Common features include blinking lights, hanging charms or "danglers", spinners, and bobble heads.

[3] Each year, between 5,000 and 6,000 new designs of pin are created for the games,[10] usually by nations, teams, brand sponsors,[11] media organizations,[10] and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) itself.

[12] They are seen as a "currency of friendship",[13] creating a barter economy,[12] and allow athletes to bond despite speaking different languages.

[14] Eight countries created personalised pins at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, including the United States, Norway and Hungary.

[20] For the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, a local company produced and sold 18 million pins, over three times the population of its host country of Norway, with the organization committee obtaining US$18,000,000 in royalties.

At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, organizers did not produce enough pins, leading to a trading frenzy in which some traders earned US$40,000 within days.

[16] Serena Williams began collecting pins at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney after failing to qualify that year.

[20] Pin trading was less prevalent at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi due to fewer regulars attending the Games.

[24] Williams obtained a North Korea pin at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro which she stated she "would never, ever, ever trade".

"[26] In 2020, as a result of the announcement that no outside spectators would be allowed into Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics, which took place in 2021, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, pin trading was halted.

[25] The Dutch delegation gave out a pin in the shape of a pair of orange clogs, which was in high demand from attendees.

[3][21] Ilona Maher, Caroline Wozniacki,[11] Coco Gauff, Alena Saili,[25] Tysha Ikenasio,[21] Jah-Nhai Perinchief, Hazel Ouwehand, Imogen Grant,[28] Jasmine Schofield and Naomi Osaka[8] shared their collections on social media.

[30] Disney discourages guests from partaking in the common practice of acquiring a large number of rare pins to sell on sites such as eBay for significantly inflated prices.

Long-term fans largely also oppose this practice, with calls to reduce the number of the same item that can be sold from ten.

[citation needed] The next year, the craze spread to the Disneyland Resort, which has become the home of most Pin Trading events but is most popular in Disney World.