and white lies told to pollsters to avoid embarrassment.

“People take it very seriously,” said Warlick, who tracks the sales of buttons at his store, Political Americana, and shows and political events around the country in compiling his statistics. “We tell them upfront that we are measuring this, and when you purchase the button, we are going to put that into a poll and release it to the press.

“Here’s the reason we think it works. If people are called in a telephone poll, they may say they intend to vote, but they may not. A lot of people are ashamed to say they aren’t going to vote. If somebody comes up and they intentionally give you $3 for a button, and they know that that button is being tallied and released to the national press, then it’s pretty reliable. Literally, they are putting their money where their mouth is.”

Warlick started his button poll on a lark in 1988 when he was in Iowa for the Democratic and Republican caucuses. “I had been selling political buttons for years at rallies, and I thought, ‘Why not start measuring this and see if there is any correlation between what people buy and the way the results turn out.’”

So based on his button polling that January, Warlick’s successfully predicted that Pat Robertson would finished second behind George H.W. Bush, a shocker to everyone else. The button poll “knocked it out of the park,” Warlick said. “I beat the Des Moines Register. I was the only one to pick up the Pat Robertson vote.”

Warlick has been out every four years since, tracking button sales to predict the next president. His poll has been spot on in every election since 1988, except for razor-thin 2000 election where George W. Bush lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College vote over Al Gore. For that mistake, Warlick said, “We say we can’t account for buttons that don’t get counted.”

This year Warlick said that there are some anomalies in the button sales, a direct result of John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate.

“We did see a bump up in McCain-Palin in the first week of September, the second week of September. That’s faded off now,” Warlick said, adding that while Barack Obama is still holding a lead, it’s not as wide as it was this summer. “In the summer, it was 8-to-2 Obama, but now it’s about 6-to-4 Obama.

“We’ve never seen before where a VP candidate has pushed the ticket up or down in any way. We were getting a lot more requests for Obama material as opposed to McCain. But when he added Palin to the ticket, people not only wanted more McCain-Palin, they actually wanted just Palin campaign buttons,” Warlick said. “The lower part of the McCain-Palin ticket is more popular than the top of the ticket. We’d never seen that before.”

Warlick releases the results of his poll on the day before the national election, so on Nov. 3, we’ll get a look at which candidate’s buttons sold best, and, therefore, will be—according to the poll—the next president.

If you’re interested in collecting campaign buttons, be sure to see visit GoAntiques, WorthPoint’s partner site.

And be sure to view the Campaign Buttons: An Election Poll video.

WorthPoint—Get the Most from Your Antiques & Collectibles

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What makes a campaign button a valuable collectible? Tom Carrier finds out at the American Presidential Experience in Denver.

WorthPoint – Discover Your Hidden Wealth

We don’t even have any of these special campaign buttons in the store, because they are so collectible.

I’m talking about the special edition political buttons created by artist Brian Campbell. For each presidential candidate since the 2004 campaign, he creates a very limited edition caricature that seems to capture their individual character using just a few words or carefully crafted image. He has been so precise in his creations that his buttons virtually sell out as soon as they are listed. The fact that he limits each button to a production of only 50 or 100 also makes these an immediate rarity.

There are only a few pictured here from both the 2004 and 2008 elections. He has done so many more. I would like to get a complete list of all Brian Campbell buttons through our political community here on WorthPoint.com and I hope you can help.

In 1972, the American Oil Company reproduced historic political campaign buttons with the history of the candidate on a card and gave them away as premiums to its gas station customers. They featured buttons from the 1896 campaign of William Jennings Bryan through the 1968 presidential campaign.

These buttons were marked as reproductions but when placed in a faux wooden frame, a novice would have a hard time determining their individual value. The customer would assume that the buttons were authentic with a high collectible value. They, unfortunately, are more decorative than collectible.

There was a complete set of 38 buttons attached to a cardboard card telling the customer the history of the candidate. Each button featured “A-O 1972 #” and the number of the button from 1 to 38. None of the buttons have the plastic covering over the button that the real ones would have, but instead are solid metal.

Additionally in 1968, the Kleenex Corporation issued a series of 15 political button reproductions that featured the name “Kleenex 68″ along the rim of each of the button reproductions. None of the buttons have the plastic covering over the button as the original buttons would have.

All of the above political button reproductions come in a faux wooden frame with paper backing.

I’m sure there are other similar political product premiums given away by major corporations at one time or another. Let us know what they are.