Anti-Stamp Act: 1766 Shank Button Which May Be the Very First American Political Item....

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Anti-Stamp Act: 1766 Shank Button Which May Be the Very First American Political Item. This important button was recently excavated from the same New England site which yielded the 1789 GW button offered elsewhere in this catalog. Struck in copper or brass, it features a profile of British Prime Minister William Pitt surrounded by the words "No Stamp Act," with his name below the portrait. This 1765 tax law was particularly offensive to the American colonies, and was a major galvanizing factor leading to the American Revolution. We are certainly not aware of any other wearable item expressing a political sentiment, such as a button or badge, from this early time. It is quite reasonable to argue that this may be the earliest American political item. While apparently several other copies exist, this is the first that we have ever seen "in the flesh." The surface is typically eroded from over two centuries underground, but the color is an even chocolate brown, and Pitt's portrait and the lettering are clear. Original shank on verso. Diameter 25mm.