16/3: Fake Pins

In the last couple of days, 2 separate readers in 2 different countries have both sent me emails which they have received offering them London 2012 pins. These emails state they are offering official London pins but the emails did not come from Honav, the only official licensee who can maufacture retail pins.

The emails included pictures or the pins that were available and I have reproduced them here. I obviously don't have permission from the originator of the emails to do that, but I think the end justifies the means this time. The pins being offered are fakes and do not originate from the official manufacturer and honest collectors and traders are paying high prices for these on auction sites.

You will see from the images that they are offering rare ODA pins such as the builder and environment pins. Click here for my post on these fakes back in December 2010. They are also offering the sold out mascot pins. Click on the images to enlarge them.

The white areas in the images are where I have blanked out the manufacturer detail. I'm not here to name names, I'm just trying to warn honest collectors that a number of fakes are around and identify the pins that might be suspect.

Remember that all new retail pins come on a backing card with the Olympic hologram to prove authenticity. Any new retail pin offered in a plastic bag should be queried. To check what the backing cards look like, please take a look at my website. Click here for the link. As far as possible I list the version or colour of the backing card associated with the pin.

Please look out for these pins when you buy or trade. If you are trading with someone new to you, ask for photographs of their pins being offered, not a generic picture or one from my site with the site address cut off.