Pin trading got a recent boost in pop culture popularly this past August during the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the ages-old tradition of trading country pins within the Olympic Village and beyond was on everyone’s radar and widely covered by the media.
Beyond the more recent pop culture fever of pin trading today, which many origins point back to Disney for revving up the fun practices within its theme parks in the late-1990s/early-2000s, however the Olympic pin trading tradition can actually be traced back to the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens, where the pins were used to designate athletes from judges and other officials in attendance.
Beyond the various country and journalist/outlet-specific pins, one trend that emerged this past year – venturing more into exclusivity – are individualized pins specific to certain star athletes, such as US athlete Simon Biles, who debuted her own specialized pin at the 2024 Paris games. Over the years, other current and former Olympians, such as Steph Curry and Serena Williams, have stated they are avid pin collectors that were amped to exchange with athletes around the globe (Williams since 2000 in Sydney).
Similarly, while not new by any means, this trend of limited edition collectables has once again picked-up major steam within recent years in the trading card world, including both sports and non-sports trading cards. One area in particular in recent years are table top collectable playing games – which double as collecting and trading cards as well – such as Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon of yore, and more recently with Disney’s Lorcana card game craze that burst into the scene.
Lorcana, in particular, has skyrocketed in popularity due to its usage of Disney characters as part of the game, the altogether clever storytelling, as well as by leveraging the artwork of popular illustrators on bespoke cards, which adds to the collectability on top of the playability. Not to mention the scarcity aspect by releasing extremely limited, ultra-exclusive cards at major cons and special events that adds another layer to the fervor.
It’s an exciting time to be in the collectible and trading space, which RSVLTS is extremely proud and excited to join the ranks with the newest RSVLTS Pins offerings coming to special events near you! To plan ahead, here’s a full calendar of upcoming RSVLTS special events where pins will be available to purchase, which is updated often (2025 full calendar coming soon).