What’s unique about our trading pins is that our designers are able to feature graphics and tournament logos on the pins which make each pin a keepsake for the players. From little league baseball to teams competing at Cooperstown to softball, lacrosse, hockey and basketball teams, kids still enjoy trading sports pins.

Over half of the trading pins manufactured are typically made of soft enamel which makes a trading pin very affordable and attractive. A soft enamel trading pin offers more design flexibility, can have many colors and an intricate design. Many sports logos are complex, so a soft enamel trading pin allows for this.

Did you know pin trading started back in 1896 at the very first Olympic games in Athens, Greece? Though the pins were rather primitive back then, athletes from around the globe used trading pins to identify themselves. Through evolution the trading pins evolved to include not just the country being represented at the world games but also the actual event the athlete was competing in. Materials also changed to a higher quality to enhance the pin designs. Companies eventually hopped on the band wagon such as Coca Cola and they too created their own commemorative trading pin for the games.

Baseball trading pins date back to 1897. Those types of pins featured the player’s photo, name and team name. On the back of the pin an advertisement was often featured.

Trading pins is so popular today that sites like Ebay and other online auction sites are a mecca for pin traders looking for pins of all eras and interests. Baseball trading pins and other sports pins are certainly still in demand and are a terrific way to keep a slice of history in the memory books!

Looking to increase unity and team spirit with your sports team or school? Contact PinMaxx for your custom designed trading pins. Call us at 407-702-7555 or fill out our online quote request. We look forward to designing your next trading pin!

Quality

It is best for you to acquire the highest quality depiction/ image/ design of any logo or art that you send us so as to expedite the design process. This assists us in designing high quality and accurate pins for you. The better the art, the better the final result!

However, we are aware that not at all teams have high resolution artwork. It is completely fine if your team does not, just send us what you do have, and we will have our talented team of graphic designers turn it into a one-of-a-kind trading pin design!

Sizing

Size is also important! Size matters! Most trading pins are between 1.5” – 2”. Anything beyond this is considered to be a large trading pin. We strongly encourage our clients to bring pins of this size to tournaments so that other teams will feel enticed to trade with your players.

This is because smaller pins are not as popular in the trading industry. If you have room in your budget, always bump up your size to be as large as possible. Big pins = easier trading!

Colors

Colors are exciting and fun but try to keep your color selection minimal. The more colors you add, the longer it will take to create them. Keeping your color palette to about four colors is recommended.

We prefer designing trading pins with black metal because that saves us from having to use black as a paint color. Silver and black metal are the most popular plating colors for trading pins.

Quantity

We often get asked what the average number of pins is that we produce for baseball and softball teams. Although every team is different, most teams land somewhere between 200 – 1000 pins. For large tournaments like Cooperstown, it is not uncommon for teams to take 2000+ pins to trade. For smaller local tournaments 300-400 pins is very popular.

A rule of thumb that we share with our clients is this: “try to take at least one pin per player on your team multiplied by how many teams are going to be at the tournament”. For example: Your team has fifteen children and the tournament you are going to is going to have twenty teams present. You would want to order at least 300 pins (15 x 20 = 300).

Something else to keep in mind is to order more than you think you might need. You can always give some extras away to coaches or siblings of players, but to try and have 15-20 additional pins produced and shipped to you after your main order has already been delivered can be a very expensive and stressful undertaking.