Pin trading is the practice of buying, selling, and exchanging collectible pins – most often

lapel pin A lapel pin, also known as an enamel pin, is a small pin worn on clothing, often on the lapel of a jacket, attached to a bag, or displayed on a piece of fabric. Lapel pins can be ornamental or can indicate the wearer's affiliation with an organiza ...

s associated with a particular common theme, as well as related items – such as

lanyard A lanyard is a cord, length of webbing, or strap that may serve any of various functions, which include a means of attachment, restraint, retrieval, and activation and deactivation. A lanyard is also a piece of rigging used to secure or lowe ...

s, bags, and

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

s to store and display the pins – as a

hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...

. Collectible pins used in pin trading are often found in amusement parks and resorts; the

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

and

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

resorts, for example, are venues where

Disney pin trading Disney pin trading is the buying and trading of collectible pins and related items featuring Disney characters, attractions, icons, events and other elements. The practice is a hobby officially supported and promoted by Disney. Cost Many thous ...

has become a popular activity, and similar pin trading activities are popular at comparable venues such as

SeaWorld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...

, Universal Resorts, and at

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...

theme parks. They are also found at events that are recurring and/or share a common theme, such as the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

and other

sporting event Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, t ...

s. The pins collected and traded are often of a

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

and thus more highly valued in pin trading, and are sometimes marked or distributed by various companies such as

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrup ...

who sponsor the events and venues associated with the traded pins. Pin trading at particular venues and events is often governed by rules of etiquette particular to the venue or occasion. Pin trading is also an annual tradition of the

Pasadena Tournament of Roses The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if New ...

Game and Parade. Participating teams, marching bands, floats, sponsors, and the parade's Grand Marshal each have their own custom pin. Many clubs, sports teams, events, and churches trade and collect custom pins that were made specifically for their organization. Quick manufacturing processes allow these pins to be produced at a low cost and in small quantities. Collections of these pins are often worn by the collector on an article of clothing such as a hat, vest, scarf, or a PinFolio. Pin trading and collecting may have originated with the sport of

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

as some of the oldest pins that could be described as trading pins are from curling clubs dating back to the mid nineteenth-century. Pin trading also has a long standing history in Baseball. It is common for little leagues trade team pins during the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

. Pin trading often has specialist categories of pins to trade in – some popular categories include Golly pins from Robertson's Jam,

Hard Rock Café Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, political pins, sports pins (including

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

, the Olympic Games and soccer), military or other categories including flags of countries. Motorcycling is also a popular theme for pin trading. While most trading pins are typically flat with a glossy finish, there are many trading pin accessories to accommodate any sports team or corporate brand. Common features include blinking lights, hanging charms or "danglers", spinners, bobble heads, and more. Pin manufacturers are known to use a large variety of these features when designing pins.

References

{{Reflist Collecting Badges Fashion accessories

See also

References