I think it depends. Long time participant & mentors probably don't care much about the medals. I know my stack has been responsible for pulling more than one poorly placed hanging mount out of the wall!
Personally, I'd love to have a pin from each game I played to go with my programs & other FIRST mementos.
But, if I went back to my honeymoon phase with FIRST (you know, before it became an addiction), I would've much preferred the medal. They just seem much more solid, you know? I think JVN has a very valid point. Getting a medal for the hundreds of hours you put in seems much more significant than a little pin.