• Guest, Help The DPF Community Thrive - Join Our Donation Drive Today!

    We're launching a special DPF Donation Drive to ensure our beloved forum continues to flourish. Your support is vital in helping us cover essential server costs and keep our community running smoothly — This is more than just a donation; it's an investment in the future of our community.

    Join us in this crucial drive and let's ensure our forum remains a vibrant and dynamic place for everyone.

    Please visit the DPF Donation Drive Thread for details and instructions on how you can make your donation today!
  • DPF Member Pins NOW AVAILABLE!
    Head on over to the Official Announcement to secure your pin today!

AUTHENTICITY Real or fakes?

AUTHENTICITY Real or fakes?

rbrine22

New DPF Member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Messages
3
Location
FL
Hi! I'm a baby pin collector/trader- just started about a month ago when I bought some tigger pins at my local flea market from an older gentleman stating they were true Disney pins. Since starting, I found this forum and started my research on pin pics on whether my pins were real or fake. But to be honest, I'm very overwhelmed and dont know what I'm doing.

Can you lovely people help me before I commit some of these to the scrapper graveyard or accidently trade them at WDW?? TIA 😊
 

Attachments

  • 20260218_174145.jpg
    20260218_174145.jpg
    668.7 KB · Views: 12
  • 20260218_174253.jpg
    20260218_174253.jpg
    687.7 KB · Views: 13
  • 20260218_174315.jpg
    20260218_174315.jpg
    458.1 KB · Views: 13
  • 20260218_174330.jpg
    20260218_174330.jpg
    564.4 KB · Views: 14
  • 20260218_174347.jpg
    20260218_174347.jpg
    645.4 KB · Views: 13
  • 20260218_174402.jpg
    20260218_174402.jpg
    658.5 KB · Views: 14
  • 20260218_174417.jpg
    20260218_174417.jpg
    638.7 KB · Views: 12
  • 20260218_174427.jpg
    20260218_174427.jpg
    494.7 KB · Views: 13
  • 20260218_174443.jpg
    20260218_174443.jpg
    682.2 KB · Views: 12
  • 20260218_174454.jpg
    20260218_174454.jpg
    766.3 KB · Views: 12
  • 20260218_174507.jpg
    20260218_174507.jpg
    666.9 KB · Views: 11
  • 20260218_174521.jpg
    20260218_174521.jpg
    774.5 KB · Views: 11
Hi. Welcome.

I'm pretty sure the Tigger Hidden Mickey pin is counterfeit. The colors seem off.

94955.thumb.JPG.82673a4d694f1d903589ea31282f2ca8.JPG

I trust the person who added this to PinPics.
 
Confirming fakes from pictures is difficult, but in general the pins in you pictures would be ones I would avoid if I saw them on a pin board in the parks.

But going to say... do you love the pins? If you love them, I would focus on that and enjoy them.

If you want to improve your knowledge to avoid fakes in the future, read up on @hopemax's guides.

Another one from @TonkaToy :

And here is a post from me that compares real and fakes HD Maleficent pins:

When I started out in this hobby it was a slow education to start being able to spot fakes, so this skill developes the longer one trades/collects.
 
Confirming fakes from pictures is difficult, but in general the pins in you pictures would be ones I would avoid if I saw them on a pin board in the parks.

But going to say... do you love the pins? If you love them, I would focus on that and enjoy them.

If you want to improve your knowledge to avoid fakes in the future, read up on @hopemax's guides.

Another one from @TonkaToy :

And here is a post from me that compares real and fakes HD Maleficent pins:

When I started out in this hobby it was a slow education to start being able to spot fakes, so this skill developes the longer one trades/collects.
I have zero confidence in my ability to identify fakes. That is why I love trading on Pin & Pop. And this community!
 
@Pidge I can't 100% spot some of the 'good fakes' but other things like grainy pitted metal are such a dead giveaway on a lot of common scrappers

I've been meaning to ask you because you collect sketch pins, on the old Animation Art mystery sketch set from 2012 were all the backs manufactured with a weird wavy cut off line or could you DM me a picture of the backs on one of yours? (I know you're still unpacking so no urgency, was just curious if those had been scrapped or if it was a consistent manufacturing issue.)
 
@Pidge I can't 100% spot some of the 'good fakes' but other things like grainy pitted metal are such a dead giveaway on a lot of common scrappers

I've been meaning to ask you because you collect sketch pins, on the old Animation Art mystery sketch set from 2012 were all the backs manufactured with a weird wavy cut off line or could you DM me a picture of the backs on one of yours? (I know you're still unpacking so no urgency, was just curious if those had been scrapped or if it was a consistent manufacturing issue.)
I am so not the one to ask about that. I do have 2 of those pins and can send you pics of mine eventually. I think you would do better to ask @hopemax though.
 
I also don't like confirming fakes via photo, but agree with @TheMickeyMouseRules these would be types of pins I would avoid because they have been faked.

Some tells that can help weed out bad pins sooner

1. Pin 1 - are the nubs short or longer like usual? They look short to me in the photo. Any pin with those short half-height nubs are fake.

2. Pin 10 - I assume any pins from an International park are fakes. Except if you see a clearly Japanese person putting a Tokyo Disney Resort game prize pin on a lanyard (because those are what they bring for "cheap traders." But this one specifically, the back looks rough, and not cleanly stamped.

3. Pins 7 & 8 - These are old Hidden Mickey pins at these point. CMs do not have access to authentic versions of these to refresh their lanyards. Lots of people start out trying to collect older Hidden Mickey sets because they start to notice how some pins go together and want to make a set. But CMs pretty much only get refreshed with the current or previous year's series. Sometimes they find boxes in a closet, but then people on FB notice and start talking about it. People have recently chatted about finding 2020 pins in the rotation, but it's rare you are going to see really old stuff.

4. Pin 3 - look inside the Mickey ear logo, and the copyright logo. See how the pebble texture of the rest of the pin is inside the box? This is usually (but not often, it can be specific to a pin) a sign of a fake. This is the back of this Pluto pin from Pinpics. Notice how the texture inside those areas is smooth? Also notice the presence of nubs.

1771533365097.png
5. Pin 5 - Check photos on the 3 main database sites: PinPics, Pin & Pop, and MyPinCentral and look for color issues. Notice Tigger has a white nose on your pin, but if you check those sites you will see Tigger's nose is supposed to be pink.

Of these, the Tsum Tsum Tigger in Image 5, looks the best, but I'm not familiar enough with this set to know if the colors and details are right.

But I hope these clues help. A lot of it comes down to how a pin feels or sounds if you drop it. If you have some pins you bought directly from Disney, close your eyes and feel and play around with them. Then do the same with the pins you trade. Eventually, you can start to sense the differences.
 
I also don't like confirming fakes via photo, but agree with @TheMickeyMouseRules these would be types of pins I would avoid because they have been faked.

Some tells that can help weed out bad pins sooner

1. Pin 1 - are the nubs short or longer like usual? They look short to me in the photo. Any pin with those short half-height nubs are fake.

2. Pin 10 - I assume any pins from an International park are fakes. Except if you see a clearly Japanese person putting a Tokyo Disney Resort game prize pin on a lanyard (because those are what they bring for "cheap traders." But this one specifically, the back looks rough, and not cleanly stamped.

3. Pins 7 & 8 - These are old Hidden Mickey pins at these point. CMs do not have access to authentic versions of these to refresh their lanyards. Lots of people start out trying to collect older Hidden Mickey sets because they start to notice how some pins go together and want to make a set. But CMs pretty much only get refreshed with the current or previous year's series. Sometimes they find boxes in a closet, but then people on FB notice and start talking about it. People have recently chatted about finding 2020 pins in the rotation, but it's rare you are going to see really old stuff.

4. Pin 3 - look inside the Mickey ear logo, and the copyright logo. See how the pebble texture of the rest of the pin is inside the box? This is usually (but not often, it can be specific to a pin) a sign of a fake. This is the back of this Pluto pin from Pinpics. Notice how the texture inside those areas is smooth? Also notice the presence of nubs.

View attachment 20632
5. Pin 5 - Check photos on the 3 main database sites: PinPics, Pin & Pop, and MyPinCentral and look for color issues. Notice Tigger has a white nose on your pin, but if you check those sites you will see Tigger's nose is supposed to be pink.

Of these, the Tsum Tsum Tigger in Image 5, looks the best, but I'm not familiar enough with this set to know if the colors and details are right.

But I hope these clues help. A lot of it comes down to how a pin feels or sounds if you drop it. If you have some pins you bought directly from Disney, close your eyes and feel and play around with them. Then do the same with the pins you trade. Eventually, you can start to sense the differences.
@hopemax Thank you for the tip, this was very informative and helpful! I had my guesses after looking them up, but i want help to make sure i wasn't over thinking it. Pic 1 (simba) has flat smallish nubs- not sharp at all. Do all real pins have sharp small nubs? I also thought that pic 6 (tsum tigger) might be my best shot at real, but again, I'm just starting out and dont know what I dont know. I am also on the fense with the big round tigger in pic 4. Pic 2 tigger popsicle seems all scraped up like one fake in your other post with the villian ears. Pics 9 and 11 dont match pin pics either with color. Is pin pics very accurate with the appropriate authentic pin picture?

Also, may I ask though, how is a real pin sound compared to a fake?
 
Back
Top