"COX AND ROOSEVELT" RARE SMALLEST SIZE 5/8" JUGATE BUTTON UNLISTED IN HAKE.
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Winning Bid:
$34,786.40
(Includes 18% Buyer's Premium)
Bidding Ended:
Tuesday, July 26, 2022 9:00:00 PM (20 Minute Clock Begins At Tuesday, July 26, 2022 9:00:00 PM)
Item Description
Presidential campaign button collectors need no introduction on this major rarity but for those of you fresh to this market (welcome) it is important to note the iconic status of these pin-backs to the organized hobby. Akin to the 'holy grail' status enjoyed by the likes of Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman and the Honus Wagner T206 baseball card, the Cox/FDR jugate shares the combination of extreme rarity and fascinating back story that will always tantalize collectors.
HISTORY: Enthusiasm was low for the Democratic field in 1920 with Ohio Gov. James M. Cox becoming the nominee on the 44th convention ballot. His selection of future four term President FDR for Vice President was in part for his famous last name. FDR had yet to attain his iconic three letter nickname and was then a relatively unknown 38-year-old who had most recently served as Assistant Sec. of the Navy (1913-1919) under Woodrow Wilson. During his time in the Wilson administration, he was defeated in a 1916 primary campaign to be the Democratic nominee for Senate from New York. Letters from a major button manufacturer found at the Hyde Park Presidential Library indicate as of July 31, 1920, the St. Louis Button Co. was still seeking a suitable portrait of FDR to use on buttons (see lot #253 for this variety). This delay undoubtedly impacted production of jugates for the already lackluster ticket.
HOBBY ICON: The few surviving examples have long been considered likely samples issued by their manufacturers and with no more than three Cox/FDR jugates found together at one time, especially notable as collectors have been in full fledge pursuit of these buttons since 1964 when a sales record was set at the first American Political Items Collectors (APIC) convention. That specimen sold for over $200, a shocking sum at the time, and was bought sight unseen with the seller making a long drive home to retrieve it, returning before the show's conclusion cementing a transaction that forever changed the hobby.
DETAILS: The present specimen is 5/8", the smallest variety of Cox/FDR jugate and, outside of the 1.25" varieties, the rarest. Only five examples of this size are known to us, one of which resides in the Cox Enterprises collection unlikely to ever come to market. Another of the remaining four is locked tightly in an East Coast collection that is unlikely to be sold. That leaves only a minuscule three examples, potentially, to satisfy collectors including the current offering. This brown tone jugate produced by Whitehead & Hoag is the only design in this diminutive size produced by any manufacturer. It can be paired with a matching 7/8" and 1.25" varieties. In our March Auction we set a world record for a pin-back button with the sale of the 1.25" variety at $185,850. If the thought of a trio of 5/8", 7/8" & 1.25" Cox/FDR jugates isn't enthralling enough, the fact that this trio can be paired with matching Harding/Coolidge designs should surely wow even the most advanced hobbyist. Bringing the full set of six together is a feat achieved only twice in hobby history. The grouping of all six is perhaps the most alluring button set from any campaign.
CONDITION: For extreme accuracy we note an inconsequential ridge at 11 o'clock that occurred in manufacturing. Otherwise only trivial surface wear under magnification. NM as made. A superb example w/full gloss and retaining its W&H back paper. See next lot for matching Harding.
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