My Olympic Pin Collection

Pin trading has developed its own set of customs and guidelines. Helped along by the global popularity of Disney collectors and their pin trading as well as by worldwide Olympic sponsor, Coca-Cola (whose own fans collect and trade pins), several best practices have emerged. Among them:

Basic Etiquette
Trade one pin at a time, hand to hand. For safety, trade pins with the backs attached. Please refrain from touching another person's pins or lanyard. If you need a closer look, ask the person wearing the lanyard if they can bring it into clearer view for you.

Don't Interrupt
If two parties are making a trade, it is unfair for another trader to interrupt the deal with a better offer or a more exciting bid. If one or the other of the original traders declines the trade, then you have the right to make a counter-offer. It is not fair to traders to have others competing while they are trying to make decisions.

Fair Trades
A Fair Trade is one where both parties involved get what they want and are happy with the deal. If you are unsure whether or not a trade is a good one, ask around to see what other traders are offering. It is considered unsportsmanlike to take advantage of younger and inexperienced traders!!! It is your responsibility to let them know the approximate "value" of what they have for trade and to trade fairly with them. Remember that it is acceptable to decline a trade. You don't have to make any trade that you aren't happy with.

For more details, see:

• Disney Pin Trading Guide (pdf)


• Coca-Cola Olympic Pin History (pdf)


• Pin Trading Guide from Destination Imagination (pdf)

Image from Vancouver 2010 Olympic Store

The popularity of pin collecting has certainly been recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the Vancouver Games are no exception. VANOC (the official Games entity in Vancouver) has pulled together this brief overview of the history of pin collecting in a brochure for pin collectors.

When you start collecting Vancouver 2010 pins, you become part of a tradition that dates back to the establishment of the modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896.

Athens 1896: First team pin is issued by the German team.

Stockholm 1912: First official Olympic souvenir Games pins sold to spectators. The most popular pin depicts the official poster of the Games.

Paris 1924: First Olympic Athlete Village facilitates pin trading among athletes and officials. Athlete pins from Sweden, Holland, Poland, Great Britain, Switzerland and France are the most popular.

Helsinki 1952: First corporate sponsor pin is produced by a Finnish margarine company.

Squaw Valley 1960: Sylvania Electric becames the first sponsor to produce a pin with the Olympic rings. Availability and popularity of pin trading increases.

Lake Placid 1980: Pin trading fever catches hold as thousands of "pinheads" roam Lake Placid's main street. The Olympin Collector's Club, with members from 35 countries, is formed in 1982.

Los Angeles 1984: Pin trading becomes the "Official Olympic Spectators Sport" for all future Olympic Games. Sam the Eagle mascot pins are a big hit. An estimated 17 million pins in over 1000 designs are collected or traded. The first Pin Collector's Guide, outlining the basic rules of pin trading and listing all the pins produced for the 1984 Games, is published.

Calgary 1988: Coca-Cola sponsors the first Pin Trading Center, a tradition that has continued at every Olympic Games since then. The most popular pins collected were the Jamaican Bobsled and Calgary snowflake logo pins. The Calgary Pin Collector's Club is formed shortly after the Games.

Atlanta 1996: Pin trading and collecting reach new heights. The Atlanta Organizing Committee reported over 30 million retail and corporate sponsor pins were sold or traded. Day pins become popular among traders.

Salt Lake 2002: Retail pins are in demand with traders as much as corporate sponsor pins. Sought after retail pins include Green Jello, the 3.2 beer stein, Missionaries on bicycles, Mitt Romney with mascots, funeral potatoes and other designs featuring Salt Lake lifestyle and heritage.

Torino 2006: The Torino Olympic Organizing Committe's "Look of the Games" multi-layer colour graphics introduce a unique design feature into pins. This feature has been continued by the Vancouver Organizing Committe's "Sea to Sky" graphics.