21/1: Pin Meet - Thank You

A quick post to say thank you to everyone for making today's pin meet at John Lewis in Westfield, Stratford City such a success.

In particular...

John Lewis - for hosting us in such a magnificent venue and laying out a wonderful display

Honav - for providing some frames of pins to view and giving us a taster of what's to come

BT, Cadbury and Lloyds TSB - for offering free pins to the collectors that registered and attended

Coca-Cola - for sharing some pin centre news and talking to collectors about potential new pins

Inside the Games and BBC London 2012 - for interviewing some of us for articles on pin collecting that we should see next week

and not forgetting all the collectors, old and new, who joined in. From the conversations I had, I think there were some pretty successful  trades made today. I sincerely hope the people that joined us for the first time felt welcomed by the group and are encouraged to come back next time. Apologies to those who I didn't get a proper chance to talk to, the time just flew past.

More details and potential event dates to come over the next few days.

19/1: NOC Pins for Kiribati and North Korea

Two new National Olympic Committee (NOC) pins were released on 16th January by Kingdom Pins. Kiribati and North Korea each issued a pin to support their London 2012 campaigns.

Kiribati

North Korea

Each pin is limited to 200 pieces and is available from the Kingdom pins website, Each purchase of a pin contributes to the country's NOC.

18/1: Mascot Rainbow Pin

Wenlock has appeared on a new slider pin. He is shown carrying an umbrella 'floating' on a rainbow. No word on issue size yet, but the pin has been spotted on Glamorous Living's site priced at £15.

Pin 0701

17/1: Icons of Wales Pins

The latest in the Icons of the UK pin shave been released. This time they celebrate Wales. There are 7 pins in the set and each is limited to 2,012 pieces.

The subjects featured are (with apologies to the Welsh if I get any of these wrong!)...

• Daffodil
• Castle (can anyone help me out with which one?)
• Welsh Dragon
• Hills and sheep
• Love spoons
• Harp
• Coracle

Pin 0980

Pin 0981 

Pin 0982 

Pin 0983 

Pin 0984 

Pin 0985

Pin 0986

In my opinion, the Welsh Dragon is a fantastic pin, one of my favourites so far. I think some of these would be very popular on St David's Day in March. Each pin is priced at £7

17/1: EDF Update

Two items of news from EDF today...

The issue size for the recent 200 day to go pin has been confirmed as 500 pieces. There have been reports that the issue size was 200, but I've had it confirmed that it's definitely 500.

At the end of December I mentioned two internal EDF pins - click here to read the post. At the time I mentioned that EDF would not be issuing these pins to the public, but they have received numerous requests from collectors. They've asked me to point out that they do not have the pins available and will not be able to respond to requests for them.

Please remember that EDF are one of the sponsors that do support pin collectors and issue pins when they can, but on this occasion, the two pins mentioned will not be distributed to the public.

15/1: Inside The Games Pin for New Year

Inside the Games have issued a new pin which marks the fact we are now in the Olympic Year. There are no other retail or sponsor pins identified that mark the fact that 2012 is here.

Pin ITG0004

15/1: EDF 200 Days To Go Pin

EDF are the latest sponsor to have released a pin to celebrate the 200 days to go date last Monday. This pin continues the fireworks theme they introduced at 1 year to go.

EDF0019

It is the 3rd pin in the series following 1 year to go and 300 days to go. Issue size is 500 pieces.

11/1: Pin Meet Times Confirmed

I am now able to confirm that the pin trading meet at John Lewis on Saturday 21st January will start at 12pm. The store opens from 9am until 8pm (Click here for John Lewis store information), but it seems best to wait until midday to allow those who come from a little further away to have time to get into London.

We have the Stadium Suite space all day but I think most people will start drifting away around 4pm.

I've had a few questions about the protocol or type of trading that takes place. To those that are not sure, the basic principle is to bring whatever pins you wish to trade. Don't worry if you think that they are not that exciting or unusual, you may find that you have just the pin someone is looking for! The main subject of the trades are London 2012 sponsor and internal pins, but that;s not to say that retail pins or pins from other Games are not traded. Remember, if both parties are happy with the swap - it's a good trade.

As for transport, looking at the TfL site (click here and then click on Future Dates and enter 21 Jan), it appears that all the overground and underground lines into Stratford are working. There is an outage on one DLR line through the station, but overall it appears that public transport will be functioning well in the area that day.

If you're still not signed up and think you would like to come, please drop me a line at info@londonpins.co.uk.

11/1: No new Team GB pin for the Youth Winter Games

In case anyone was hoping for a new Team GB pin for the Youth Winter Games staring this weekend, I've had it confirmed today that a new design was not issued. The athletes and officials competing in Innsbruck from this weekend will be wearing the TGB0002 pin originally issued for the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore back in 2010.

11/1: Paralympic Ticketing Pin

The Paralympic ticketing pin has been released. Successful applicants who received tickets in the Paralympic allocation have started to receive their ticketing pins if they ordered them.

Pin 0626

This pin shares the same design as the Olympic ticketing pin, but the colours are different as is the logo. The backstamp indicates there are 50,000 if these pins being produced, but we will have to wait to see how rare they are. This number is half of the number of Olympic ticketing pins made. The card on which the pin comes is yet another version of the type 3 cards using a different colour combination of blue and orange seen on the pin itself.

The Olympic pin is shown again for reference.

Pin 0478

10/1: Pin Meet News

A short update on the forthcoming pin meet on Saturday 21st January in John Lewis, Westfield Stratford City.

Registration for the meet has now exceeded all the previous sessions and we will have nearly 30 traders at the venue. There are 8 new names on the list too, so if you're reading this and thinking of coming to your first meet, there will be plenty of other 'first-timers' there too. Feedback from previous meets from those who were new to the hobby spoke of a positive experience, so please consider joining us. Don't forget, if it's not for you, you can still go shopping!

I'm pleased to say that Honav, Coca Cola and Lloyds Banking Group will be represented at the meet and as well as the BT pins that were offered, I'm delighted that Cadbury's have also offered us some pins too.

I'm still waiting for the timings to be confirmed with John Lewis, but at the moment, the plan is to start at 12pm. There's no fixed end time, but I imagine people will start to leave when they are ready and we'll be all done by around 4pm. I will email all confirmed attendees a couple of days before the meet to confirm the times.

If you would like to join us or see some more details, then please click here

6/1: New Lloyds TSB and Bank of Scotland Pins

Lloyds Banking Group have announced 4 new pins which comprise their brand logos and Games logos. These composite pins replace the original rectangular pins released back in 2010. They will be available with both Lloyds TSB and Bank of Scotland logos and in Olympic and Paralympic varieties.

LLY0018

LLY0019

BOS0009

BOS0010

I understand that these pins are not restricted to staff only. I have no information on issue sizes at the moment, but hope to be able to update you soon. I think these make an excellent set of 'standard' pins from a sponsor using the frosted silver background and shiny logos and words in relief.

5/1: Countdown News

With 200 days to go to the Olympic Opening Ceremony, here are a few news snippets...

A new Facebook page and Twitter account has appeared marking the Olympic countdown -https://www.facebook.com/supportursport. or @supportursport. This is a legitimate and official site and offers a competition with prizes including an Olympic Stadium tour and test event tickets.

I hear rumours of possible 200 day to go pin promotional events on Monday, but have no more details than that at the moment. Updates here if I get anything.

Finally, you can read my latest article for Around the Rings at by clicking this link. This one deals with the London 2012 countdown pins issued so far.

4/1: Pride the Lion Pins

Pride the Lion, the Team GB mascot, joins Wenlock and Mandeville in having his own pin badges.

A set of 5 pins have been announced today showing Pride in a variety of poses: standing, draped in the Union Flag, running, holding the Union Flag and on the top step of the podium.

Pin 0995

Pin 0996

Pin 0997

Pin 0998

Pin 0999

Each pin is printed and limited to 200,000 pieces. No word on price at the moment, but expect to start seeing them at your favourite retailers very soon.

2/1: BA Language Pins

A new set of pins has been issued by BA. Once again, these are internal pins used to reward success within the company. My understanding is that BA staff undertake training in various languages and the pins are earned as part of that training.

To my knowledge, there are 10 pins in the series covering the following countries...

• UK
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Pakistan
• Poland
• Portugal
• Spain

Each pin uses a combination of BA logo and London 2012 logo along with the flag from the country and the word 'Hello' written in the corresponding language.

29/12: New EDF Internal Pins

News of 2 EDF pins which are internal to the company and unlike their previous pins, will not be issued to the public.

EDF0011

EDF0015

Pin EDF0011 is the Supporters' Club pin. I believe this club is an internal promotion of the Games within EDF. I have no information on pin EDF0015 but given there is a star in the design, I'm guessing it is some sort of award or recognition pin. EDF0011 is limited to 2,000 pieces and EDF0015 to 500.

Please remember these are internal pins and will not be issued to the public. EDF will not be responding to requests for these pins. EDF are one of the best sponsors for engaging with and supporting collectors and are happy to send out pins where they can, but these two will not be available.

21/12: Royal Mail Stamp Pin - Aquatics

For those of you waiting to complete your set of Royal Mail stamp pins, some good news. The Aquatics pin that has been absent since the original launch back in the spring is now available.

The pin is contained in the pin and stamp set and is now available from the Royal Mail (08457 641 641) -  code NB0036 I believe. I presume it will soon be available in stores, most notably John Lewis who stock the range. I understand that the final pin in the set of 30, table tennis, should be released early next year.

19/12: Merry Christmas and Thank You

I would like to wish all the London 2012 pin collectors and readers of my website and blog a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank you all for your support, whether it's supplying news and pictures, passing on rumours, suggesting improvements or even correcting my spelling.

I never imagined that when I started the blog almost 3 years ago, that it would grow like this. That growth is down to you too with the support that you have all shown.

It's been great to meet lots of you and the pin events and email even more of you. I've made some amazing friends even if I've never met some of you face-to-face! I hope that I'll get to meet lists more people as we get to the Games.

I'm sure that next year will be manic. I'm not sure if I'll survive, but I hope I have fun trying!

And finally, for those of you, like me, who like statistics...

Since I started monitoring activity on the website (December 2009) there have been 69,389 visits from 23,264 unique visitors in 121 countries. In the last 4 months, the site is averaging over 5,000 visits per month. The blog has has around 35,000 visits  from nearly 10,000 unique visitors in the same time.

Thanks again for all your support and here's to 2012!

18/12: New Aminco Retail Pins Released

Some new Aminco retail pins have been released for the US market. These pins continue the pictogram series.

The latest pins cover the following sports...

• Water Polo
• Archery
• Road Cycling
• Track Cycling
• Dressage
• Hockey
• Judo
• Rowing
• Table Tennis
• Taekwondo
• Tennis
• Weightlifting

Further pictogram pins will be available in January.

The mascot sports series also continues. These seem to use the same images as the Honav set with the addition of the geometric shape background and the logo

As for the other Aminco pins, these are for sale only in the US and not for the UK market.

15/12: New Lloyds TSB Sponsor Pin

A new Lloyds TSB pin has been issued. This one is the result of a internal design competition and was won by a young girl - Katie Johnson.

Pin LLY0017 on card

Reverse of card

The pin shows a girl diving and being marked by three judges. The pin uses a print technique for the people and sparkly enamel for the 3 shades of water - a great effect. The new Lloyds composite logo is also shown

This is pin LLY0017 and comes on a special card which explains the competition on the reverse. There were 100 of these pins made and all have been issued to Lloyds TSB staff. This make it the rarest sponsor pin in the catalogue so far.

13/12: New NBC 'Mega' Pin

News from a reader in the US. A new 'mega-pin' will be released by NBC. I'm told it's a large 3D pin which weighs a lot and comes in a round metal tin. The retail price will be $65.

Pin NBC0012

It looks like the standard London icons such as Big Ben, Tower Bridge and a London Bus have been included along with an NBC London 2012 shield.

13/12: Coca Cola Update

A brief update from Coca Cola with a few more details about their plans for both the Coca-Cola Pin Trading Centres (CCPTC) and Olympic Torch Relay (OTR) next year.

Pin Trading Centres
The locations for the Olympic Park and Central London venues are almost finalised and they hope to be able to announce details in the New Year. There will also be a pin trading opportunity within the Athletes' Village. This will be a low key area in one of the spaces within the Village with access limited to discrete times of the day for a few pin traders.

Plans for the volunteers are still being finalised by Coca-Cola, but they have confirmed that there will be interviews next year to determine who will be offered a role as a Coca Cola pin ambassador. Successful ambassadors will be provided with a uniform for the times they are in the CCPTC. Initial thoughts are that trading hours will be around 10am to 10pm in the park and 8am to 10pm in London, so there should be plenty of volunteering opportunities. Coca-Cola will be working on more detailed plans for the centres next year and at that time will be talking with representatives from pin collectors in the UK and overseas in order to canvass their opinions on pin trading centres.

Olympic Torch Relay
As for the Olympic Torch Relay, there will not be a Coca-Cola retail pin for every stop on the route, but there will be pins to mark five locations where Coca-Cola are hosting an event on the relay. Merchandising and pin plans are still being discussed within Coca Cola, but the thinking seems to be that collectors will be able to pick up a full set of retail Coca-Cola OTR pins without touring the country. How and where the pins may be purchased is still not confirmed.

The first internal Coca Cola OTR pin has been issued (COC0007) and it is only available to certain employees, it was not distributed company wide.

COC0007

Finally, Coca-Cola hope to attend the pin meet in January to update us on their plans.

13/12: New Sponsor Pins

A few new sponsor pins were added to the catalogue this weekend.

These were the first pin from security firm G4S combining their logo with the 2012 logo. Two more pins from Rio Tinto and also another Panasonic pin showing Wenlock - this time playing basketball.

G4S0001

RIO0001

RIO0002

WWL-PAN0003

Take a look at the catalogue for higher resolution images.

13/12: New Regional Pin

Thanks to a reader, here's news of another LOCOG regional pin. Even though the North West region issued a pin (REG0005) back in 2009, it seems that another has appeared.

Pin REG0019

The pin shape and logo colour is the same as the previous version, but the text of "North West" has now been replaced with "England's Northwest". Not only that, but the same reader believes that 2 other North West pin exist too. There's no information as to whether this is a new pin or if it was issued at the same time as the original.

11/12: Mascots Try for a Free Pin!

Honav hosted a small pin promotion in John Lewis, Oxford Street yesterday. There was the chance to win a free Snowman or Snowflake pin on the roll of the dice. Wenlock and Mandeville were on site as part of a general London 2012 promotion and decided to stop by to try their luck.

In the end, Mandeville proved to be more successful than Wenlock, but both mascots enjoyed themselves.

A number of people stopped by to ask about London 2012 pins as well as choose their favourite mascot sport or pictogram pins.

We also had the chance to meet an Olympic Gold medallist! A lady approached the pin displays and asked if there were any shooting pins. After showing her the Wenlock sports pin, we found out that she was Chiara Caneiro from Italy who won gold in Beijing at Women's skeet shooting.

11/12: Pin Meet 5 - Sponsor Support

I'm very pleased to confirm that BT have kindly offered pins to collectors who register and attend the pin meet in January. The meet falls shortly after the 200 days to go mark and BT are issuing a 200 day to go pin which they have offered to those who attend the meet.

So, please make sure you register if you plan to attend as, if pins are limited, they will be offered to those who signed up on a first-come, first-served basis.

The BT pin is limited to 4,000 pieces (as the 300 day pin was) and follows the design of the other BT countdown pins. Image to follow soon.

Thank you to BT for supporting the pin meet yet again.