We’re going to step away from the mainstream for a moment and enter the slightly lesser known world of State lapel pins.
State lapel pins are actually very popular, and collectible. They’ve got the same allure as state quarters, and, are very available through any pin trading venues and from collectors all over the world. Yes, even collectors in other countries collect state lapel pins, because in other countries, they’re even more rare than here in the US. Think about if you began collecting canton or province pins from other countries, they’d be a lot less known to most US collectors than USA state pins, and offer a greater collecting and trading presence.
Not all state lapel pins are created equal, however. There are of course different styles of pins that look better than others, and there are distinct differences between the grade, or quality of pin styles. I’ve heard the terminology “cloisonne” used to describe what appear to be the higher quality of pin styles. From my best understanding I believe you want to steer clear of printed pins that look like a sticker with a bubble applied to them. I’ve run across a few of these, and they are indeed thin, and feel cheap in general. You want to go for the pins that look the most jewelry-like. Thicker metal with a very shiny, gold/silver luster.
State lapel pins come, of course, in the shape of any of the US states, and collecting at least 1 pin from each state is just about mandatory to consider yourself to have a complete collection. Most state lapel pin collectors will either go after pins of consistent colors, finishes/styles or other unique aspects that more or less “group” the lapel pins, offering similarities between each pin, since they’re likely to be from different sources.
There are, of course, collectors and sellers that sell pre-assembled collections of state lapel pins. While this is great to go from 0 to 60 in your collection, this doesn’t offer the same unique feeling of collecting all of them one pin at a time. It might take longer, but you gain the remembrance of the process, and each lapel pin offers greater uniqueness.
Check out ebay and other auction, or lapel pin collecting sites to begin finding state pins for your collection, you’re bound to run into some really great lapel pins out there.
Tags: american flag, pins, state, united states, usa
