Time to Order Little League Trading Pins!

Trading pins are not just an American phenomenon. They have long been internationally popular keepsakes of sporting events such as the Olympic Games, from which they began. Affordable, portable and attractive, trading pins make an outstanding memento of friendships made through sport.

The act of trading custom sports pins is so popular it has been called “the Number One spectator sport of the Olympic Games.” And no wonder. Trading pins win over old and young alike, and help bring together people from different nations, cultures and societies in a common hobby.

Trading pins date their beginnings to the first modern Olympics, held in Athens in 1896. These early precursors of what we know today as trading pins were used to identify officials and athletes. A decade later, Sweden’s athletes debuted the first true sports trading pins in the national flag colors of blue and yellow. Athletes from many nations began trading pins among each other as a symbol of international friendship and understanding through sport. The pins’ rarity, coupled with attractive designs, made them the Games made them popular keepsakes.

By the time the Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid, N.Y. in 1980, spectators and pin collectors began to join the athletes in the pin-trading celebration.  Corporate sponsors soon joined the party too. Coca-Cola created its own Official Olympic Pin Trading Center for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. The sports trading pin center drew more than 17,000 visitors a day, the company reported.

Trading pins’ popularity continues to grow each year. At the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, Coke’s trading pin center there saw more than 500,000 people, representing 70 countries. Coke’s website says the pins, and the act of trading them play a role in “creating personal connections and breaking down barriers among people of different backgrounds languages and customs.”

Never one to be outdone, The Walt Disney Company jumped into the trading phenomenon wholeheartedly in recent years. The company offers its own pins comparable to sports trading pins at its theme parks worldwide. Park guests can trade pins with each other and with Disney employees. The company also sponsors special pin trading events at its theme parks worldwide.

Trading pins can have political meaning as well. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, news sources reported that many Chinese traders shunned official authorized Chinese pins in favor of American and Taiwanese pins instead.

Part of the fun of trading pins is the ability to connect with people on other teams, from other countries or cultures, and learning something about their experience. The pins are a fun, affordable hobby that contribute to world understanding.

No matter what sport you’re interested in, there’s a custom trading pin available. Your teams can know the fun of pin trading with just one phone call!  Trading Pins Direct is your best source for trading pins of all kinds. Just give us a call toll free at 1-866-860-8842, fill out our free quote form or email us at sales@tradingpinsdirect.com. We’ll be happy to help you discover how much fun trading pins can be!