The clacking of medals is a familiar sound during Fiesta.
Though the popular Fiesta flair isn’t being seen – or heard – like it is during the annual 11-day event in April, the excitement is here. And it’s been here for weeks.
Some groups and businesses started unveiling their 2026 Fiesta medals in January. Others have teased that medals will be available soon for purchase. Events to buy and trade medals already have happened and plenty more are planned in March, well over a month before Fiesta’s April 16 kickoff.
San Antonio Explained looks at the history of the popular Fiesta trinkets and the excitement many Fiesta-goers experience buying, collecting and trading medals months before the first cascarón is cracked.
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What are Fiesta medals?
The colorful custom-designed pins have been a part of Fiesta since the 1970s, evolving from the commemorative coins that the Texas Cavaliers started handing out during visits to children’s hospitals in the 1940s, cultural anthropologist Michaele Haynes told Texas Public Radio in 2015.
By the early 1960s, Joske’s department store created a small cardboard piece that had a place to insert a Fiesta coin and a cutout where a ribbon could be threaded. The creation allowed the Fiesta coins to be worn around the neck. Archives also show that some Texas Cavaliers members punched holes in their coins to wear around their neck.
In the early 1970s, other organizations started handing out similar Fiesta coins, including ones noting the year or a special event. An early version of the medals we know today – decorative pieces of metal attached to a colorful ribbon pin – evolved by the 1980s. Some historians have cited the city’s military presence for influencing the standard design of today’s Fiesta medals, which resemble the hardware worn on military uniforms.
Medals grew in popularity through the 1990s, and by the early 2000s, collecting medals had become a beloved Fiesta tradition.
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Who hands out Fiesta medals?
Fiesta got its “party with a purpose” moniker because of the multi-day event’s focus on nonprofits. Many of Fiesta’s more than 100 official events serve as a top annual fundraiser for local organizations.
Creating and selling Fiesta medals is a fundraiser for many groups and schools, as well as for businesses that designate a nonprofit to receive the money that’s raised.
In recent years, some politicians – including those running for office – and individuals wanting to leave their mark on a San Antonio tradition have had Fiesta medals created.
Many sellers of Fiesta medals head to the annual Pin Pandemonium, which is part of the official Fiesta kickoff event, to show off their flair for buyers.
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Who collects Fiesta medals?
Collectors include men and women of all ages and backgrounds. Some say they collect medals to support a favorite nonprofit. Others say they want to show pride for their alma mater or promote a favorite place or event. Some are drawn to a medal’s uniqueness or beauty, while others collect an organization’s annual medal as a tradition, according to various news reports on Fiesta through the years.
A collector often wears medals on a sash draped across one shoulder or around the neck, while others have used vests or hats to display their collections. Some collectors have posted on social media how they creatively display their medals long after Fiesta ends.
Wreaths, shadow boxes, garland made of vibrant ribbon or cloth and decorative cork board have been used to display collections.
Fans of the Fiesta flair have formed groups to discuss and trade their medal finds, and share news of medal unveilings, giveaways and promotions. Enthusiasm for medal collecting reached another level by the 2010s, when social media gave collectors another way to share their passion.
The Facebook page for a collector group called Fiesta Medal Maniacs has over 23,000 followers. Daily posts on the page typically number around a dozen. Another Facebook group called San Antonio Fiesta Medals started in 2015 and has over 25,000 members. Newer, smaller groups have been created. All have the same purpose of sharing their love for the Fiesta tradition of medal collecting.
It’s become a post-Fiesta tradition to have a medal weigh-in to count and weigh the medals a participant collected that year and name a winner. In 2021, the winner of a weigh-in hosted by Monarch Trophy Studio collected 454 medals weighing 35.14 pounds.
For years, the San Antonio Express-News has named the best Fiesta medals from submissions sent by the community, with the contest’s top picks getting bragging rights.
Why the medal enthusiasm?
A Reddit user last year asked why people collect Fiesta medals, trying to understand the appeal.
Collectors answered that it’s all about the tradition of Fiesta.
“Fiesta has been a big part of SA and the medals, to me, help keep that alive in a sense,” one person responded.
Searching for festive flair to fill a sash or snagging a hard-to-find medal is part of the Fiesta fun, some collectors say. For others, Fiesta medals are souvenirs of a good time. Looking at medals collected over the years evokes memories.
With some groups and businesses announcing medal unveilings before Valentine’s Day, the enthusiasm starts early and builds momentum.
As one business promoting its Fiesta medal on Facebook said: “You can’t have a Fiesta without the bling!”
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This article originally published at San Antonio Explained: What’s with the excitement over Fiesta medals.