Pin trading is a Disney Parks tradition that has been around since 1999, when the concept of trading official Disney-branded pins first began at Walt Disney World’s Millennium Celebration. The idea behind Disney pin trading is pretty simple: you buy (or if you’re lucky, you get gifted!) pins, which you can then trade with Cast Members as well as other park guests. (There’s a few more rules which you can find at disneyparksmerchandise.com.) It’s a fun and addictive hobby that your whole family can enjoy while at the parks.

Of course, Disney pin trading hasn’t left out Star Wars fans, so you can find a whole host of official Star Wars pins on sale throughout the parks, featuring characters and locations from across the saga. Here are just a few favorites to inspire your own collections:

1. Darth Vader (reaching out of the enamel to maybe use the dark side on you) pin.

This limited edition Darth Vader and the Death Star pin was released earlier this year, and features the Sith Lord reaching out of the pin to help bring you to the dark side. (Or maybe you told him not to try to frighten you with his sorcerer ways.) It features some nifty gold-colored backing and detailing. Only 300 of them were released in EU Disney Stores.

2. Finn looking like a big deal in this Force Awakens still pin.

To coincide with the release of The Force Awakens, a bunch of limited edition pins showing stills from the movie were created for eager fans -- including the above from 2015, which is one of 10,000 made. Fans of The Force Awakens can collect the whole set of nine pins which includes stills featuring characters like Poe Dameron, Sidon Ithano, Chewbacca, Han Solo, and more.

3. This amazing “Empire as a Disney Parks attraction poster” pin!

One of my favorite pins, this Empire Strikes Back poster-style pin has been inspired by classic posters for Disney Parks attractions. There’s a definite lack of space slug merchandise around, so I’m glad the exogorths get their time in the spotlight here.

4. A Rey pin for all your sparkly needs.

One for fans of all things glittery, this cute, sparkly Rey pin will certainly help you stand out in any crowd. Showing off Rey’s wrapped-up look from the beginning of The Force Awakens, this pin was released back in 2015 to celebrate the release of Episode VII.

5. This funky stormtrooper helmet pin.

I have some good news for those of you who, like me, are slaves to a good blind bag: you can collect an absolute wealth of Star Wars pins in blind mystery packs. This 2016 “Soldier of the Empire” stormtrooper helmet pin is one of a potential 16 designs, all of which were released in sets of five, via blind mystery packs sold in the parks. Other possible helmet designs you could get featured things like barcodes, movie quotes, flames, and lightning bolts.

6. The "original draft" pin.

One for fans of not only the original trilogy but of Star Wars history -- one of its early names was The Star Wars -- this limited edition poster pin was one of only 1,900 released during the Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World back in 2014. It’s a thick, heavy “pin-on-pin” design that features dark-colored metal and a poster design with some classic Star Wars art.

7. A BB-8 that slides pin!

Not all pins are static hunks of metal: this one features a tiny BB-8 that you can actually move along the Star Wars title font! The tiny droid slides along from left to right on a little rolling track.

8. All the Baze and Chirrut pins!

So far, there have only been three (non-group shot) Baze and Chirrut of Rogue One pins released, which you can view above. I’m waiting for more. I can only polish these ones so many times, Disney...

Do you have a favorite Star Wars pin? Or one you're trying to find! Let us know in the comments below!

Photos by Jamie Bebbington.

Cassie is a writer and journalist from the UK who loves films, food, and fuzzy critters. She contributes her words to a whole bunch of pop culture publications including Cultured Vultures, Big Wonder Comics, and more, and she’s always happy to chat about anything and everything geeky. Baze and Chirrut have a special place in her heart, and she’s probably in denial about what happened on Scarif.

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Tagged: Pin trading

8 Star Wars Pins That Will Turn You to the Trading Side of the Force