Just held a pin summit at WDW with our friends from DL. We compared a bunch of suspect DL lanyard pins gathered at WDw this last week (for scientific purposes*) with their original DL versions.
In every case we could all spot the "imposter" by three simple field tests.
1) Weight of pin, the cheapo fakes are much lighter but you need the original in the hand for a direct comparison.
2) Surface sheen. For some reason we cant figure the fakes have a duller surface finish. This can be seen best in reflected light, but is not a good tell in dull light.
3) AND THIS IS A REAL TELL:-Run fingertip or fingernail gently over surface. Every fake pin had a smooth surface with no ridges where the metal and enamel join. The real pins all have a noticable ridge every time you cross from metal to paint. I tried this live on CM lanyards and was able to validate in the field. One problem is that the CM may react oddly to you stroking his/her pins. If you go through a pin book you can spot the fake even with closed eyes.
Good luck. PS Now I know what to look for I will try to ID the pin passers themselves, and give some helpeful ID notes on how to pick the perpertrators of the pin fraud.
Field test planned tomorrow at DTD, update later.
* Scientific purposes really means we got duped several times !!
In every case we could all spot the "imposter" by three simple field tests.
1) Weight of pin, the cheapo fakes are much lighter but you need the original in the hand for a direct comparison.
2) Surface sheen. For some reason we cant figure the fakes have a duller surface finish. This can be seen best in reflected light, but is not a good tell in dull light.
3) AND THIS IS A REAL TELL:-Run fingertip or fingernail gently over surface. Every fake pin had a smooth surface with no ridges where the metal and enamel join. The real pins all have a noticable ridge every time you cross from metal to paint. I tried this live on CM lanyards and was able to validate in the field. One problem is that the CM may react oddly to you stroking his/her pins. If you go through a pin book you can spot the fake even with closed eyes.
Good luck. PS Now I know what to look for I will try to ID the pin passers themselves, and give some helpeful ID notes on how to pick the perpertrators of the pin fraud.
Field test planned tomorrow at DTD, update later.
* Scientific purposes really means we got duped several times !!
Collecting Pins Builds Character 
