Can you put them ribbons and hang the ribbons in a decorative way? Or you could pin them to things, like hats (hanging them up in a nice way), or to the shirt of a stuffed animal or doll collection.

Get some wide grosgrain ribbon in navy or whatever color you like, and cut however many long strips you need to accommodate your collection. Pin the buttons on in a pleasing arrangement, either sorted by size or randomly, or chronologically, and tack them up. You could also sew a casing at the top of each and put them on some kind of rod and hang that up.

Hang a neutral messenger bag and then pin them to it.

We have a bunch in a glass globe similar to this one:
http://www.rubylane.com/item/477409-A320/Vintage-Bakelite-Glass-Display-dome

Anyone can come along and pick it up and turn the globe around to interact with it and look at the buttons. It can easily be moved to a new location in the home at any time. It's a breeze to clean/dust and always a conversation piece.

I have the same problem! My grandpa gave me a large collection (an entire shoe box full!) and I love them but I'm trying to figure out how to display them.

i don't know a lot about this kind of collection, so what i'm suggesting might not be possible for long-term storage... or something... but you could pin them onto cork board, right? thin strips of it, or squares arranged in a pattern/stripe/whatever. you could even make them the border of a larger square/bulletin board that you could use for posting other things like your calendar and stuff.
i also really love the suggestion others have made to put them on lengths of ribbon and hanging them. talk about easy and cheap! and definitely easy to take down or move.
good luck!

I think putting them in a shadow box with a background of American flag/flag colors would look great - it would preserve them better than how others have suggested just letting them hang out on ribbon. I guess that's a little more "collection-y" than you'd like, but personally I'd want to preserve & display them.

I have my political campaign buttons next to my desk at work pinned to my bulletin board with photos as a timeline of memories.

If you don't want it to look cheesy, collecty or political junkie; whatever you do, save it for your bedroom. Nothing wrong with them & I'd say ways to have them framed and hung and look cool, but like too many family pictures or religious stuff, too personal, keep it to your stuff. Then you can be the gatekeeper as to who you genuinely know will be interested in seeing it. Anyway, right now, this would be the last thing I want to see.

meant 'keep it to yourself' not stuff.

Really? You'd be offended to see them in a friend's living room? That's odd.

My grandfather started a political button collection many years ago, and we still have it in the family. It has been added to in recent years but it also includes historical campaign buttons going all the way back to Lincoln. The buttons are pinned all over every square inch of a small stuffed elephant (Grandpa's party of choice) handmade out of simple gray canvas, and the elephant sits on a bookcase now. I've always thought it would be fun to extend the collection to a stuffed donkey on the left side of the bookcase... ;) Done this way, the buttons don't feel "collection-y" or obnoxiously political. But it makes for a very personal and funky piece of decor.

I also have a button collection (but very small) and discovered that magnets will stick to most of them. You don't even have to glue them on--just place a very small magnet (like those small superstrong silver whatchamacallit kinds) on the back and then stick to a piece of cut metal sheeting or a painted metal tv tray, or use magnetic paint on the wall, etc...

I like siobhang's suggestion... I had something similar in mind -- getting a very simple tall, narrow, clear vase in which to put the buttons. I think it would make the collection seem very classy and not look kitch-y.

I collect pins on my travels. What I have done might be to 'collectiony'

I headed to Hobby Lobby and got a blank canvas which I then painted and then pin everything right on there. The nice thing is that you can add more to it, the painted background can fit your decor and it costs very, very little.

My husband has his on small bulletin boards arranged in themes. They seem to be easier to enjoy and to display than if they were all in one place. They have started many conversations and triggered lots of good memories. I wouldn't want someone in my house who was offended by what we support. That doesn't mean they can't disagree. What you believe in is who you are. Why would you hide it?

What about covering a small pillow with them? A little rectangular throw cushion covered in your buttons could make its way from couch to chairs and would be a neat conversation starter without having to dedicate part of the wall to it.

Consider consulting a professional framing. They often have interesting and unique ways of framing collections.

I have many political buttons from over the years, and have been at a loss as to what to do with them. This question is perfect!
Also, I can't imagine any of my friends not wanting to see them.That's why they are my friends!

I have my collection of political buttons on a black, felt-covered changeable letter board, like the kind schools and office buildings have. It's not the fanciest, but I like it a lot because it's easy to move buttons around, add more, take one off when I want to wear it, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Ghent-Mount-Black-Letter-Board/dp/B0039K9MFW/ref=sr_1_17?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1353359213&sr=1-17

Something like this, if my description wasn't clear.