Project record
They wanted Minnesota on the pin
A Minnesota hockey association that asked for the state outline as the anchor of the design — the most requested element in the hockey records.
MN
- Quantity
- 250 pins
- Size
- 2.0"
- Pin type
- Standard pins
- Process
- Die struck soft enamel
The brief
A Minnesota hockey association that wanted its state on the pin.
How the design got made
- Beat 1
Quoted at 250 pins, two inch die struck soft enamel
- Beat 2
Design direction came from the association itself, with the logo attached
- Beat 3
Asked for the Minnesota state outline or crossed sticks as the anchor element
- Beat 4
Ordered and paid the same day in mid-December, ahead of the season
The full account
The design brief was one sentence
The association sent its logo and one piece of direction:
"Attached is our logo. I think the MN state or crossed [sticks]"
The state outline or crossed sticks. Pick an anchor and build around it.
That is a more useful brief than it looks. A two-inch pin has room for roughly one strong shape, a name, and a year. Everything else competes. Naming the anchor first is how you avoid four proof rounds spent discovering it.
Why the state shape keeps coming up
Minnesota puts its own outline on things the way Texas does. On a trading pin it does a specific job: at arm's length across a rink, before anyone can read a word of the text, the shape says where the team is from.
For a pin that will be handed to strangers from other states all weekend, that is the single most useful thing it can communicate.
The order
250 pins, two inch, die struck soft enamel, $2.30 each. Ordered and paid the same day in mid-December, ahead of the season.
Price shown is what this order was quoted at, for this quantity, size and specification, on this date. It is not a current price list.
Two months passed between the first enquiry in October and the order in December, with the design brief arriving in November. That is a comfortable pace, and it is what ordering ahead of hockey season buys you: no delivery charge, no rush fee, and time to get the artwork right.
Specification
| Team | IGH/SSP Hockey Association |
|---|---|
| Sport | Hockey |
| Quantity | 250 |
| Size | 2.0" |
| Process | die struck |
| Fill | soft enamel |
| Pin type | Standard pins |
| Banner included | No |
| State | MN |
| Inquiry | 2025-10-17 |
What this price was quoted under
- $2.30 / pin2.0" · 250 pins
Price shown is what this order was quoted at, for this quantity, size and specification, on this date. It is not a current price list.
- For quantity
- 250 pins
- At size
- 2.0"
- Build
- die struck soft enamel
- Excludes
- delivery charge, rush fee, import tariff
The banner threshold
This order sat under the threshold, so no banner was included. At the time the line fell at 1,000 pins at 2.0 inches or larger: the size step cost $0.20 more per pin — $1.07 to $1.27 — and brought a free 3ft × 6ft banner plus 100 bonus gold-metal or blackout pins with it.
Worth checking before you commit to a quantity: the bigger pin is frequently the cheaper total order.
quoted for this order onlyAbout the prices on this page
Every figure here is taken from a real quote for a real order. That is the point of it — and also the reason it will not match what you are quoted.
- Quantity moves the price more than anything else
- Size and build are priced separately
- Turnaround changes the total
- Import tariffs apply and are disclosed on the quote
- These are historical
Questions this order answers
Two inches or larger is the working floor for tournament trading — smaller pins get passed over. Sizes run from 2 inches up to 6.
One little league's four orders across three years show the migration in practice: they started at 1.25 inches and moved to 2.0. Larger sizes also unlock the banner threshold, which is why the bigger pin often costs less in total.
Sourced — Sizing guidance across multiple orders; Northern Virginia little league, 2022–2026
No. Every figure in this library is what one team was quoted for one order, on the day they asked. It is published as a record, not as a price list.
Quantity and size move it most: the break runs about $0.20 per pin for every hundred pins, and the range here goes from a 1,500-pin corporate run at 1.25 inch to a 3 inch dangler with glitter. Pin type and finish are priced per pin on top of that — a spinner was $0.65 more per pin on one order, glitter is $0.10 per pin per glitter colour.
Timing is separate again. Six weeks ahead of your date carries no delivery or rush charge; four weeks adds a $40 delivery charge; three weeks adds $40 plus a $75 rush fee. The pins are manufactured in China and are subject to US import tariffs, disclosed on the quote rather than at invoice.
For a price that applies to your order, send your quantity, size and in-hands date and we will quote it.
Sourced — Quoted ladders and fee schedule across the AP Pope, Corona Avengers and Brainerd AHA threads, 2025–2026
Starting your team's pins?
This order was 250 pins at 2.0". Send us your roster size and your event date and we will come back with a price.
Request a free quote