Thursday 24 February 2011

24/2: Logistics and Security Pins

There has been a thread on the forum about an internal ODA pin seen on passengers on the DLR in late January. Here are the pins in question.

ODA0010

ODA0011

These pins are numbered ODA0010 and ODA0011 and measure 31x37mm. No details on how they are distributed, so any readers that have any news they could share would be appreciated.

24/2: Mascot Guards (Update)

A couple more pictures of the mascot guards due out next Tuesday. This time you can see them on their new style backing cards.



This time the cards are themed to the pin, so Wenlock dressed as a sentry stands in front of  a sentry box and Mandeville dressed as a Beefeater poses in front of the Tower of London. This is the first time we've seen this style of card and I think it sets off the pin very well. There is wording on each card that describes the pin, so if you decide to store the card separately, it will be easy to match card and pin again. Another difference between these cards and previous versions is that they are single thickness and presented in plastic bags rather than the folded cards used to date.

Finally a clarification of the availability I gave you previously. These 2 pins will be available exclusively through the official London 2012 store (online and shops), but only for the first month. From the beginning of April they will be available to all retailers.

Monday 14 February 2011

14/2: Pin Meet

Update - Latest Plan
  • Date: Saturday 9th April 2011
  • Time: 2pm
  • Venue: View Tube (just outside the Olympic Park)
  • Transport: DLR to Pudding Mill Lane. Click here for directions

In honour of the 500 DTG milestone (and the fact that it's sunny today and I feel spring is coming), I was wondering if there was any interest in a pin meet/trade session sometime in early April. This would be the second "un-official" get-together, and whilst the first was attended by a small (but beautifully formed) group, we would love to see as many people as possible who are interested in swapping pins or just chatting to like minded collectors.

The suggestion is that we meet at the View Tube just outside the Olympic Park, but all other suggestions are welcome. Potential date is Saturday 9th April as this would give enough time for some 500 day pins to surface from sponsors if we're lucky. Again, I'm open to other ideas, I'm just trying to get the ball rolling.

I think those that attended the first meeting found it friendly and interesting, so please don't be shy. If you can get to London fairly easily on a Saturday afternoon and would like to see what other pin collectors have to trade, then please get in touch. You can leave a comment on this post, or drop me a line at info@londonpins.co.uk.

Thursday 10 February 2011

10/2: Stamp Pins

More new pins are coming. This time they are pins of the Olympic stamps issued in 2009. For those of you not aware of Royal Mail's Olympic products, they are producing 30 stamps representing the Olympic and Paralympic sports. They are being issued 10 at a time. 10 in 2009, 10 last year and 10 this year (27th July). Each stamp is designed by a different designer and therefore do not have a common design theme. I don't think everyone will like every stamp, but I think there's something in there for everyone.

Anyway, back to the pins. Nine of the first stamps issued in 2009 have been reproduced as pins which 'count' as part of the 2,012 retail pins. They are available from the Royal Mail and I presume will be available through the official London 2012 shops and online before long.

The pins are printed rather than soft enamel as the detail on most of the images is so fine that enamel would not be suitable for manufacture.

Olympic Stamps - Set 1

The pins are available packaged with a mint stamp of the same design in 9 individual sets. That means you're not obliged to buy all the pins if you have your favourites. I don't know if they are available in any other format (e.g. pins only or all pins in one set), the only products I've heard of so far are the individual pin/stamp sets.

Each stamp and pin set is priced at £7.99 and is available from the Royal Mail. I haven't seen them on their website, however they are available from their telephone order line - 08457 641 641. P&P is £1.45 per order.

The item numbers of the pins are :

NB032-Canoeing
NB034-Archery
NB035-Athletics - Track
NB037-Boccia
NB038-Judo
NB039-Equestrian
NB040-Badminton
NB041-Weightlifting
NB042-Basketball

9/2: Pin Checklist

LOCOG and Honav have issued a pin checklist which lists all the retail pins issued up to the end of September 2010. It's in the form of a fold out sheet with images, issue size, RRP and pin number. There's also a 'tickbox' for you to check when you have it in your collection.

I think these will be updated as when enough new pins have been issued to warrant a new version being printed. It's an excellent handy visual guide to the pins and will hopefully convince the casual pin buyer that there are ranges that can be collected.

I understand that these will be given away with a pin purchase in the London 2012 shops.

You can download a scan of the checklist from the website download page or click here to open the file.

Wednesday 9 February 2011

9/2: New Wenlock & Mandeville Pins

Wenlock and Mandeville are soon to appear in two new pins. They are dressed as a guard and a beefeater in their latest outing.


These should be available from 1st March and will be available only in London 2012 shops and on the London 2012 online store. No word on price or issue size for now.

Thursday 3 February 2011

3/2: Mini Union Flag Pin

News today of a new 'mini' logo pin in the Union Flag design available in the next couple of weeks. It's 15mm x 15mm approximately and limited to 500,000 - the largest numbered edition so far.

Mini Union Flag logo pin

No word on retailers or price yet.

Some collectors may remember we saw some fake mini logo pins on eBay a couple of years ago. They seemed to fade away when collectors realised they weren't real. Newer collectors should be careful if the launch of this genuine 'mini' logo pin causes the re-appearence of some fakes.