question for pinocchio story pins, le100 31814

[offonpluto]

i bought a pin that the seller said was an AP Prototype pin... when i received it, there is NO stamp on it at all. the set, i know, is gold. i posted this elsewhere and no one has seen the black back for this set.

does ANYONE have or know that this pin had an AP, Prototype or Preproduction made? I found nothing on pinpics for this type for this series. the letters on the front even look as though they are fading. the edges are a bit sharp and even has a piece in a corner that looks scratched off or damaged. i have a few ap and pp pins, but they all have the stamp on them. are they made without?

it's been almost a week now and i haven't found anyone that can show it's real and pinpics hasn't responded to me yet when i asked if it was possibly listed under something else and i needed to know if it was real or not, so looking for more info!
thanks in advance!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jennilynnederolf/sets/72157649931817630/

 

[Jabberwocky]

All DA pins had prototypes or APs. The earliest DA pins had prototypes in the alternate metal colors of the released pin. So if the pin was released on black metal for example, the prototypes would have been silver and gold. The prototypes were unmarked on the back.

Later DA pins had artist proof sets of all three colors of metal and generally were stamped AP on the back.

Later DisneyShopping.com and Disneystore.com pins had 3-pin AP sets made in all three colors of metal and were usually but not always marked AP on the back.

 

[offonpluto]

so this pin truly is real. it looks pretty bad with the letters almost looking like they are rubbing off. :-(

 

[Jabberwocky]

Can't tell you about the legitimacy of your particular pin because it's not in my collecting area, but not being marked AP for an early DA prototype pin is not unusual. And plenty of APs and prototypes are not listed on PinPics.

But lettering has been known to rub off on pins. Sometimes it's just due to age and wear. Sometimes it's a sign of a fake pin. Sorry I can't help you out more!

What I would do is look at other pins the seller is offering. Does it look like they're selling off an older collection of pins in a specific era or theme? Or have they sold 6 of the same pin in the last 6 months? Sometimes that's the only guide you have is to look at what else they have for sale. And what area they're in. Are they located in Hong Kong or are they in Florida? That can sometimes provide info too.

 

[offonpluto]

thanks, i do all that before i buy from anyone on ebay just for that reason. aside from a few private listings everything looked okay. i tried finding other pins with the black back and can't find anything. was hoping to find someone that had the same pins and could show theirs. haven't found anyone yet.

Can't tell you about the legitimacy of your particular pin because it's not in my collecting area, but not being marked AP for an early DA prototype pin is not unusual. And plenty of APs and prototypes are not listed on PinPics.

But lettering has been known to rub off on pins. Sometimes it's just due to age and wear. Sometimes it's a sign of a fake pin. Sorry I can't help you out more!

What I would do is look at other pins the seller is offering. Does it look like they're selling off an older collection of pins in a specific era or theme? Or have they sold 6 of the same pin in the last 6 months? Sometimes that's the only guide you have is to look at what else they have for sale. And what area they're in. Are they located in Hong Kong or are they in Florida? That can sometimes provide info too.

 

[offonpluto]

i also contacted pinpics when i got it to ask about them because i have found a few they never had on their site, but they have yet to respond to me, so i had to post elsewhere.

 

[Jabberwocky]

There are many pins missing from PinPics - both regular releases and APs/Prototypes. It's not complete, it's just got more than other sites.