Copies, Fakes and Re-issues
A few people have asked me to confirm that they have a genuine Planet pin and not a fake.
I can honestly say I've never come across a fake but have seen pins where the manufacturer has used the same image as Planet. As far as I'm aware, this is a common practice in the pin industry. I have brought a few French Saggay pins only to find out they were cheap imitations. What can make it harder, is Planet issued a few variations of their pins with differences in size, colour, type of pin and the back of pin copyright (which I'm calling intrica).
This main tell of a fake pin is 1) A thick plastic lacquer on the face of the pin.
2) They are mostly made in soft enamel (cheaper). Very rarely, are copies made in hard enamel.
3) Planet, on almost all the pins I have, used a cross-hatched, waffle patten on the back.
4) The size. There seems to have been a different pin size custom in the 1990's. Most modern pins, seem to be a third to a half times larger than most Planet pins. I do prefer the smaller pin. Showing the nerd, but not being blatant about it.
5) Planet almost never did two pins on the back. If it was a big pin, they would either use a single pin or a safety pin clasp.
6) The look - does it feel cheap and nasty, if so it's most likely not a Planet pin
Many thanks to Adam Konkle and Khurram Shahz for providing some/most of these images.
Copies and Fakes?
This is horrid... a straight copy of a Planet pin but without the detail, colour or even art of the original Planet pin. Again, the heavy lacquer and lack of detail.
A nice copy and the only real tell is the thick lacquer on the front.
This is an unknown maker copying a Planet pin. Note the gold wedge between his legs and the yellow lacquer on the colour and the loss of details.
These are two Daredevil silver & gold backed variants and a later copy in soft enamel. Again, notice the loss in detail, the filled in blank spaces and the yellowed plastic lacquer coating.
A black Daredevil that was sent to me. I believe it is genuine and a colouring error, as why produce a copy the wrong colour.
Thor copied with bad colouring (blue hammer) but is a hard enamel pin - image provided by Robert Jones
Three Punisher logo pins. The white one is made by Planet in 1988. The bigger, darker on is by Saggay in 1990 (illegally copied without Marvel's permission). The smaller pin is made by an unknown company and made in 2004.
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Okay, not a direct copy, but you can see the likeness. Made by Numskull and included in their Captain America "Retro Pin Set". It is a soft enamel pin and is slightly larger thatn th two Planet pins.
This is a Planet pin but in soft enamel and made as a freebie in a Sega Genesis game - Captain America & the Avengers
An original hard enamel pin
Having scanned these Numskull pin's, they look fantastic. They're not! But are passable. It's soft enamel verses hard, and the hard enamel almost always wins. The Numskull pin is painted black with the colours added, leaving a 3D effect on the pin which catches the light in odd areas. A reasonable pin, but not great... Anybody making a Fantasy pin, I really recommend the hard enamel, despite the higher cost.
Another pin from Numskull that is very similar to the Planet version of Cap's logo.
The two Punisher skulls are by Planet and an unknown maker - TM & copyright 2004 Marvel.
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The two other pins Adam Konkle has had made. Both double pin backed and verygood quality.
These aren't Planet pins. Planet never made a Thor logo... but I wish they had. But these are very good and could be mistaken for a Planet pin. Slightly larger (about 2 mm) than a Planet pin, these "Fantasy" (Fan made) Pins were made by Adam Konkle. He only had 25 of each colour made. Made with hard enamel and looks and feels a lot like a Planet pin but has two studs, which Planet hardly ever did, even for extra large pins. He has had made two other pins, Infinity Gauntlet and Black Panther logo's, both twin studded and slightly larger than the normal Planet Pin.
Re-Issues and Variations
A Planet notice that they are re-issuing some of the more popular pins, but are going to stamp re-issue on the back. I think they did this with some, but mostly just put a different date stamp in the intrica
The dates on these pins are Spider-Man 1996, 1993, 1992 and blank back. Spider-Man swinging are both dated 1987, but possibly it had two runs, with the detail being lost on the second run. Punisher pins were both made in 1987 but notice the slight fading on the moon and darker sea colour on the first pin.
This is an odd one. Copyright date is 1991, but the name is Toby Gleason not Marvel Comics. I expect it was either a manufacturing error or somebody wanted his name to be printed for a lark. But not a fake... this is a Planet pin. You can tell by the back hatching, the copyright box placement and the style.
Wolverine Pin #004 from 1987 and re-issue from 1992. Note the slight change in colour. Also, the words re-issue on the back and the year.
Three variants of Wolverine Pin #51 & 52 - Smoking, and non-smoking copper backed and Zinc backed (silver). I case anyone's wondering, the smoking pin is the rarer.
Another example of a re-issue. This time using a different base material. Originally used zinc (silver) base, but the re-issue uses copper (gold) as a base. I think the results show that the copper base isn't the right material, and this is one of the worst re-issues I've ever seen. I think the copper base is the cheaper material, which is why it was used.
Also note the sock, no sock variant... though I'm not sure if that's just a bit of broken enamel... You decide.
Special Issues - Convention pins and Freebies
Two convention pins. Unsure on the venues, but I'm guessing it's something to do with the hats. The list says -
MM93 cowboy hat Spidey
MM94 Spidey ski mask
(excl. prod. By req. For Marvel admin.)
A promotional keyring. I can't read all of it - Something, Annual Capital City Sales Convention, May 1993 Magical? Vancouver? Planet Studios, copyright 1991 Marvel.
Another variant of Amazing Spider-Man issue #300 Planet pin no. 180. The details seem finer on the white boarded pin and I have noticed if it's a special order, like a convention, or a box set, the quality is better.
Pins That Have Been Misidentified
Often thought to be the Red Skull, but is in fact a Thor villain called Bloodaxe The Executioner
I had no idea what this pin was until I was shown an advertisement from an issue of Previews from 1994. Nick Fury's Patch... I have no idea where this image came from, but how is this a patch?
Deathblow pin. For a long time I thought this pin was of the Punisher, until somebody (sorry, I can't remember who), pointed out the Aegis copyright on the back. Recently, somebody was selling this pin on eBay as a Punisher pin & I pointed out that it wasn't... He didn't believe me. It took me five minutes to find this image (Easy, the pin is dated 1993 and Deathblow's first series started that year). So I started looking through from the beginning and found the image - see swipes. I emailed him back, but didn't get a reply.
This has been mistaken as a Captain America emblem, but is in fact the original Guardian of the Galaxy shield.
For a long time I was unsure whether this was Jean Grey or Mary Jane until I received the list... Planet pin no. #66 Mary Jane.
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This was sold as a Ghost Rider Emblem on eBay and made by Planet... It isn't. It's a Star Wars Hutt Cartel pin... I don't even think it's a Planet pin.