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Message:: [QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 25808194, member: 101855"]Showing a photograph of a presidential candidate on a button is a very common practice today. The buttons that we regard as “modern” were patented in 1894 and used extensively for the 1896 campaign which paired William McKinley against William Jennings Bryan. William KcKinley [ATTACH=full]1646472[/ATTACH]  William Jennings Bryan [ATTACH=full]1646473[/ATTACH] Many collectors believe that the first presidential campaign picture buttons were issued in 1860. That year there were four major party candidates with the political differences between them divided along the lines that would result in the Civil War. The picture buttons were called "ferrotypes.” The chemicals that were used to develop pictures were too strong to use on paper. Instead the pictures were printed on thin sheets of iron. Here is a set of ferrotypes for the four candidates who ran in 1860, Lincoln, Douglas, Breckenridge and Bell. [ATTACH=full]1646479[/ATTACH] Very few collectors realize that the first ferrotype buttons were issued in the 1856 presidential campaign. The three candidates were James Buchanan, John Fremont and Millard Fillmore. Buchanan and Fillmore issued a very small number of buttons. Recently I won this Fillmore piece in an auction. It is only the fourth one I have seen offered in 30 years. The Buchanan piece is much rarer. I have only seen one in a collection. [ATTACH=full]1646481[/ATTACH] This piece is extremely small. It is only 11 centimeters wide. What do these pieces have to do coins? A great many collectors who get interested in political tokens collect ferrotypes along with the tokens.[/QUOTE]

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