Many Disney pin lovers may try to have Disney pin trading to collect more Disney pins. However, how do you know the pin you traded with other pin collectors is real or fake? In this blog, we covered few ways to identify an authentic Disney pin, for example, magnet test, check for serial number.
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How to tell if real Disney pins are yours?
There are several ways to check if your Disney pins are the real thing or not. One of the fastest ways to verify is to look for the Disney pin serial number. Not all Disney pins will have a serial number, but around 2016, Disney did begin releasing ones that did.
If you can find one at the back of the pin, you’re almost sure that you have the real thing. In case you want to check if the serial number is the real deal, you can perform a search on a Disney pin database to confirm your pins’ authenticity.
A Disney pin magnetic may look like the real thing, but without a few checks, you may never know if you have a real one or a simulation or fake.
Why are there a lot of fake Disney pins?
The only reason why there is a large volume of fake Disney pins in circulation is money. Disney pins are popular, and therefore, people can make a lot of money by selling fake ones.
Fake Disney pins are almost always cheaper and can also be purchased in bulk (although the genuine ones can also be bought more cheaply by bulk if they’re aged). First-time Disney pin traders are often the victims of fake ones simply because they don’t like how to spot the real thing yet.
The Magnet Test
Only a small percentage of genuine Disney pins will stick to a magnet. The majority of them won’t. The fake ones will almost always stick to magnets because they tend to be made with cheap metals that can easily be mass-produced.
The Brushstroke Test
Genuine Disney pins will barely have any external inclusions. This means that the paint quality and stroke quality will be generally high so that you won’t spot imperfections on the surface.
Place the Disney pin under intense light, and you will see what we mean. The fake ones will have a myriad of little dings and imperfections that won’t be visible under normal lighting conditions. These are called “scrappers” and are not highly valued in the collector’s community.
The Waffling Pattern Test
The waffling pattern is found at the back of individual pins. Mickey’s head is engraved concentrically across the metal. In genuine pins, the waffling often exceeds the borders of the Disney pin. This is not the case in fakes. In fakes, the engraving is often limited to the small space, and there are no extensions or incomplete waffling parts anywhere.
The Disney Pin Edge Test
The “edge test” is accurate because real pins rarely have this issue. Run a young finger across the edge of the pin. Is it smooth and almost silky to touch? Great! That means you most likely have the genuine article. If this isn’t the case, then you have a fake. Fake pins are rough because they are cut and punched out from molds directly.
The result is usually apparent when you get down to the smaller details. The edges are rougher than usual. The real ones can end up being rougher around the edges, but this only happens if they’re not cared for correctly or genuinely worn down.
The Sound Test
Let’s say that you have several genuine pins at home, and you got another one that you’re not quite sure if it’s real. What do you do? Hold the two Disney pins together and bang the lightly so the metals would sound.
How do they sound? They should sound alike. If not, test with one of your other pins and check the sound. Disney pins have a distinct sound when pinged together. If one suddenly sounds different from the others, then that one is probably a fake.
The Weight and Durability Test
It sounds improbable, but this is a real test that you can do at home. Genuine Disney pins are made from more robust materials. Unless you are a sturdy fellow, you won’t be able to bend a genuine Disney pin with your bare hands. This is not the case for fakes – again. Fake Disney pins can be easily bent out of shape – even just a little.
As for the pins’ weight, the real ones will always be heavier than the fake ones. If you want a genuinely conclusive test, we recommend getting a compact digital weighing scale and getting the average of your existing pins. Weigh the ones that you think are fake and check their weight. If there is a drastic difference, you know which ones are real and which ones are questionable.
The Pin Post Test
The pinned post of real Disney pins is either riveted or welded to the back portion of the pin. The metal is thick and durable as the rest of the pin. On the other hand, fakes have pin posts that are only glued to the surface of the metal.
By appearance and the thickness of the pinned post, you will be able to see immediately which one is real or not. If you’re not convinced that you’re holding the real thing, you can always use other tests outlined in this blog to ascertain if what you are holding is genuine.
The Color Test
This is another easy visual test for weeding out fakes. Fake Disney pins often get the color of iconic or well-known dresses and clothes of Disney characters. If the colors of the depicted characters look strange, then it’s probably not produced by Disney.
If the colors are correct, what you can do is put the pin side by side with another pin from the same character series or show and compare the color saturation and the color quality of the pins. The fake ones will show subtle degradations that won’t be present in the natural pines.
The Gloss Test
Finally, there is a gloss test. Disney pins are executed with a highly glossy finish. A highly glossy finish is a mark of a real pin and is the first visual test you can use to ascertain the authenticity of a pin.
