Sonic the Hedgehog Modern Pins & Keychains of the USA

This page of USA Sonic Pins & Keychains will have only modern items. For actual classic items, see Pins/Keychains pages 1 and 2. Because they're not that big, some of the older ones may be harder to find. There was a dry spell for pins and keychains in the early 2000s. Some of these keychains may be available in the Sonic Gear Store.

Sonic Gear Main Merchandise Page * Sonic Pins & Keychains 1 * Sonic Pins Keychains 2 * Pins Keychains 4 * Sonic Pins Keychains 5 * Sonic Pins Keychains 6 * Sonic Pins Keychains 7 *

Here is a keychain you can find at Toys R Us. It's seen here carded, on a peg. It's made of that layered rubber that takes detail well, and is just classic style Sonic's face, with a loop at the top, & the key ring behind. It's not too big (unlike others on this page) so it would likely work out well in actual use. The rubber stuff is durable too. 2013 spring release. Do you know how much this is? Photo by Taaron.

Here is a lanyard for key cards or keys. It's black with yellow paint splat / spatter motif. It uses various classic & neo-classic Sonic art poses. This is available at Spencers' Gifts in 2013. Photo & owned by Shadowfoxx757

Here is a Sonic X lanyard. It simply uses the Sonic X logo as a pattern, so it's busy, but has no character art. The end has a spring loaded clip for keys, as well as a thin/tough string loop for loop-hole items. (phones, minigames etc. tend to have loop holes) This is an all-right strap if you need a subtle touch of Sonic-theme. Discovered by A Cat.

Here is a pair of Sonic Generations pin-buttons. These simple, carded buttons were given out at the Sega booth at E3 2011 as part of the 'swag' (or gifts for guests) The buttons have similar (But not the same) Green hill style backgrounds, but each has a different 'era' of Sonic on it. The card backing is nice as well, with a washed scene from the game background. Being exclusive to E3, these are a great collectible item! Photo & owned by PiplupFan77

This keychain is interesting, as it looks so pixelated! By making the pixel shapes really big, and coloring the whole rubber keychain just like that, this item has a really unique look. The design is the running Sonic sprite from what's likely to be Sonic 1, as it's pretty simple. It has a key ring & a clip for easy attachment. This is likely to be a BioWorld item. It should be about 4.49 , & is available at www.poweranime.com in 2013. A fun keychain with really-real classic style.

The clip-off classic style keychain seen below (with face charm) looks like this when it's mint in package. As you can see, it's all folded up behind the paper card, which doesn't make it much to look at. Photo by Taaron

Here's a wierd little item. It's a coin purse that's shaped like a backpack, but clips on like a keychain. It has 2 pockets for coins & is made out of soft fuzzy blue fabric. The spring clip is at the top so you could probably clip it to a backpack or a belt loop since it's too big to be a keychain. The Sonic element here is also a little odd, it's another 'undefined' face, where it's just his face with no spikes or border lines. His ears stick out off the top of the bag. This is a Spencers Gifts item, it should be 9.99 in 2013 AND 2016 still. It's available in retail stores and also online.

Every year in Seattle Washington there is a video game event "PAX Prime". And...at the event they give out cool free lanyards to the attendees! Here you can see one from 2013 (left) and 2012 (right) They're made of a slightly shiny, silky/smooth but tough material with all over printed designs.

The left is for Lost World which has the LW logo & a very tall 'slice' of scenery from the game, with Sonic at the bottom, all in CG art. The left is Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (yes they picked it in 2012) Its layout is pretty cool, with Sonic on one side of the strap & Shadow on the other, each bringing a different colored background & the logo is in the center.

Both of their key/card/whatever attachments are plain, it's just a simple hook on a sewn-in metal lead. These are uncommon because they are event-specific give-aways. Well made & stylish! Discovered by SonicxAndxTails

This is a lanyard made specifically to hold a photo ID card. It comes with it's own clear plastic slide-in case for your ID. Of course, the lead loop can also hold keys or charms if you want also. It comes with 1 charm pre-installed! There's a flat rubber classic Sonic face (that cut-in textured rubber) The lanyard itself has classic logos, rings & little art of Sonic & Tails standing together in classic style. Everything just repeats here & the background is always light blue. This may be found at www.circlered.com It is likely to be a 2012 item. *There may be a very similar item with black-bordered charm & different 'card' in the plastic holder/this may be a re-release.

This lanyard brings in a convenient & new feature: the detatchable clip. The plastic squeeze type clip lets you remove the bottom part of the lanyard (which would hold the keys/cards etc) so that you don't have to take the strap off to use it. Then when you're done, just snap it back together. This lanyard also comes with a Sonic charm pre-attached, it's that flat rubber classic style face again. The strap is light blue checkered, with classic Sonic logos & stock art of either running Sonic or spinning Sonic. This has been sighted at Hastings stores. It is made by Go Hastings. It is likely to be a 2013 item. Discovered by SonicxAndxTails

This is another clip off lanyard with a classic theme. It has alternating various expression classic style Sonic faces & yellow rings. The lanyard itself is black, & has no charm. It is likely a 2014 item, & has been seen at Hastings stores. Unlike the above lanyards, it doesn't seem to come in a package/bag, but hangs on display. Photo by Taaron.

This green shiny-material lanyard with black hook is from PAX Prime in Seattle. It has the Sonic CD logo & various sprites of Metal Sonic using the moves from the game. Its an unusual theme for 2014, but very cool. Photo by SonicXAndXTails

This is the reverse of the lanyard seen above for Sonic Lost World. (you can see the other side above on this page) Each lanyard had 2 sides. This other side has the Deadly 6 on it, along with Sonic (at bottom) & some part of a level in the background. Photo by SonicXAndXTails

Another Lost World lanyard, this one is green with black loop at the bottom & black border. It features Sonic at the bottom, the logo at the back & a close up CG portrait of each member of the Deadly 6. This is from the New York Comic Con, so it's likely an exclusive give-away of some kind. Photo by SonicXAndXTails

Here's an all new type of lanyard! This is called the "Y-Format" lanyard , because, as you can see the end of it sort of looks like the letter "Y" as the 2 straps are joined together flat behind the icon. This is so it always lays 'correctly' while you wear it & the ID card (or whatever) that's clipped to the end doesn't spin around & twist up the lanyard making it annoying. The cloth is pr inted with checkers, big Sonic faces, partial logos & the inside has CG Sonic jumping with swirls & pale checkers. (So it's reversable too!) The Sonic face on the bottom is that layered/cut in flat rubber material. This is available in the Sonic Gear Store in 2014., so if you want it, you can have it!

You can see these flat, cut/layered rubber pins on Sonic Pins 1, but the sellers (online only, it seems) never show you the packaging. Well, wonder no more because this is what the card looks like that the pins come on. A nice checker with pale all-blue Sonic line art for the background & simple plastic film. By looking at the texture of the carpet, you can also see about how big they are. (not large at all!) These do feel quality though & the material captures the detail well. Photo & owned by Crystal Sonic Fan May be in the Gear Pin Store

Here are 2 glazed metal pins for sports. The left is from Barcelona Olympics, the right is from the Masters Tournament in 1991. Sega sponsored in both of these events, & had little pins made to go with them. Even though Barcelona is in Spain, this pin was supposed to have a USA release too. They've changed the stock art to be pointing at the logo. These are likely to be rare. They are event-specific, and may have even been event-attend-only give away or prize items. The glaze over the art (Thick/clear) is a type of acrylic & may yellow (evidenced on right pin) with age.

This is an example of a well made metal & enamel pin. Too often some pins can be poorly done, but this one is an example of a pin gone right. Notice how no detail is missed, and piercework is used well for the gap between the skates. Both legs and Sonic's tail are distinct. The gap between his arm & body is pitted as well. He has the right number of fingers & the expression still works.By looking at the pin-backing, you can tell this is pretty small, too. Classic Sonic's shoes have had ice skate blades added, & they've given him a white hockey stick to hold. But why, specifically, a hockey themed pin?

This is likely some kind of event-sponsoring / event give-away prize pin. It has both the Kellogg's (cereal) & Sega logo on one side. It's mostly brass-tone metal, with 4 colors of enamel for the Sonic art. This art doesn't fare as well, as it relies on the background color (metal) to define the lines for the art, so you can see how easily his shoe bottoms (Feet look too thin), finger tips on folded hand (finger number unclear) & eye edge just get lost because the border is also the background color. However, it is still clearly Sonic, and the die-cutting for the edge around his spikes gives the whole design some nice interest. (Especially for something early like this, that's also some kind of sponsorship deal) What was this pin for? How could you get one?