Even though I have seen this discussed before, it still seems there is a lot left to be said, (especially by R&P, who methinks can ramble more than me, and I have been know to ramble on these boards--and he will probably say in person too!)
Despite the attestations of a few kind people after my last trip, I really consider myself still a "small fish", and in this only 6 months, still a "newbie", so my perpestictive is of one still learning about this hobby. 6 months into it, I now know what some of those "big" pins are, and if I see a bunch of them on a trader's lanyard, I can pretty much figure they are either not for trade, or they are for trade for something way beyond what I have. But right from the beginning, for me and my kids, a lot of the fun was getting to look, and "ooh" and "aah" over some of these very beautiful, and hard to find, or EVER see pins! Before we knew about pin meets, and trading centers in the parks, all we knew about, was lanyards, so how else would we have seen some of these pins that sparked our expanding interest in this hobby? It's like looking at art--it has to be hanging somewhere for me to be able to look at it, and admire it, and I certainly don't expect to be able to take it home from the gallery or the museum.
Another point to consider, that Donna touched on, is what to do with these pins, once we have them? I am still struggling heavily with the costs involved in this hobby, and I often find myself wondering what is the point of spending all this money to buy these little pieces of metal, that are actually little pieces of Disney art? I, too, am not interested in framing them and hanging them on my walls; there is no room for that, as my house is already decortated, and it's not decorated Disney. So, I can put them in books, and look at them myself, which is ok, but like clothes or jewelry, or my decorated house, it is nice to be able to share and yes, "show off" so to speak what we have acquired, and have other people be excited with us for what we have. Both of my boys have very nice collections for just starting out, but they have virtually nothing to trade. They are proud of their collections, and their collections actually say something about their personality, so it's natural they want to wear them, and where else can they do that except at WDW? Jeff isn't going to wear it to his high school, and if Ryan ever gets a job, I don't think it will fit in the office attire!
So, after much rambling (told ya) I think 2 lanyards, or half keeper/half trader, are definitely 2 good options. And as far as just wearing to show off, there is no reason, new traders--children AND adults, can't learn that some people choose not to trade, just as they have to learn other pin trading rules, and etiquette.
P.S. usually by time I'm done rambling through my post, the topic is dead, and nobody reads it anyway!
!! You guys should be grateful too.. you are the ones that would have to listen to it for the next month if I did loose one of my favorite pins! 
