Kevin Rader/Eyewitness News
Cicero - A 35-year hobby will go on the auction block tomorrow on the north side.
Bill Bangs of Cicero amassed an unusual collection during his lifetime and now his relatives have decided it has to go. It's like walking through an American life, nearly 11,000 pin-back buttons relating to everything fill Bangs' collection.
"We have things as early as 1895," said appraiser Robert J. Brown.
The collection includes pins of American icons from Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Buffalo Bill Cody to John Lennon and the Beatles.
"In 30 years I've done this business, I have never seen a thousand or 1,500 pins, much less 10,000 out of this collection," Brown said.
From "I like Ike" to Barry Goldwater, the ticket he eventually lost to - Johnson-Humphrey.
Another one of the more interesting buttons stems from 1972, "I'm a dingbat for Archie Bunker."
Indiana is also represented with pins of Bill Hudnut, Stephen Goldsmith and Jim Wells. Bangs died in April 2005, but he did more than just collect the pins.
"He cataloged every pin by size, where he bought it, what year he bought it and the value of the pin," Brown said.
Odell Whitfield goes to sales like this one every other week.
"This is a very unique sale here," Whitfield said.
That is in part because it's more than just buttons. It seems Bangs also inherited a collectible book from his father, Kenneth. Not because of the title, but because of the signatures in the back.
"It is small enough that you could carry it. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig," Brown said of the baseball legends that signed the book. He expects that item alone will sell for $500-$1,000.
There is also a stamp collection, which will go on sale Sunday.
"Real rare. Mint, unhinged. They are just called Zeppelins," Brown said.
Up to 200 people are expected to participate in the auction which gets underway with a preview at 8:30 Saturday morning. The auction will start at 10 am.
The collection is at 8250 Zionsville Road in Indianapolis.
