Thursday 30 August 2012

30/8: Paralympic Sports Poses

Following on from the range of sports pose pins available for the Olympics, London 2012 has issued a range for the Paralympics too.


The pins available (in the Olympic Park stores) were...

Athletics - Sprint
Athletics - Sprint (Visually Impaired with Guide Runner)
Athletics - Wheelchair Racing
Athletics - Shot
Athletics - Discus
Athletics - Javelin
Athletics - Long Jump
Atheltics - High Jump
Wheelchair Rugby
Wheelchair Tennis
5-a-side Football
7-a-side Football
Shooting
Swimming
Wheelchair Fencing
Wheelchair Basketball
Equestrian
Wheelchair Archery
Sailing
Judo
Road Cycling
Track Cycling
Table Tennis
Rowing
Goalball
Boccia

Apologies for the descriptions - they are mine and not whats printed on the pins!

I could not find pins for Sitting Volleyball or Powerlifiting although I imagine they must exist.

It looks like each pin is limited to 2,012 pieces.

There are also two new 'Venue Collection' pins relating to the Paralympics

Pins 1091 and 1094
These pins combine the ParalympicsGB logo and the Agitos and mirror those issued for the Olympics. These pins are limited to 3,000 (blue)  and 5,000 (gold) pieces.

30/8: Paralympic Closing Ceremony Pin - Retail Update

Some of you may know that one online retailer launched the Paralympic Closing Ceremony pin yesterday and then marked it as out of stock soon afterwards.

Therefore it has been decided to allow all retailers to issue this pin, although WHEN it is available is up to each retailer.

I suggest therefore you check out your favourite sources to see who has started to sell the pin.

Tuesday 28 August 2012

28/8: Website Updates

I know I've been a bit slow with the updates since the Olympic Games ended, but I have made the first update to the catalogue today.

It's not as full and update as I would have liked, but to be honest with so many new pins, I thought it was better to make some updates and then fill in details later.

Sports Pose pins added to the catalogue

The commemorative section has been updated with many sets but only contains numbers, names and issue sizes. Pictures and backstamp details etc. will follow.

The ranges added are

Sports Poses
Venue Specific Pins
Coca-Cola
Pin of the Day
Days of the Games

Pride Sports
Street Names
Chalk Hills
and more.

The updates are spread throughout the higher pin numbers, so take a look at those pages or
at the following themed pages. These cover most of the updates

Sports
Venue
Pictograms
Mascots
UK
Daily
London

Venue Sports Logo pins added to the catalogue


I have also updated the grid pages too, but as a number of the pins do not have images yet, they may not show on the grids.

Bear with me, we will get there!

Thanks to Mike B for lots of help with the details of the commemorative pins.

As for sponsor pins, there are now updates for

Thames Water
Ticketmaster
Westfield

More to come.



28/8: Covent Garden Stall & Trafalgar Square

For this week only, there will be a stall in Covent Garden selling London 2012 pins at 3 for £10. I'm not sure of the range available or the exact location, but if anyone is down there, please add a comment to let us know more.

I've also been told that there will be a unit in Trafalgar Square during the Paralympics selling pins too.

Monday 27 August 2012

27/8: Next Unofficial London 2012 Pin Traders Meet

I'm pleased to say that following feedback from those that replied, I have arranged the next pin meet, here are the details...
  • Date: Saturday 13th October 2012
  • Time : 2.30pm
  • Venue: The Railway Tavern, 131 Angel Lane, Stratford, London, E15 1DB
  • Venue Website: http://www.railwaytavernhotel.co.uk
  • Cost: Free
  • Nearest Transport: Stratford Station (National Rail, Central Line, DLR)



We would love to see as many collectors there as possible, whether you're an old-hand or started collecting during the Games. Please come along and meet other collectors and try your hand at some pin trading post-Games. Don't worry of you haven't got much to trade, you'll be very welcome.

I've had lots of emails from new collectors in the weeks leading up to the Games and during the Olympics, so I really hope that many of you will be able to come along to this pin meet.

If you would like to come, then drop me an email to info@londonpins.co.uk and I'll add your name to the list. Whilst there's no obligation to email me (you can just turn up), I keep a list of names that register, so that if we have any freebies to hand out, they are distributed in a first-signed up, first-served process. So the earlier you email me, the more chance you have of getting any free pins.

As usual I will be inviting licensees and sponsors to join us, so we will see who is able to come.

As for the previous meets, the pub is allowing us to use the conservatory free of charge, so please consider buying some food or drink while you are there.

Let's see if we can get the biggest turn out yet for a pin meet in London and hopefully make this the first of a regular pin meets post London 2012.

Friday 24 August 2012

24/8: Paralympic Opening Ceremony Pin

The Paralympic Opening Ceremony pin is now available. This pin complements the Olympic Opening Ceremony pin in that it too has an array of coloured banners exploding from the Olympic Stadium and uses a white logo.

Pin 2011

This pin is limited to 5,000 pieces, half of that for the Olympic version, and given how quickly that sold out, I would imagine this pin will be popular too.

The pin will be available from some retailers from today and from the official London 2012 shop next Wednesday.

24/8: Dates for a Pin Meet

I'm trying to organise a pin meet after the Paralympics and wanted to canvass opinion on the preferred date.

The Railway Tavern in Stratford is available on both Saturday 6th October and Saturday 13th October from 2.30pm on each day.

Please let me know if you have a preference for either date and then I will contact the Tavern. I hope to let them know our preferred date on Sunday, so please leave a comment or email me as soon as you can.

Thursday 23 August 2012

23/8: Chalk Hills Pins

Even though the Olympic Games have finished, London 2012 have released some more 'British' pins. The latest 5 pins depict chalk carvings on hills.

Pin 1795 - Fovant
Pin 1796 - Osmington Horse
Pin 1797 - Long Man of Wilmington
Pin 1798 - Whipsnade Lion
Pin 1799 - Wye Crown

The pins fit together as a puzzle set and each is limited to 2,012 pieces. They are available now.

Wednesday 22 August 2012

22/8: Request for Information

I'm now working on the hundreds of catalogue updates for the pins that came out during the Games and I would like your help please.

I have quite a few retail, sponsor and internal pins that I picked up over the Games, but I know there are lots that readers will have that I do not. So, if you would like to help out with the catalogue, could you please send me a list of the pins you think I should add to the lists.

I know I'm going to get duplicate information, but it's worth it to try and find all the pins that we have between us. At the moment I'm just looking for references, descriptions and pin sizes - photos will come later if you can help me.

So, if you can, please list the pins you know about on a spreadsheet - one column for the reference on the back of the pin and one column for a description of the pin - please keep it as short but as descriptive as possible, and one for the size of the pin in millimetres (width and then height).

Send your lists to info@londonpins.co.uk please. I can't promise to acknowledge everyone immediately, but I'll work through all the details and get back to you if I need more information such as backstamp or card information.

Thanks everyone.

Thursday 16 August 2012

16/8: Coca-Cola Pin of the Day Set

For those of you that have not had a chance to see the Coke Pin of the Day set, here it is.


The 17 pins are presented in a black frame along with the completer 'bottle-top' pin only available in the set.

The frame measures approximately 55x33cm and is presented in a black box which is lined and padded. Each set is numbered and there are 750 sets in total.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

15/8: So, How Was it For You?

Now that I've recovered from a fantastic Olympic Games and man-flu, I thought I'd put together a quick review of my perceptions of the pins and pin trading during the Games. Please remember, this is only a quick round up of what I saw and hopefully over the next few weeks I will be able to pull together details of most of the pins that were around.

Firstly I start by apologising for the lack of news updates and tweets during the Games. I had intended to track what was new day-by-day and publish the information for the benefit of those who were at the venues and those who couldn't make it. Even though experienced collectors had warned me of the frantic activity that would be seen, I never dreamed that the days would be quite so tiring and leave so little time to post. Between going to events with my family (and we were very lucky to see some fantastic sports), pin trading and travelling I never seemed to have the time to collate and post what was happening. Looking at the forum though it seems that people were sharing news where they could.

Anyway, my overriding memory of pin trading during the Games was how much I enjoyed meeting and talking to members of the public who had never seen pin trading before. I made a conscious decision on the first day that if I was going to enjoy my trading, then I needed to keep away from those that were seeking to gather pins to sell. It seemed to me that some 'collectors' were there with a different motive than me and a different attitude toward those that had pins. Once I appreciated that, and avoided them, I had a great time. Did I get as many pins as some - no, did I get all the hard to get ones - no, did I make some duff trades where I gave too much away - yes, did I have a great time and fulfil my original objectives - absolutely. To all those that came to my table and traded or just said 'hello' - thank you, I hope your enjoyed our brief meeting as much as I did.



As for the pins, it seemed that some companies really pushed the boat out with lots of great pins that their staff and guests were happy to trade. Dow is probably worthy of a mention with some great 'in-demand' pins such as the submarine pin, weather pin and the Hopiary pins. Visa had lots of new designs, however thier representatives were a little reluctant to trade. Lloyds and EDF kept up their excellent track record with new pins. There were new pins from Ticketmaster, Cadbury's, GlaxoSmithKline, UPS, Coca-Cola, Airwave and lots more.

There were a bunch of media pins as well as masses of NOC pins too.

I plan to reach out to collectors to gather information on as many pins as possible and update the website with the details. Please bear with me over the next weeks and months as I carry out this task and in the end we'll have a full catalogue of the London 2012 pins.

I plan to set up some more pin meets before Christmas to try and keep all those that want to continue their collecting in touch with each other and see if we can keep the momentum going.

It will all kick off again in a couple of weeks for the Paralympics so there's no chance to rest just yet.

Saturday 11 August 2012

11/8: Olympin Pin Meet - Monday 13th August

The Olympin group have asked me to mention a pin swap they are holding at the Railway Tavern at 6.30pm on Monday 13th August.

Everyone is welcome to come along and try some trading.

Food and drink will be at your own expense.

They will be offering to sign up new members to the Olympin Club and have the last 30 or so 2012 Olympic pins for those that do.

Friday 10 August 2012

10/8: Closing Ceremony Pin

As the end of the Olympic Games draws near, the Closing Ceremony pin will be on sale from later this evening.


Like the Opening Ceremony pin, this one is limited to 10,000 pieces and will probably sell fast too.