Pinback Question

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Posted By: Paul Muchinsky

Aaron,

A fair question that is more complex than you might think. There are several types of pinning mechanisms. The most common type is a springpin. It is held in place by the tension on the metal spring pressing against the inside rim of the pin, called the "collett". These pins were very inexpensive to make, and have the added feature they readily lend themselves to being removed, adding a ribbon and/or dangle to enhance the visual appeal of the pin, and then snapping the pin back into place. A pinback that is missing its original springpin has no reduction in the pinback's value.

It gets more complicated with pins that were never intended to be removed. Another manufacturing technology involves a pin that resembles somewhat of a safety pin. These pins were inserted either by soldering them directly to the back of the face plate, or more commonly, using a double-plate technology, where two small holes were cut into the second plate, and the pin itself is positioned in between the two plates, and only the two ends of the pin are visible. If a pinback has this type of pinning mechanism, the only way the pin could be "missing" is if at some point in the pin's history the pin broke off. Yet another type of pinning mechanism exists for very large pinbacks (6" or greater in diameter), and again, these were never intended for removal. Finally, in the very early years of pinbacks, some were made with a solid back. In this case the pinning mechanism is literally a straight pin that was soldered vertical to the pinback's image. These pins are extremely old, and the pin itself is fragile. It is not uncommon to find such pinbacks with these pins (called "needle pins") broken off.

In summary, if a pinback was manufactured with a technology that permitted the pin (a springback) to be readily removed, the absence of such a pin has no effect on the pinback's value, because the missing pin can be easily replaced with one of a similar vintage. However, for pinbacks that were designed with non-detachable pins, their absence would lower the value of the pinback.