Olympic Pins
Pin collecting is a popular hobby among Olympic enthusiasts. Whether it is trading, selling or buying, there are some very enthusiastic collectors out there. With the Olympic Games always on the horizon, there will be continued interest in this hobby. Pin collecting is one of my hobbies, and you can see some of my Olympic pin collection.
History
Olympic pin collecting dates back to the very first Modern Olympics in 1896 in Athens. The "pins" were actually cardboard disks, designed as colourful badges to identify athletes, officials and the media. Some people started exchanging their badges and a tradition was created.
Popularity
With each new Olympic Games also comes "pin fever" as thousands of Olympic pin traders pop up with renewed interest, while new pin collectors are recruited at each Olympic Games. This makes pin collecting one of the fastest growing hobbies. It is also a changing market too as at the time of the games pin collecting is crazy, and then three months from the closure of the games it dies down again. Pins that were in high demand during the games suddenly drop in prices.
Types of Pins
Olympic Pins are produced by countries, corporations and Olympic Sponsors from all over the world. All depicting the spirit of the games, the pride of their country, along with advertising their companies.
Pins come in a variety of categories, such as:
- NOC pins
- Sport pins
- Logo pins
- Mascot pins
- Sponsor pins
- Special editions
- Miscellaneous
Pin Price Guide
There is not an official pin price guide, which is both good and bad. A pin is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. You can have a pin you feel is worth a lot, but without a buyer all you have is a pretty piece of metal in your collection.
Related Pages
- About pin collecting
- My Olympic pin collection and also my collection of Sports and Other Pins
- Collecting Olympic Memorabilia
- Olympic Coins
- Online Store: Books about Pin Collecting
- Online Store: Collectible Pins
- Online Store: Olympic Games Pins
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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