Presidents and Inaugurals

1889 Benjamin Harrison / General James A. Beaver Unofficial Inaugural Badge. Bronze and Silk. About Uncirculated.

41 mm x 94 mm. This is an unauthorized badge issued by Civil War general and then-current Pennsylvania Governor James A. Beaver, who had been appointed to be the grand marshal of the Inaugural Parade. A copper pinback suspender in the form of crossed logs inscribed WASHINGTON and MAR 4. 1889. supports a length of yellow silk ribbon from which is suspended, by a jump ring, a 38.3 mm bronze medal. The suspended medal features a bust of Harrison on the front with TWENTY THIRD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES / BENJAMIN HARRISON around. The reverse was somewhat controversial at the time, being inscribed INAUGURAL CEREMONIES MARCH 4, 1889 / GENERAL JAMES A. BEAVER / CHIEF MARSHAL / HARRISON & MORTON, with Beaver's name in the largest lettering on the medal, causing some critics to wonder just who was being honored that day. In any event, it was a high-quality badge, ordered and paid for by Beaver himself, and it remains one of the most popular items from that campaign.

Estimate: 250