Pin Trading Terms
There are over 60 THOUSAND different Disney Trading Pins to collect.
The hobby has its own (often confusing) terminology.
There are specific terms for different kinds of Pins and for people who trade in them !
We hope this guide helps you .
Artist Proof -
An Artist Proof pin (or AP pins) is a Pin made to test out a new design before the main production run.
These are made to verify quality.There are very few made and these have a small AP on the back.
Although there are very few made they are not usually much more valuable than standard run pins.
There is however a secondary market in these as some collectors only collect AP Pins.
http://www.bestvintagemickey.com/disneypins/Artists-Proof
Back Stamp -
Every genuine Trading Pin has a back stamp with information about the pin and a copyright notice.
In the case of a Limited Edition Pin this can also inclued the edition number or size.
Build-A-Pin -
From 2002 to 2004 Guests could create their own pins with personalised bases and their own choice of characters.
These made unique pins and these are fairly scarce.The opportunity ended in 2004.
Christmas Pins - A Whole range of Disney Pins feature Mickey and all the other Disney Characters having a great time at Christmas.
http://www.bestvintagemickey.com/disneypins/christmas-pins
Cloisonné - A Cloisonne Pin derives from Orient enamel work where areas are divided by preciousmetal partitions.
Cloisonne is French for Partioned.Each color is in a separate partition.Sometimes the partitioned aread include swirls or glitter colors.
CTT Pin - Continuing the tradition Pins.Given to Guests in recognition of their positive Pin Trading
Guests may be awarded a Continuing The Pin Trading Tradition pin for demonstrating positive
Disney Pin Trading etiquette and promoting Disney Pin Trading. Give so that Cast Member cas recognise a Positive Pin Trader.
Dangle Pin - A Dangle Pin has a secon piece that is attached wth chain or loops below the main pin and may have a different design.
These are Dangle Pins :
http://www.bestvintagemickey.com/disneypins/dangle%20pins
Epoxy Coating - An Epoxy resin coating that usually protects the design. It dries to a glossy finish.
Fantasy Pin - A pin commissioned or produced by Disney pin collectors that contains similarities to Disney pins, but has not been created or endorsed by Disney.
These pins are not allowed to be traded with cast members, although collectors may trade for these pins amongst themselves. From time to time, Disney will produce a pin that is very similar to a fantasy pin.
Fantasy Pins :
Flocking - A Fuzzy area within the pin design..
FREE-D - Free-D stands for Fastened Rubber Element on a pin for Extra Dimension.
Pins that feature Free-D elements sometimes have discoloring issues and extra precautions
should be taken to make sure that the Free-D element is not dirtied.
GWP - A GWP (Gift with Purchase) pin is a bonus pin given to guests who buy at least $25 of pin merchandise in one transaction. The Disneyland Resort designates the first Sunday of every month GWP Sunday,
and has two collections each year of six pins each. The pins are often traded as lanyard fodder, and as a result they are not valuable initially.
Walt Disney World has promotions where GWPs are available for $1 each with a $30 purchase.
Their current promotion involves surplus Mystery Machine Pins .
Hard Enamel - a Cloisonne type technique with a brass base to the Pin.The Pin is die struck and the areas filled with enamel.These are Hand Made and polished (sometimes called New Cloisonne)
HHG - The Hitchhiking Ghosts of The Haunted Mansion (popular collectible)
Holy Grail - A pin collectors most wanted pin or pins.
A typical example is the surprise pin Wet Paint, an LE 1,000 pin depicting the wet paint sign
used at Walt Disney World showing Donald Duck and his nephews running through spilt paint which typically sells for over $200 on sites like eBay.
Grails are not necessarily expensive or rare, and some grails are elusive OE pins.
The term originates from the Arthurian legend of the Holy Grail.
http://www.bestvintagemickey.com/disneypins/holygrail-pins
HM -HM denotes either a Haunted Mansion or Hidden Mickey pin depending on the context.
Jumbo Pins - Jumbo Pins are larger and often more intricately designed than a regular size pin;
as such, the pins cost between US$20 and US$35. Featured Artist (Jumbo) Pins are currently released
at DLR, while WDW is currently releasing monthly Jumbo Monorail Collection Pins for 2008.
Traditionally, Jumbo Pins were released monthly with an edition size of 750 and available for $25.
Recently, Jumbo Pins have been sold in editions of 1000 for US$20 or, at the Disneyland Resort, in editions of 500 for US$35.
These4 are current offers of Jumbo Pins
http://www.bestvintagemickey.com/disneypins/Jumbo-Pins
LE - Limited Edition Pin
Lenticular Pin A Pin with two or more images superimposed over each other.These chage according to
the angle you view them at.
Light-Up Pin - These have flashing lights when switched on. Difficult to replace and obtain batteries.
The batteries may corrode these pins if neglected.Getting scarce.
Mickeys Mystery Pin Machine - Debuting at Mouse Gear in Epcot at WDW in late 2007,
the machines were a modified Gravity Hill arcade machine that dispensed a pin regardless of outcome.
The pins were part of small collections consisting of five pins each.
Although the pins originally cost $5 and were distibuted randomly,
they are currently the WDW GWP pins and the Machines have now been desgnated as inactive and removed.
Name Pins - Name Pins are pins that have a name engraved on them, and may not be traded with cast members.
OE Pins - Open Edition Pins on general sale.
POH - A Piece of History pin (POH) from the 2005 set is considered to be one of the rarest series
in Disney Pin Trading. Each pin contains a minuscule piece of a prop from a WDW attraction.
The first pin in the series, the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea pin with a sliver of a porthole, occasionally sells for over $275 on eBay. The success of the series has led to a 2006 and 2008 set.
PTN - Pin Trading Nights are monthly meetings of Disney Pin Traders at DLR, WDW, or Disneyland Paris resorts.
The Pin Trading Team provides pin games and gives traders the opportunity to trade and socialize.
Often, an LE pin is released to commemorate the occasion.
Rack Pins - Rack pins, also called Open Edition (OE) or core pins, are pins introduced and sold until they are discontinued or retired.
These pins are re-ordered for up to several consecutive years.
The starting retail price for these pins is typically $6.95 (for a flat pin).
Depending upon the number of features on the pin (such as pin-on-pin),
the retail price will increase to either $8.95 or $10.95.
Some OE pins have a high secondary value, such as the Soda Pop Series pins
which each go in the $20 range.
RSP -The Random Selection Process is the method by which LE pins are distributed at the Pin Events.
Each guest submits a form which has slots for the Limited Edition merchandise items offered.
Each slot is filled in order based on pin availability. If 1000 forms were to be submitted
and 50 forms had an LE 25 framed set in their first slot, the first 25 forms would be given
the purchase, with the remaining 25 given the opportunity to purchase their second-slot pin.
Typically, there are three rounds of the RSP process with the smaller editions being unavailable
to purchase in subsequent round. RSP forms only allow a style of pin to appear once on each RSP form so that there is a better, fairer chance of each person getting one pin.
Scrappers - Most Disney Pins are now made in China.The makers sometimes keep or sell the pin dies and run on many more pins at a huge profit.
Disney keenly tries to stop this.Scrappers are sold by dealers who buy them by the 100 and resell them. To see if your pin is a scrapper
check the sellers feedback on ebay. If he/she has sold 50 or more of a rare Pin then he/she may sell Scrappers.
Scrappers can also be reject Didey Pins that shoud have been destroyed.Recent Hidden Mickey pins, DLR pins especially, have flooded the market months before
their initial introductions.
Scrappers are usually sold at much lower than market price and traded
onto lanyards
Secondary Market - Welcome to the Secondary Market !
This is a term used for stores or auctions/website who resell Disney Pins.Values change often
Some pins become valuable and desirable.Warning - some pins become very expensive when released and then may drop according to demand.
Most pins retain or increase in value.These may also be rejects for color or design faults.The greatest appreciation is the WET PAINT Pin which was originally $8.50 and now fetches over $200.
Shark - A person is considered a pin shark if they trade less valuable pins for more valuable pins,
taking advantage unsuspecting or new pin traders,
primarily for monetary gain. Use of this term has caused some controversy in the pin trading and collecting community since the value of pins on the secondary market can fluctuate widely and the value of most pins is highly subjective. Sharks are also known to buy highly anticipated pins with
groups of up to 20 people at multiple locations to bypass fair-trading protocols.
Slider Pin - A Pin with a movable piece that slides back and forth across the base of the main Pin.
Spinner Pin - A Pin with a spinning mechanism that moves a piece of the pin 360 degrees.
Soft Enamel - A sort of cheaper version of Cloisonne.The Design is stamped into the base metal.There are no metal wire compartments.The design is filled with enamel colors and baked.An Epoxy coat is given to protect the Pin. It is usually thinner than Cloisonne.
Surprise or Mystery Pins - These pins usually feature a low-Limited Edition size.
Typically, the back stamp will included the words SURPRISE PIN.
The release of this pin happens randomly at various merchandise locations within the Disney Theme Parks and Resorts. Although Surprise pins have continued at the Disneyland Resort (as evidenced by their current Resort Sign set), WDW releases Surprise pins at PTNs very rarely.
Much of the information on this page was obtained from Wikipedia.com and we thank them for the details.
We hpe the Pin Trading terms will be useful to you in your pin collecting.
This is the main link to our Disney Pins :
http://www.bestvintagemickey.com/Store/disneypins
From our UK STORE :
Jumbo Pins
http://www.vintagemickey.co.uk/Store/jumbo-pins
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