Social Cause Buttons Appraisal

Vintage Pinback Button Collection featuring 'Beattles Are Bugs' and American Cancer Society Mouse Buttons

This set consists of two vintage pinback buttons of varying sizes and cultural significance. The smaller button is a yellow 1960s-era novelty pin featuring a humorous caricature and the text 'BEATTLES ARE BUGS!' in arched lettering. It measures approximately 1 inch in diameter, utilizing a lithograph-on-metal construction typical of mid-century novelty items. The caricature depicts a character with blue 'mop-top' hair, a play on the iconic hairstyle of The Beatles. The larger button is a philanthropic pin for the American Cancer Society, measuring approximately 2.5 inches. It features a bright red background with a cartoon mouse wearing a graduation cap and holding a sign that reads 'Send a mouse to college.' This specific campaign refers to funding laboratory research. The graphics on both pins are well-preserved with vibrant saturation, though minor surface scratches and slight oxidation on the metal edges are visible under close inspection. The American Cancer Society pin appears to date from the late 1960s to early 1970s. Both items utilize a standard safety-pin style metal fastener on the reverse. There are no visible manufacturer stamps on the faces, though characteristic small-run production marks may be present on the curled rims. These pieces represent a cross-section of mid-20th-century pop culture and charitable marketing ephemera.