Who is the greatest US president?
As tends to be the case with polls, it somewhat depends on who you ask.
But more often than not, the answer is Abraham Lincoln.
![]() Abraham Lincoln: number one more often than not |
US statistician Nate Silver's Poll of Polls has Lincoln on top, followed by Franklin D Roosevelt and George Washington.
Likewise an aggregate of 20 US and global polls conducted since 1948 places the three protagonists in the same order.
And Paul Fraser Collectibles' ongoing poll has Lincoln in first place, just ahead of Reagan and Kennedy.
Paul Fraser Collectibles' poll:
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Lincoln: 20.2%
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Reagan: 19.7%
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Kennedy: 14.7%
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Obama: 8.7%
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Franklin D Roosevelt: 7.3%
What does this all mean for collectors?
A popular president has popular memorabilia, as this recent auction of Lincoln's spectacles demonstrated.
Almost 150 years on from his assassination, Lincoln's achievements remain at the forefront of people's minds, ensuring demand for his artefacts remains high.
And as important items are acquired by museums or subsumed into private collections for several generations, the number of rare pieces of Lincoln memorabilia appearing on the market is dwindling.
And where you have diminishing availability coupled with strong demand, values will generally rise - making these items potentially strong diversification plays.
See this highly unusual Lincoln artefact you can make yours today.