Collectible Lapel Pins

Whether it's an American flag, an electric guitar advertising an outpost of the Hard Rock Cafe, or a carpenter's compass and square signifying membership in a Masonic lodge, lapel pins are a quick and unobtrusive way to communicate one's allegiances, interests, and passions to the world. In the United States, the practice of wearing a pin on the lapel of one's coat is thought to have originated during the Civil War, when Union and Confederate soldiers alike used these small devices to indicate the units to which they belonged. Usually made of brass, these circular pins were decorated only with the soldier's unit number. Unit pins were plain compared to the distinctive unit insignias, or DUIs, that became popular in the 20th century, but they helped soldiers find each other and stay together, whether in camp or on the march. Today, lapel pins are manufactured for corporations, political campaigns, sports teams, rock bands, and any entity with a logo or symbol that it wants to use for promotional purposes. Many are made of brass or other semiprecious metals but far more are made of colored enamels in a mass-produced technique that mimics traditional cloisonne. Because most lapel pins are made in enormous numbers, they are generally inexpensive. That fact, combined with the sheer variety of pins available, keeps collectors busy without breaking the piggy bank. One especially popular pin franchise is the Olympics, which has offered souvenir pins to attendees since the 1912 games in Stockholm. By 1960, Sylvania was putting its brand on Olympic pins, and by 1968, Olympic pins with now-standard butterfly-clutch fasteners had been introduced. Other well-known sponsors of Olympic lapel pins have included Coca-Cola and the Hard Rock Cafe, whose pins are still collected even though their locations have long closed. While certainly not as important to its bottom line as a new Star Wars or Marvel movie, Disney is also in the pin business, selling everything from depictions of Mickey Mouse to Mrs. Potts, the Angela Lansbury-voiced teapot from Beauty and the Beast. In fact, lapel pins have become a part of how most Hollywood studios market their films and television shows. The music world has also jumped on the pin bandwagon. Bands like the Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, and Pearl Jam routinely offer collectible lapel pins at their merch tables, alongside the rock posters and concert t-shirts. Sports teams have also capitalized on the lapel-pin craze, whether it's pins for specific baseball players like Alex Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners (his first team, before he was a Yankee) or pins to commemorate a World Series. Other sports, including football, hockey, and basketball, offer a similar range of pins to fans.