The value of this ribbon does not just stop at the $1.00 printed on it. There are many types of value associated with the object including both monetary and intrinsic value. At the time of issue the meeting badge cost $1.00. Assuming the year was 1896 (Globe and Mail, 1896), the cost of this meeting badge today (2016) would be $28.57 (Dave Mauel, n.d.) which is a fair amount of money to simply attend a horse race. When the amount of money expected to be used in betting is factored in, it is clear why many of the attendees would have been part of a higher society.
Evaluating the monetary value of the physical ribbon in present day is extremely difficult due to its rarity and lack of background story. No others were located for sale on the web at the time this exhibit was put together.
Opposite of the monetary value is intrinsic value. Intrinsic value can include the story the ribbon tells (no matter how unclear) and the sentimental meaning it might have had to an individual. The lack of records of the Berlin Ice Races could be a sign that this ribbon is one of the few pieces of history that document its existence. It is also a reminder of the German anti-sentiment that existed even in Canada after the first World War and the struggles that German Canadians may have had to face at that time (Kitchener, 2016). It is difficult to determine the sentimental value it might have had to an individual but it must have been special to someone for it to have been kept this long and in such good shape.
Although the information found related to this ribbon is scarce, it is still enough to draw a valuable story and background out of the object. Ephemera is more valuable than it might seem, it just takes a little patience and a lot of digging to find out why.