1888 Grover Cleveland Openwork Campaign Pin Brass DeWitt Unlisted

An 1888 Democratic campaign pin for Grover Cleveland, brass, about 36 by 34 mm, and unlisted in DeWitt. CLEVELAND arches over a fan of deeply cut rays with 1888 across the center. The lettering and the openings are cut through the metal rather than pressed into it, which makes this a different kind of work from the shells and struck medalets that fill most of the 1888 field. The die work is sculptural, the piece carries real depth, and the cut-throughs are exactly where a thin stamping would have torn. The reverse keeps its original horizontal pin, so the piece is intact as made. The same horseshoe form was also produced as a smaller lapel stud. This is the larger pinback version. Cleveland lost that November to Benjamin Harrison, taking more votes nationally and fewer where they counted, and came back to win the office outright four years later.