Is this campaign item valuable jewelry?

DECEMBER 16, 2005

[Dog Gone]

As a background, I collect political campaign memorabilia, primarily campaign buttons. My oldest is from Grover Cleveland's campaign, before they discovered the pin. The earlier buttons were studs you stuck in your coat button.

I digress.

I recently found an item from JFK's campaign, and I'm not sure what it is. I think it's either gold, or gold-plated, but I'm not sure. And I have no idea if the three green stones are gems or colored glass. It does have a jewelers clasp for the pin (or brooch).

Anyway, is there any way to reliably find out whether this is a real piece of jewelry? Even if it's not, I like it, politics aside.

[Dog Gone]

The donkey has no tarnish and is brighter than the picture indicates, and the green stones are also a lighter green.

[GSlob]

The jewelers have simple battery-powered devices which measure thermal conductivity [IIRC} of metal and tell its gold content. A decent goldmith shop would have it and could measure your item within a minute. Also a gold item would normally have a Karat assay stamp on its back. Alternatively, you could follow Archimedes and measure the density of the metal. Gold alloys densities are from 13 (10K) and higher.

[GSlob]

goldmith = goldsmith

[solitas]

"kennedy" and an ass: redundant.

[Dog Gone]

There's no assay stamp on it. I've checked closely. And I'm not going to get into the Archimedes stuff. That's greek to me. ;-)

But an ordinary jewelry store could make such a determination? It could tell the difference between gold plate and solid gold?

I wouldn't even worry about this pin in the least except that gold paint would have shown deterioration after this long. I didn't buy the dang thing as even being gold-plated.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think if it's unusual, it could be pretty valuable... it'd be interesting to ebay it.

[deport]

Here's one that is different but a democrat donkey pin... offered for $16... but isn't the Kennedy one.

http://antiques.tace.com/antiques_and_collectibles/items_forsale/20102.html

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

http://ronwade.freeservers.com/jfkmemorabilia.html

go about half way down the page...........

[HairOfTheDog]

This page ~had~ them for sale for $12.50 - but they're no longer available...

Museum Store Catalog, Page 16

[Dog Gone]

That one is close, but without the stones for the ears and eyes. Hmmmm, fascinating.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

You are so hard to please........give me a minute

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

from: http://www.funkandjunk.com/ellespage/questions4.html

I have a campaign pin from Eisenhower's Presidential campaign. It has three letters IKE in rhinestones. It is about an inch wide. I have never seen one like it before, but my mother got it during the election. Suzy

Answer:Hi Guys, As your questions were very similar, I thought I would again knock out a couple of birds with one stone.

Generally speaking most people refer to the pins with hanging letters (like the Kennedy one) as sweater pins but both of these can really be termed sweater pins in my opinion. These political pins are not that easy to find though not particularly scarce. However, this style campaign pin (vs. traditional pinback buttons) is more difficult to locate and fewer were distributed.

Kennedy pins are usually easier to locate than similar IKE pins. Kennedy's relatively huge collectibility rating (and his sheer popularity) make his pin the most sought after and of higher value.

Condition is usually the make or break factor and finish lose and missing rhinestones will effect the value. The figural nature, too, has a positive effect on the value.

Your IKE pin would sell for $25-$35 and your Kennedy pin would reap $50-$60.

Thank you both for your question,

Elle

[Dog Gone]

If I had to guess, the reason they're not available is because the federal law which now prohibits selling reproductions of campaign memorabilia.

I'll take this piece to my favorite jeweler. Maybe he can tell me. Thanks for the info!

[GSlob]

"But an ordinary jewelry store could make such a determination? It could tell the difference between gold plate and solid gold?"
I'd bet they could, and easily - just go to a place which does jewelry repairs.

[Dog Gone]

Well, hell, that's good enough for me. LOL, I bought it for $2.50. It looks like gold, and my wife thought it was emeralds.

I should just give it to her for Christmas.

[Dog Gone]

I am going to do that, although jewelry stores are not a good place for leisurely business this time of year.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

sneaky

[Sisku Hanne]

It's gold-plated costume jewelry with green rhinestones. If you flip it over and there's no mark (10k, 10k gf, 12k gf, 14k, etc.), it's not gold. Look near the points where solder would be attaching the pinback, & you should see evidence of plating covering those areas. No prongs means glued-in rhinestones and not genuine stones. Probably worth about $40 to a collector.

[Dog Gone]

There is definitely no mark on the back. There is also nothing at all at the solder points to indicate evidence of plating. It appears under a magnifying glass under bright light to be gold everywhere on the brooch. It's really a very pretty piece.

There are no prongs, though, so I'm sure you're right. The ears and eye are glued in rhinestones.

The collective wisdom of the Freeper community has convinced me. I have a neat little piece of americana that I purchased at a bargain price. But I didn't stumble upon something worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.