• Guest, Help The DPF Community Thrive - Join Our Donation Drive Today!

    We're launching a special DPF Donation Drive to ensure our beloved forum continues to flourish. Your support is vital in helping us cover essential server costs and keep our community running smoothly — This is more than just a donation; it's an investment in the future of our community.

    Join us in this crucial drive and let's ensure our forum remains a vibrant and dynamic place for everyone.

    Please visit the DPF Donation Drive Thread for details and instructions on how you can make your donation today!
  • 🎄The DPF 15th Anniversary Holiday Giveaway is on! Head on over to our Giveaways Page for details on how to enter.
  • Vote on the design for the DPF 15th Anniversary Commemorative Pin! Cast your vote in our poll for your favorite design before December 1st!

Newbie Pin Help

Newbie Pin Help
P

PinheadLarry

New DPF Member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Messages
10
Location
USA
My wife and I are new to pin collecting and trading. I bought her a mystery pack from GoPinPro. I would love any assistance in knowing if these are authentic/legit and maybe how I could know for myself. I’ve heard authentic Disney pins have Mickey heads all over the back, but these do not. You can see the pins in this video, (Click Here). I’m hoping I got her some legit pins.

 
Disney pins come in various forms. Some come directly from Disney and are sold at the Disney Parks, or on DisneyStore.com. These are the pins that come with the Mickey Heads on the back of the pin.

But Disney also has licensing agreements with various *other* companies to produce merchandise, including pins. These companies work with different factories than Disney does. Sometimes the license big company like Loungefly who sells pins directly, or through retailers like Box Lunch or Hot Topic. Sometimes it's a small company like GoPinPro who works with one of the larger companies with a Disney license (Monogram, Loungefly, Uncas International) to produce their exclusives. So yes, these are official Disney pins. They are just manufactured by a different source than Disney park pins so they can look and feel different.
 
hopemax said:
Disney pins come in various forms. Some come directly from Disney and are sold at the Disney Parks, or on DisneyStore.com. These are the pins that come with the Mickey Heads on the back of the pin.

But Disney also has licensing agreements with various *other* companies to produce merchandise, including pins. These companies work with different factories than Disney does. Sometimes the license big company like Loungefly who sells pins directly, or through retailers like Box Lunch or Hot Topic. Sometimes it's a small company like GoPinPro who works with one of the larger companies with a Disney license (Monogram, Loungefly, Uncas International) to produce their exclusives. So yes, these are official Disney pins. They are just manufactured by a different source than Disney park pins so they can look and feel different.
Click to expand...
Thank you! One thing we’d like to avoid is junking up boards with fakes.
 
@PinheadLarry - As for how to spot fakes yourself, it's pretty easy for some, but VERY hard for others. It comes down to comparing usually, or knowing some of the easy to spot 'tells' of common scrapper (or fake) pins. For example the pins that do have a mickey on the back will have it going all the way off the edge, while fakes will often have a border from an incomplete back-stamping. Misspelled words, missing years, wrong colors, can all happen as production errors, but are more common in fakes.

There are also some pins that have been faked SO frequently that people know to keep an eye out or simply avoid trading for them altogether. The newest Disney pins (sold at the parks or on shopDisney) have a little Mickey head made of cubic zirconia sometimes called 'diamondback' pins, these have not yet been faked so I believe they are always considered a 'safe' trade. Again, it's a lot of looking, comparing, and asking,

I honestly still have a really hard time being 100% on a fake or not even after twenty years. If you poke around the forums you'll probably find people who have posted pictures of their scrappers and what to look out for.

If you're collecting something specific, look it up and see if it's a pin known to have fakes and what to look for.

Check out some of these threads to help you compare and figure out some of the 'tells' for fakes.

Hope that helps a little!
 
ViciousLady said:
@PinheadLarry - As for how to spot fakes yourself, it's pretty easy for some, but VERY hard for others. It comes down to comparing usually, or knowing some of the easy to spot 'tells' of common scrapper (or fake) pins. For example the pins that do have a mickey on the back will have it going all the way off the edge, while fakes will often have a border from an incomplete back-stamping. Misspelled words, missing years, wrong colors, can all happen as production errors, but are more common in fakes.

There are also some pins that have been faked SO frequently that people know to keep an eye out or simply avoid trading for them altogether. The newest Disney pins (sold at the parks or on shopDisney) have a little Mickey head made of cubic zirconia sometimes called 'diamondback' pins, these have not yet been faked so I believe they are always considered a 'safe' trade. Again, it's a lot of looking, comparing, and asking,

I honestly still have a really hard time being 100% on a fake or not even after twenty years. If you poke around the forums you'll probably find people who have posted pictures of their scrappers and what to look out for.

If you're collecting something specific, look it up and see if it's a pin known to have fakes and what to look for.

Check out some of these threads to help you compare and figure out some of the 'tells' for fakes.

Hope that helps a little!
Click to expand...
That is all so helpful! Thank you! I think it’s going to be a bit of a challenge for me to notice fakes, and I’ll probably end up falling for them at times. Hopefully I’ll get better over time. I do appreciate all the helpful info!
 
@PinheadLarry - If you're going to be trading in the parks with cast members be aware that a large percentage of pins on the boards ARE often fakes. The good news is you can always ask a cast member if you can examine the back of a pin, the back will usually be more telling than the front. If you want to be extra safe stick to the newest 'diamond back' pins. I know scrappers can be really frustrating when you're new to the hobby and have invested in authentic pins, but ending up with some is sort of a 'we've all been there' moment so don't let it stress you out too much. Also -Advice I've had to follow 'if you find a pin you REALLY just love and WANT for yourself sometimes it doesn't matter.' I came across a tramp pin I'd been looking everywhere for and traded for it, after I wasn't sure if it was authentic or not, but it's going in my personal collection, not being traded away, so if it is then 'c'est la vie'.
 
ViciousLady said:
@PinheadLarry - If you're going to be trading in the parks with cast members be aware that a large percentage of pins on the boards ARE often fakes. The good news is you can always ask a cast member if you can examine the back of a pin, the back will usually be more telling than the front. If you want to be extra safe stick to the newest 'diamond back' pins. I know scrappers can be really frustrating when you're new to the hobby and have invested in authentic pins, but ending up with some is sort of a 'we've all been there' moment so don't let it stress you out too much. Also -Advice I've had to follow 'if you find a pin you REALLY just love and WANT for yourself sometimes it doesn't matter.' I came across a tramp pin I'd been looking everywhere for and traded for it, after I wasn't sure if it was authentic or not, but it's going in my personal collection, not being traded away, so if it is then 'c'est la vie'.
Click to expand...
I am going to do my best to take that mindset. Especially if it’s a pin I just really love. I do find it hard to believe that fakes end up on the boards so often at such a high rate. I would have thought they would police what gets traded and what they won’t allow. I love the ease of trading and how relaxed it is, but obviously there is a downside.
 
Regarding the Mickey icon heads waffle pattern on pin back sides: this may be a tell with certain series of pins and not with others.

For example, there is a a hidden Mickey legit series from a few years ago where the pins purchased directly from Disney had the border on the back side of many of the pins.
 
hopemax

GUIDE Thread 'Get to Know: Back Textures'

The information available in this post is available as a PDF on Google drive. Remember, the internet is not forever and printing physical copies can be your friend.

Get to Know Textures.pdf

drive.google.com drive.google.com

Get to Know: Backside Textures
​
Flip a pin over to view the back, what do you see? If you are viewing a current US Disney park pin you are probably seeing a Mickey Icon pattern embedded into the back of the pin. However, if you are looking at an older pin, or a pin from a different source you will likely be seeing something...
  • Like
  • Love

This thread (thank you @hopemax for these great hobby tools) goes into detail about most of the back types on legit pins.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top