posted 04-05-2012 06:12 PM            

Vendors describe both types as 'official,' but only one has the 'ABemblem.com' legend on the back.

posted 04-05-2012 08:36 PM               

(And even this graphic is not complete, as it was created before I had an example of the USA "Kopra" and NASA "Bowen" cloisonne-style pins.)

• In the upper left are the two pins AB Emblem produced (Kopra and Bowen). These are inscribed on the back "STS-133 NASA ABEmblem.com".

  AB Emblem however, is not the official contractor for NASA lapel pins. Space Center Houston at one time used to stock them, but they were not the pins that were flown on the shuttle or worn by NASA managers and flight controllers during briefings.

• In the lower left are the "Launch Team" pins (Kopra and Bowen) that were produced for team members at Kennedy Space Center. These were not widely sold to the public. Their backs are blank.

• In the top middle is the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex's "pin-on-pin." A trend started by Disney, this is an enlarged pin with another smaller pin (in this case the shuttle) attached to it.

  KSCVC started the production of these with the flight of STS-117 (before Anderson was added to the crew). Their backs read "® KSC China".

• In the lower right are two unrelated pins. One is made by the same company that made the Launch Team pins in the same "offset printed" (or "photographic") style but without the "Launch Team" tab at the bottom.

  The other was sold by the Visitor Complex before Winco could deliver "Bowen" corrected pins. It has a blank back.

• The two pins in the upper right are Winco International's cloisonne-style "Kopra" pins. They differ only by the back. Both have inscribed "STS-133" but one has "NASA" printed out (the style sold to the public) and one has the Boeing logo. Another type exists with the USA logo.

  Winco also later produced for NASA a version with "Bowen" instead of "Kopra."

  Winco is the official supplier of mission lapel pins to NASA. They provided the pins flown onboard the missions and those worn by managers and flight controllers during press conferences.

• In the bottom middle are two pins, also produced by Winco, but in the offset printed style. These were the first pins that Winco produced with the Bowen name change.

  They have "STS-133" and either "NASA" or "USA" printed on the reverse, along with "Made in USA." According to Winco, Boeing did not order this version.

posted 04-06-2012 05:49 PM            

It now appears that, in addition to the AB Emblem version, the other pin I have seen is the cloisonne-style version produced for NASA by Winco. Confusingly, it was supplied by a website using a picture of the AB Emblem version, but at least the "official" description was correct.

posted 08-13-2026 05:13 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by OV-105:
...that came on cards with the design information from Ho Ho Art & Craft Int'l Co., NY, NY. Those came on blue cards. Then I also have some that are Pinnacle Designs, Canoga Park, CA on red cards.

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• When did Ho Ho Arts & Crafts overlap in distribution of shuttle mission pins with Pinnacle? I have examples from both companies of STS-1 pins and assume both were for sale on April 12, 1981, but maybe one or both debuted later?

• I have yet to find a Pinnacle STS-49 pin, only Ho Ho Arts & Crafts, so had Pinnacle left the business after the Challenger tragedy?

• Speaking of STS-51L, I have seen examples of both Ho Ho Arts & Crafts and Pinnacle pins for the 25th space shuttle mission, but have also come across one with a red backer card otherwise identical to Pinnacle's but listing Marketcom of California as the manufacturer. Is Marketcom and Pinnacle the same company?

• Separate from those, I also have a number of "Launch Team" pins that are bronze and are half the size of pins made by Ho Ho Arts & Crafts and Pinnacle. The mission patch art is not reproduced in color and shrunk even further to find the room to insert the words "Launch Team" (I have also found examples of the same size and style pin, but without the "Launch Team" inscription). Who made these?

• By the time of STS-107, Ho Ho Arts & Crafts and Pinnacle, as well as the bronze half-size "Launch Team" pins were long out of production, but when they did they give way to Winco, A-B Emblem and Cape Kennedy Medals/Space World USA (the latter for the launch team variant)?