27/1: EDF Pins - Wording Varieties and Issue Sizes

Thanks to a reader who pointed out that the EDF Union Flag pin (EDF0012) listed on the catalogue comes in two varieties.

Although both pins are EDF0012, the original (top) pin has the wording 'sustainability partner' whilst the subsequent print uses the wording 'official partner'. Notice too, that on the original pin, the logo has a silver border, whereas on the later pin it does not. The backs of the pins are identical other than the original pin seems to have a more defined texture.

Looking back at information from EDF, I noticed that between December 2011 and May 2012, some of the issue sizes increased - this pin being one of them. Originally the issue size was 1,500 but this was increased to 20,500 nearer the Games. Presumably EDF decided to use this for promotional purposes during the Games and had more produced, but with the new wording. 

This is not the only pin in their range that changed the wording and increased in number...

EDF0008	Olympic 1 YTG	1,000 > 1,500
EDF0012	Olympic Union Flag	1,500 > 20,500
EDF0013	Olympic 300 DTG	500 > 1,000
EDF0014	Paralympic 300DTG	1,000 > 1,700
EDF0017	Paralympic 200DTG	600 > 1,300
EDF0018	Paralympic 100 DTG	600 > 1,000
EDF0019	Olympic 200DTG	500 > 1,000
EDF0020	Olympic 100DTG	600 > 1,100
EDF0021	Olympic Games Time	600 > 1,100

I am assuming that all the smaller sizes were produced as 'sustainability partner pins' and all the increases were produced as 'official partner' pins. I also assume that the 'reprints' were to provide enough sock to issue the countdown boxed sets seen during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I will update the catalogue to reflect the two varieties of each pin and the different issue sizes.

Not only have we seen variations in wording and issue sizes with he EDF countdown pins, but also in the small TM or (R) markings that appear alongside the logo on the pin. To date we have seen variations in pins EDF0014 and EDF0028 where they may use either the TM - Trademark symbol, the (R) - Registered design symbol or no symbol at all.

Thanks to Angela for pointing out the difference which prompted me to investigate further.

27/1: Regional Pins - Classification

As I mentioned earlier, the website has been updated today with the Regional pins. Whilst going through the catalogue today, it struck me, that we can now see a classification of the regional pins and I have therefore slightly amended the names. Hopefully the following explains.

The original issue in 2009 from the regions was 12 pins  - one for each of the Nations & Regions committees. However, not all 12 of the regions were actually prepared to pay for their pins to be issued, so only 8 were ever manufactured. London, Scotland, South West and West Midlands pins were never taken past the prototype stage.

Version 1 pin - No shards on the main panel

Each of these pins featured a coloured Olympic logo against a plain silver geometric shape and the name of the region in the same colour as the logo. The 'London' and Olympic rings in the logo are metal. On the catalogue I now refer to these as version 1 pins an they are numbered REG0001 - REG0012.

Then, closer to the Games in 2011 and 2012, more 'regional' pins were issued, but this time they were aligned to towns, cities or counties who were hosting events as well as the regions. It seems that some areas embraced pins and issued multiples with both Olympic and Paralympic varieties. Others were more modest with a single pin.

These pins have been classified as version 2 in the catalogue and start with pin REG001. These pins once again combine a logo with a silver geometric shape containing the host name, but this time, the silver shape contains coloured shards in the London 2012 branding in the colour of the logo. The 'London' and Olympic rings in the logo are printed.

All of the version 2 pins can be sub-divided into one of 5 designs as shown below...

Version 2 - Design 1

Version 2 - Design 2

Version2 - Design 3

Version 2 - Design 4

Version 2 - Design 5

From what I can tell, all the version 2 pins fall into one of these designs. It's worth noting that design 2 and 5 are very similar, the only difference I can see is that design 2 contains 2 small shards top left and one large shard on the right, whereas design 5 has all 3 shards at the top of the pin.

Check out the Regional page on the website and please let me know if you have any pins that are not listed - either new towns or different colours of existing pins.

27/1: Website Updates - Internal Pins

The website has had another sizeable update today - this time for internal pins.

The catalogue is now complete (as far as I have information) for the following pins

LOCOG
ODA
Regional
TeamGB / Paralympics GB

Click on the links above to view the pages.

If you have any pins, images or details that you cannot find on these pages, please let me know as I may have missed them.

There were a few updates too to some of the partner pages, most notably to the Dow page where I have now listed all 33 country Opening Ceremony pins. I still need good quality photos of the open pins if anyone has some to share.

As always, thanks to everyone who has helped provide information and especially to the reader who helped out with the internal and regional pins.

9/1: London 2012 Collectors Survey

Do you feel like answering some questions about your London 2012 collecting habits - particularly pin collecting?

I was approached just before Christmas by Dr Anna Woodham from the University of Birmingham...

My name is Anna, I'm a lecturer at the Ironbridge Institute, University of Birmingham where I teach and research around the subject of heritage and identity. I'm really interested in exploring the practice of collecting London2012 memorabilia, particularly how people talk about their collections and the stories and memories connected with them as a 'personal' rather than 'official' 2012 legacy.

Before working at the University of Birmingham I worked for the Government Olympic Executive legacy team and LOCOG for a short time and have a small collection of pin badges and other bits and pieces which I am very proud of. I came across your useful website several months ago and I was fascinated by the work you have done and the community that has built up around the collecting of pin badges. I was wondering if you, and perhaps also some other pin badge collectors, would like to take part in a small pilot study? This would involve answering some questions (probably via an online survey) about your collection, how and why you collect pin badges and what they mean to you. Ideally I would like this to develop into a larger project so I would use your answers/other people's answers to understand whether their is potential for some more detailed research questions.

The questions are quite broad and ask about what types of London 2012 memorabilia you collect, why you collect them and how you keep and display them. The survey is anonymous unless participants wish to leave their email address. I'm very happy to share the results of the survey with you and if anyone has any queries about the research I'm doing or how the survey answers will be used I am very happy to chat to people.

If you're interested in taking part, you can access the questionnaire by clicking here.

5/1: Pin Meet - April 2013

Happy New Year to everyone, and to kick the blog off this year, I'd like to announce another pin meet. 

Date: Saturday 20th April

Time: 2:30pm - 6:00pm

Venue: The Railway Tavern, Angel Lane, Stratford, E15 1DB

As usual, there's no cost to attend as the pub has kindly let us have the room for free.

The free pins from P&G will be handed out to those who attend.

I know it will have been a few months since the last one, but hopefully it will give everyone time to find a few new trades!

As always, everyone is welcome. Whether you're an old hand or a novice collector I'm sure you'll enjoy the afternoon.

There's no need to register for the freebies, but if you want to drop me a line to info@londonpins.co.uk it will help me to gauge how many people we may get.