Nineteenth-century American campaign ribbons are memorabilia sought by political collectors. From the 1820s to 1890s, ribbons were cheap to manufacture and easy to distribute in large quantities. Most silk originals include the printed candidate’s portrait and a slogan. In the 1890s, the invention of political buttons that were cheaper, durable and had better images replaced ribbons. Today, rare old political ribbons in excellent condition sell for hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Michael J. McQuillen, a dealer, collector, and writer, warned about fake political ribbons for sale. Recently a seller offered McQuillen Civil War era ribbons. McQuillen wanted to see the rare items that included an 1868 Seymour and Blair ribbon, an 1848 Lewis Cass portrait ribbon, an 1860 Lincoln and Hamlin jugate, an 1860 Lincoln and Hamlin single portrait, an 1864 Lincoln and Johnson and an 1856 Fremont and Dayton. An original 1856 Fremont ribbon has sold for around $10,000.

He ordered and then inspected three ribbons, saw the poor quality of the fabric and the candidates’ pictures. They were photographed copies—stain marks and all—of originals sold at recent auctions. Identical fakes were sold on eBay, some for more than $1,000. McQuillen writes, “The moral of this story is that if a deal seems too good to be true, there is a great chance that your instinct is correct.” His advice: Be wary of these circulating fakes. Reproduced political ribbons are fairly easy to identify when you look for the right clues, like photographed text on silk-like ribbon. Know the seller before purchasing, and check the ribbon’s quality with an expert.

Based on an article by  Michael J. McQuillen, “Beware: The latest scam in campaign ribbons,” AntiqueWeek, June 15, 2015. Brummagem project created in 1985 by APIC (American Political Items Collectors), is a source of information about fake, fantasy and reproduced political memorabilia.

The following are fake political ribbons: