About APIC

Collecting Political Items During the 1800's

Historians say that the collecting of political Americana started in 1789 when the very first George Washington "GW" inaugural item was struck. Over the years, as political opposition grew, these American political items not only advertised one's favorite candidate, but left a vast array of tangible political history for all of us to enjoy.

The only common bonds among the early collectors of the 19th century were the various medal catalogs, starting with a collector named Bushnell in 1856 and another collector Satterlee in 1862. While the early collectors most likely had some interest in coins and other medals, the feeling of the time could best be summed up from the opening paragraph of Satterlee's catalog preface which stated, "The object of this compilation is simply to invite the attention of American Numismatists to a class of medals that has hitherto been greatly neglected--a class that is inferior to none in variety and interest, and that has a more immediate bearing on the history than any other."

The APIC was Born

The need for a group of collectors to band together was met in 1945 when five collectors organized the American Political Items Collectors. For a period of 15 years, Joe Fuld (member #1) served as President and Monroe D. Ray (#3) served as Secretary/Treasurer. The letterhead of the organization read, "An organization devoted to the dissemination of authoritative information helpful to collectors of political items." In 1959, the organization had grown to 75 members. Monroe D. Ray tried for many years to get the members together for a meeting, to draw up by-laws and elect officers. With members scattered across the country and the failing health of Mr. Ray, it was decided to disband the APIC as of May 1, 1960. Both Mr. Ray and Mr. Fuld had done a big and often times thankless job during the 15 years that they served as officers.

With no one willng to take over the responsibility of running the organization, U.I. "Chick" Harris took the initiative and wrote a letter to all APIC members. He explained that there was more national interest in political Americana than there had been in years since a contested election was coming later that year, and he asked every member to voice their opinion regarding a re-organization. This resulted in a meeting of the APIC, held at William's Restaurant in Chicago on July 24, 1960, just prior to the Republican Convention. The meeting was attended by 20 members and lasted six hours. It was a true business meeting since not a single button was sold or traded!

From this meeting, the APIC was revitalized into the active organization that is is today. The changes that took place included expanding the number of officers, forming a board of directors, voting by ballot, new by-laws and a constitution, a coded roster, the creation of mail auctions, national conventions every two years, price guides, greater control of fakes, encouraging local groups and, best of all--news bulletins to members.