Graffiti and Cause Buttons

[Shaggy]

Howdy,

I've been a "button-freak" since the Sixties. We wore silly buttons that were called "graffiti" buttons, such as "Socrates Ate Hemlock", and "Go Go Gandalf". There were also "cause" buttons, such as "Hell No, We Won't Go", "Make Love, Not War", plus buttons to publicize various events like the March on the Pentagon in 1967. There were also political buttons promoting candidates - some of whom were anti-war candidates and various liberals.

In 1968, future Yippie leader Jerry Rubin ran for mayor of Berkeley. Though he did receive 22 percent of the vote, it was his first and last attempt at legitimate politics. This month, one of the buttons from his race was auctioned off on eBay and fetched $122.50! Check out the photo.

Graffiti and cause buttons from the Sixties are selling for big bucks now. Buttons commonly sold for 25 cents back then, with some of the ones promoting events selling a bit higher to help raise money.

Shaggy

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[Shaggy]

Howdy,

The Black Panther Party - armed black people! That scared the hell out of the government, to be sure. So much so that the government resorted to murder to get rid of their leaders. Do a search of Fred Hampton, and learn how he was assassinated in his sleep in Chicago.
More about the Black Panthers: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party.

Black Panther Party items are highly collectible. Today on eBay, this pictured button sold for $91.00 on eBay. Also on eBay, a copy of "The Black Panther" newspaper vol.5, number 15 sold for $51.39. These were probably sold on the streets for donations and given away for propaganda.

Underground and cause newspapers are also very collectible. They are a window back in time - cool ads, happenings of the time, hip artwork, and more. One rag that started out as a hip cultural newspaper was "Rolling Stone". Hunter S. Thompson once wrote political articles for it. On eBay today, issue #68 from 1970 with a full page picture of Jimi Hendrix, and announcing his death, sold for $35.66.

If anyone invents a time machine - contact me. I wanna go back to 1970 with a couple thousand bucks and buy up all the counter-culture pins, papers, and posters, that I can!

Shaggy

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[Shaggy]

Howdy,

SDS - Students for a Democratic Society - the organization that became the major expression of the American Left in the Sixties. Their "Port Huron Statement" primarily written by Tom Hayden (once married to Jane Fonda) in 1962 opened the floodgates of student activism. Their history is an interesting one - including their splinter group "The Weather Underground".

SDS paraphernalia are very desirable to collectors of Sixties political items. This SDS with power salute fist just sold on eBay for $41.00. If you are a collector, watch for reproductions and fakes.

Shaggy

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