A question for the old timers... Yea you who have been collecting for a few years.

[NHMickey]

You know that pin you had to have all those years ago? Your first holy grail... Do you still think of that pin the same or have you traded it away or does it still hold all the magic it did when you got it?

I still have the first pin I wanted... It was the Media Mickey PTP and it sits in a framed set as a center piece. It is still one of my 3 favorite pins... Ones that I will never get rid of as I trim down my collection...

How about you? What was it and where is is it now?

 

[LynniethePooh]

Well.......I had to go into my collection on Pinpics to help me remember!!!!!
I think it had to be the 2000 WDCC Jail Scene.......and yes.....I still do have it!!!!!!!

 

[perndwler]

Yes, I have one of those. It's the Mystery Banner pin from the Millennium celebration. Wanted it from the day I saw it. Took a long time to trade for it. (Thanks JamesD )

Most of my pins are framed by type or event with map in large shadowboxes. This pin sits in a frame with a double mat. In the larger area is the CM EPCOT map set of pins from last year and opposite it in the smaller oval area is the Banner pin, by itself. It looks really cool.

It's still my favorite pin and probably always will be.

 

[BeautyLLM]

Mine is the Last Day/First Day...the pin commemorating the last day of 1999 and the first day of 2000. I was at WDW that night...it was a very emotional turning point in the life of my family and me as we had just had a very difficult year. It was also my very first encounter with a shark... a guy who had at least 20 LD/FD pins who refused to trade with me(or anyone else for that matter). My search for this pin lead me to find the DIS and to the huge listing of pins on ebay. It was my first of only three ebay purchases!


PS: Not sure I like being called an old timer! I still have all my teeth, a limited number of gray hairs and my memory is sharp as a .....oh...what was I just saying????

 

[KAP]

My holy grail has never changed: Small World E-ticket. I have had some LE100s over the years - even a Wet Pain, but they could never trade anywhere close to it.

 

[dizfamily]

I've been collecting/trading pins since about February 2000. I'm still a pretty "small-time" collector with only about 50 pins in my collection. Anyway....my first holy grail was the WDW Official Pin Trading Pin (CM - #121 on pinpics) and it's still my holy grail. Still don't have it. Kinda gave up on it, actually.

 

[Dom13]

My first holy grail was the 1997 Disneyana Securtiy pin - Goon Squad. I traded for this pin with a wonderful person, Lisa, Tiggersmom. I still have it and it's not going anywhere.

Lisa that took a chance on a newbie trader looking for pins from WDW. She did not know me from Adam and offered to pick me up about $40 in pins without me sending her any $$. I still have most of the pins she picked up for me that trip also.

 

[karinmac]

I still have my 1st HG. its the 1998 NFFC Rocket Rods pin. the 1998 DL Attraction pins are what got me into this obsession
there was a website that had all of these pins plus a few more on it.I worked on getting all the pins pictured. I used to study it and mark off on a printed copy when I got them. Took me 3 yrs to find it, you better believe I still have it.

 

[hopemax]

Well, I never really had a holy grail then or now. At least not with pins. The closest is that 1998 attraction series. I had the opportunity to buy all of them in 1998, but couldn't justify spending $400 on pins, and so I only bought one. Then my parents when to DL and brought back another. I was barely on this board a week or so when I saw that someone was offering to pick up the pins at cost from their local Character Warehouse. I think it was disneykids? So in early 2000 I had 22 or 23 of the set, now I only need 6. Thankfully, I didn't have to search for the NFFC Rocket Rods pin, both my parents attended the convention that year.

I did however just make a trade for my real holy grail. It's a book called "Disneyland the Inside Story" which was written by an Imagineer in the mid-1980's, Randy Bright. The book has been out of print forever and regularly sells for over $100 (though the price has come down recently)

 

[PanamaMike]

Gee, by old-timers I thought Nat meant people who have been collecting since before this Millenium craze began.

I got my first Disney button during my first visit in March 1973 (I was 8). It's a Mickey Mouse lenticular that reads I Like Walt Disney World.

I started collecting Disney pins in the late 80s and although I have many treasured ones, I would never part with my Mickey button.


Note to Hopemax: During a 1990 visit to LA I found Disneyland: The Inside Story in a remaindered bin for a mere $10.

After I got home, I wrote Randy Bright a letter telling him how much I had enjoyed his book.

A few weeks later I received a letter from the publisher informing me that the author had recently been hit by a car while riding his bike near his home and sadly had not survived.

The accident occured the day I bought the book. I always think of him whenever I look through it.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

My very first love was the MSEP spinner pin. And I happened to walk into exhibition hall one day and find it! Unfortunately, being new to pin trading and rather stupid at it, I only got two pins, and didn't drag my other 5 family members along for their 2 pins each. As God is my witness, I will never make that mistake again!!

 

[Sorcerer]

Many Holy Grails and wonderful friends later, I still remember that first pin that sparked the entire thing.

Early November, 1999, my parents went to Orlando for a convention. I printed a picture of the White Art of Disney pin for them to take with them...I told them it was the only pin I really really wanted to find. After trekking across the park, begging, bribing, trading with Cast Members and having a wonderful time getting hooked on this new craze called pin trading, they found that pin. I still have it and will never part with it.

 

[TIGGERSMOM]

Mine are the HM dangle and The Diva event Chernabog pins. They are still my absolute faves and no way I would part with either.

The Chernabog was the most fun to get - took an effort by some nut who searched a room for the perfect trader for me. Gee I wonder who that could have been ?!? It holds special meaning as well as being my 2nd favorite Disney villian.

Now if the made a Horned King pin - I would be on the hunt again.


Hey Dom - we villians collectors have to stick together!

 

[EpcotKilterFan]

I still have my Holy Grail. And Alot of memories to go with it.

As MANY people knew my HG was the Tokyo DL Red Cross Blood Drive pin. I first saw this pin in a book wwayyy at the beginning of this madness and the hunt was on.

Then in December 2001 it happened. Many of my friends saw the pin in a traders book, and they all told him...you can't trade that away... Debbie needs that and she will be here in a few days. I have to thank so many folks (you know who you are) that offered their trader books to help me make the trade.

When I got it...I cried. Ask anyone. It was quite an emotional year for me and that was the icing on the cake.

Here it is:

And there are 3 more different ones and would love to have them... but they will never come close to the meaning that this one has.

Debbie

 

[pointandshoot]

I would have to say my holy grail was the first six pins my daughter was given at WDW. I traded her for all six on that trip and they will never part from my collection. All my other pins may come and go but not those.

 

[KAP]

PanamaMike: My lenticular button from '73 said "I Tink it's great! Walt Disney World". I think it is long lost, but I do have the FW reservation form for that trip as well as some maps and unused tickets.

Debbie: Did you know that when you attend the Parkhopper meet you'll be next door to a Red Cross Facility - The Holland Lab? Just happens to be where I work.

 

[PanamaMike]

Hi Kap:

I noticed Pinpics #14332 is the Disneyland version of the "I Tink it's great" button.

 

[Mickey527]

My holy Grail was the Jail Scene pin. I tried to trade for it everywhere but no one would trade with the newbie with ony a few pins. It was selling for over $200 then on e-bay and not only won't I spend that kind of money on a pin, I couldn't spend that much money on a pin. $200 is 5 days meals at the parks.
Being the wonderful people they are Jack and Deb knew how much I wanted that pin and they sent it to me. Just sent it to me and I had never even met them.
So now I try to follow their lead and when I see someone is searching for a pin they really want I try and make the trade for them so I can give back what was given to me. Peggie
HBKat, I did the same thing many times. Back in January 2001 I swore I wasn't going to get into that dumb pin trading. Richie tried to talk me into buying 20 of the Jan POM DL castle but I wasn't going to get into pin trading. Two months later I went back and the pin bug bit hard.
And just last month when Tink Twirl Mania came out I had 4 people in the car with me. I told them they didn't have to come in because I don't collect TInk pins and I only needed one for Lori and another to trade. Those pins were doing great on e-bay. We will never learn......

 

[Mickey7811]

I love all my pins and when I think of my first treasure I think of the Walt Disney World Pin Trading pin that I actually traded with a mouse in Disney World - cute story, magical trade.

There was a pin that I always joked about having and always made silly offers for, but knew in my mind that it would never ever be a part of my collection.

Last September I went to Disney for one of my girl trips. I was standing at Pin Central and Super Trader Mike came up to me and started with a little speech about how nice a pin trader I was, and I thought I might be getting a CTT pin by the way he was talking.

Mike pulled out a Silver Jail Scene and gave it to me - I almost fell over. He was able to get this pin with the help of Tammy and Kristin. And these three wonderful people just gave me this pin.

It will always be a treasure to me as it represents more then just a pin, but stands for wonderful friendships made along the way.

Thanks Super Trader Mike, Tammy and Kristin.

Darlene

 

[Mickey7811]

Okay Nat,

You said you had three in collection that you would never trade.

What are the other two?

Darlene