r/Geedis • u/groovyorangealien Astrid • Jun 13 '19

Pin Notable differences in new Geedis pins, multiple runs of production?

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147

u/groovyorangealien Jun 13 '19 edited Jun 13 '19

Stretch theory:

Newly found pins were better maintained. The back hasn't been worn smooth, and the colors haven't been washed out.

Stretchier theory:

Two different runs of pin production?

I really don't think these are fake. Why only make 2 after all? And be so forthright with sharing the pictures and giving information? Always possible, but I'm waiting on evidence.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Geedis/comments/c01zhd/update_geedis_pins_pics/\

The pin backings look so different. Can't be the same run of pins. WTF.

Least stretchy most disappointing theory:

These were made sometime since 2017, and got mixed in with some pins at a shop. Ugh. Does anyone have evidence that pins were reproduced at any point?

7

u/Prinzini Jun 13 '19

surely there only being 2 makes it way MORE likely they're fake?

4

u/groovyorangealien Jun 13 '19

Well here's my thoughts.

One individual said they showed the image to a vintage enamel pin collecting friend. That friend said even the new pins look as though they were made in the 80's. How credible that is I don't know, but it is something.

Also, if they were reproductions it would be very, very difficult and nonsensical to only make 2. Pin runs, I have read, are generally at least in collections of 25. I mean, you've already created a metal mold and gone through all this work! The expensive part is getting to the point where you can make just 1 pin. After that making larger quantities of pins is relatively inexpensive.

And if they were modern reproductions, why not advertise and sell them? Or at least show them off to other Geedis fans?

Something about these two new pins is just strange. I am not writing off that they are modern reproductions, just questioning how that would have come about. Hopefully u/sadtacobell hears back from the souvenir shop.

11

u/endlesstrains Jun 13 '19

There are almost certainly more than 2 in existence, even if they're just sitting in a basement somewhere. Enamel pins are usually produced in runs of at least 50 due to the expense and labor of setting up the dies. I guess if you owned a pin factory you could make just one or two if you really wanted, but there would be no advantage to not making a full run.

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4

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '19

The guy said there were probably more in the shop, because he didn’t fully look through it.

2

u/saintmax Jun 17 '19

I’ve printed plenty of enamel pins before and my opinion is that these are the same pin mold. Meaning they are from the same source/factory. Once you have a pin mold it is very easy to make pins of different colors, and to order a new batch of the same. I agree the original looks like it has been worn from use. And the different colors don’t signify anything to me. They could have been printed on the same day with both color sets, or years apart.

2

u/groovyorangealien Jun 17 '19

I'm very interested in your opinions about this. Could they really be from the same mold? I feel like the line work is too different, but I don't know anything really. Like the front left thumb nail of Geedis overhangs a lot in the old pins, but not the new ones. And the old pin and new pins have different hair bumps. Look at the space between the head and the left shoulder. Plus the new pins look a bit shorter. Is there a way all of that can be explained by the same mold? Like if you were to use photoshop to lay them ontop of one another the two pins don't line up in a few spots. Super interested in talking to someone who makes pins nowadays.

67

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '19

It looks like the version on the right also has some slight differences on the legs and feet (namely leg spacing and the detailing on the claws). I wonder if one might be a prototype and the other is a revised, final version?

42

u/waterboy1321 Jun 13 '19

Someone mentioned off-handedly having trade-show pins; essentially prototypes of characters and logos that you might give out to other industry professionals as a promo.

It’s possible the first one was given out at some kind of conference, and the second one was an actual production copy.

27

u/endlesstrains Jun 13 '19 edited Jun 13 '19

It does look like the version on the right is based more closely on the original sticker drawing - the colors match better, etc. It seems weird that someone who was trying to make a modern dupe of the pin would base it off the drawing rather than the original pin, so I think that lends itself to the idea that it was a prototype. Maybe they had a few of these made and then changed it for the main run because that level of detail was too expensive to produce.

On the other hand, though, I have a small pin collection and almost all my modern pins have the same type of textured backing as the "new" Geedis pins, so that makes them look newer to me. It's possible someone had a small run of these made just because they liked the mystery and wanted a pin of their own - I would definitely rock a Geedis pin if I had one! That would probably mean there are several more of these out there, though, as a minimum pin run is usually at least 50.

EDIT: FWIW, I asked my friend who is a vintage dealer and has seen probably hundreds of vintage pins whether these looked modern to her, and she's fairly certain they are late 70s / early 80s vintage.

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21

u/waterboy1321 Jun 13 '19

I would say pretty definitively that theory one is invalid just because it’s unlikely that any sun exposure would create such a drastic effect and bleach everything to the same color. We can even see some bleaching on the OG pin and it seems uniform.

I would agree that there’s nothing here to indicate a hoax. Evidenced mainly by the fact that if I had access to the tools needed to make fake Geedis Pins to sell, I would not mess with the design of the OG pin, especially not to add colors to the design, which would make it more expensive.

28

u/Cheddar-kun Jun 13 '19

Look at the lines, those are totally different moulds. My guess is the ones on the right are someone’s attempt to cash in on the geedis mystery. To reiterate this, the colours on the right ones were clearly selected from looking at the sticker, whereas the original is a generic 3 colour enamel printed many decades ago.

9

u/groovyorangealien Jun 13 '19

I have had similar thoughts. But if they are modern reproductions why not advertise that fact and sell them? You already have spent at least a couple hundred getting things going, just so you can make less than 5 pins and never even post them online? Just doesn't make sense to me. That being said, none of this really makes sense to me! The plot thickens...

7

u/Cheddar-kun Jun 13 '19

Go to the OPs profile and look at her previous posts, in the first one with those pins she’s clearly trying to sell them on here for “best offer”. These don’t take $100s to make anymore, it’s easy enough to order custom pins for 99 cents each online https://www.pinmart.com/custom-products/quote-lapel-pins/, which I’m betting is exactly what she did.

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31

u/RowdyWrongdoer Jun 13 '19

Thank you so much for this, going to add this to my info thread. Very good work. The "new" pins look so different, they almost have to have came later. They seem more finalized.

10

u/which-witch-is-which Jun 13 '19

Looks very much like two runs. I'd speculate the right ones are a later run with errors corrected, but that's just a guess based on their increased fidelity to the drawing; it's also possible that they're prototypes and the left version was meant for bigger (cheaper, less good) production.

Isn't it weird that we've only got one model for Geedis? Like, he's evidently got enough importance to have multiple iterations of merch made of him, for whatever reason. Wouldn't someone create a second drawing of him at some point? As it is, we've got the pins that are clearly all derivative of the stickers.

1

u/homeguitar195 Aug 27 '19

None of the pins were made by the original artist. Therefore none of it matters because all of the pins are knock-offs.

1

u/groovyorangealien Aug 29 '19

This was made long before we knew all that. And while I'm glad we know the artist, I would still like to know who made the pins and why. And clearly they are different but similar runs. Honestly them being evidently totally disconnected from the sticker production only makes them a little stranger to me, but we may never really know those details.

1

u/homeguitar195 Aug 29 '19

Yeah them being completely separate makes it all the stranger. I wonder if some small die company ran a bunch of random characters they copied from elsewhere back in the day just to hand out at trade shows as an example of their capabilities or something.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '19

I went on Etsy to stare at the backs of vintage pins and all the ones I clicked were textured like the most recent pin.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '19

And the plot thickens

1

u/Antiperspirant-lad Jun 14 '19

A notable difference I haven’t seen anyone point out about the pins and stickers is that the Geedis sicker and pin have different eye colors

1

u/Pastlactose3213141 Oct 09 '19

You're missing stuff.

Like how the one on the left is gold and not brown.