8/4: Olympic Village Pins

It looks like each time an Olympic Park venue is finished, a pair of pins may be released. The first residential plot has been completed and two new Olympic Village pins were mentioned on the message board earlier this week.

A reader sent photos of two Olympic Village pins today.

These pins are similar to the velodrome ones issued recently. Like those pins, these new ones include the tagline 'A great team effort' and come in both Olympic and Paralympic versions. These are pins ODA0021. These pins share the same number apparently which is different to the other ODA pins where Olympic and Paralympic versions have consecutive numbers.

6/4: Crowns - Update (2)

Some more detail on the Crowns sets...

The current set, when it comes back on sale, will retail for £150. There have been 300 produced to date and more may be produced depending on sales.

Another set of the same pins will be produced with a different box and frame, this will retail for around £50. I'm assuming that there will be 4,700 of these sets as none of the 5,000 pins are planned to be sold individually.

The deluxe set is back on sale at Glamorous Living, no date on when the new set will be available.

6/4: Pin Meet This Saturday

For those of you interested in attending the "2nd Unofficial London 2012 Pin Collectors 'Pin Meet'", here are the details...

Date: Saturday 9th April 2011
Time: 2.30pm
Venue: The Railway Tavern, 131 Angel Lane, Stratford, E15 1DB
Nearest Station: Stratford (National Rail, Underground, DLR)
Cost: Free, but as we're using the pub for nothing, buying a drink would be appreciated. Here's a link to their website http://railwaytavernhotel.co.uk

Please note that this is a different venue and time from the original invitation a few weeks ago.

This is a perfect opportunity to meet fellow collectors, put faces to names you've only seen on the message boards and maybe try your hand at pin trading.

If you would like more information or want to confirm you're coming, please drop me an email info@londonpins.co.uk.

We hope to see lots of you there on Saturday.

4/4: Crowns Set - Update

The Crowns set that was to be available from today has been withdrawn temporarily. The price quoted originally was £50 for the framed set. However it appears that the sets that were made available today were actually in a deluxe frame which was to be available at a higher price than £50.

I understand that only Glamorous Living have taken orders so far, and they have confirmed to me that any pre-orders will be honoured at the original price stated. Until the matter is cleared up, they have removed the set from sale.

I believe that the framed set shown above WILL be available, but at an increased price. I also believe that the set will be issued in an amended frame at £50 in due course.

So it appears if you managed to get a pre-order in before today, you will be the proud owner of deluxe framed set at a reduced price.

I'll post more details when I have them.

4/4: London Pins and Inside The Games

From today, not only will you be able to find London 2012 pin information on www.londonpins.co.uk but also on another site - www.insidegamescollecting.biz.

This new site is part of the Inside The Games organisation - the number 1 Olympic news website.

Why, you may ask, am I advertising another pin site? Well, it's because insidegamescollecting is powered by London Pins. They are using some of my website as their source!

Late last year, they approached me, and having explained how they would like to cover Olympic collectables, asked me to run a pin collecting section for them on their website. Whilst I didn't want to close down London Pins given the support and encouragement you all have given me, I welcomed the chance to take the catalogue out to a wider audience.

So the solution we came up with is that London Pins will still continue and develop but elements of my site will be provided to insidegamescollecting to be displayed under their brand.

They will have the basic retail, sponsor, internal and bid catalogues as well as the pin articles. They will also have a news page based on my blog and a message board/forum.

I didn't want to lose the current forum given it's activity and history, but regular readers may want to go to the new forum just to register their ids. It's obviously up to you where you want to post discussions in the future. They've asked me to moderate the new forum - so don't think you can get away from me!

Just so you all know, this is not a commercial agreement. I am not getting any financial reward for supplying the data to insidegamescollecting. It's still a labour of love for me over and above my 9 to 5 job. I'm just hoping that the new site and the name of London Pins will reach an established Olympic audience.

So take a look at www.insidegamescollecting.biz and forum.insidethegames.biz, and see what you think.

Remember though, www.londonpins.co.uk is still around and, with your support, will continue to provide a comprehensive service to all pin collectors and traders up to and during the Games.

31/3: Crowns Set

A new set of pins was announced today. The Crowns set comprises of 7 pins in a frame which show Royal Crowns 'through the years'.

The pins show the following crowns:

1066 - Harold II
1216 - Henry III
1461 - Edward IV
1625 - Charles I
1661 - St Edward's Crown (Charles II)
1820 - The State Diadem (George IV)
1837 - Imperial State Crown (Victoria)

Please note, these details are subject to correction as they are based on my poor eyesight and my Ladybird book of Kings and Queens!

Each crown has jewels attached.

The set is priced at £50 and is limited to 5,000 pieces. Pin numbers are 469-475 and availability is from Monday 4th April. I do not believe these pins will be available individually.

Glamorous Living are already taking orders http://www.glamorousliving.co.uk/crowns.html

This set has been released in time for the forthcoming Royal Wedding at the end of April.

28/2: Retail Update

Just a couple of updates as far as retailers are concerned today.

As you all know, the mascot guard pins that were launched on 1st March were exclusive to the London 2012 shops for a month. Glamorous Living have today started stocking these pins, so if you're interested, take a look at http://www.glamorousliving.co.uk/mascotguards.html

The London 2012 shop pin that was also launched on 1st March was originally only available at the new Heathrow T5 shop. That pin is now available at the St. Pancras shop too.

23/3: Pin Collecting Article on London 2012 Website

Those of you that look at the London 2012 website blog will have noticed an article today about pin collecting.

Tom from LOCOG, wrote a piece on pins, pin collecting and a little of the history of the hobby. He also spoke abut some of the designs we may see in the near future.

Click here to take a look.

Why not have a read and leave a comment - see if we can get some more people engaged in the hobby. If you feel like posting a positive comment about londonpins.co.uk - don't fight it! :-)

21/3: New Atos Origin Pin

A new partner pin from Atos Origin was spotted today. This is pin number two from Atos Origin and combines the company logo with a silver 2012 logo.

Pin ATO0002

This pin comes on a card with an image of the Olympic Stadium

If there are any Atos Origin readers out there that would like to contribute one of these pins to the collection, please feel free to email!

Thanks to a reader for the news and pictures.

18/3: Stamp Pins Update

The Royal Mail Olympic Stamp pins arrived today (click here for the original news on these pins), so here's an update.

As mentioned previously, each pin is presented with the matching stamp on a card. The stamp is held in a type of blister pack which exactly fits it, so the stamp does not move.

The card measures 8cm x 10cm and carries the London 2012 brand and logo. The top left of the card contains the name of the collection, the bottom left, the name of the sport and the bottom right the number of the pack in the series.

The back of the card carries a short piece about the sport represented as well as the usual bar code, manufacturer and copyright information. The holographic sticker is also on the back.

The back of the card also lists the next sport in the series, so for example, set 1 - 'Athletics: Track' shows that Cycling is the next in the series, even though the Cycling stamp wasn't released at the same time as this stamp. I presumed that the first pins would run in order and show the first stamps issued.

So onto the pin. Each pin measures 29mm x 29, and is printed. Whilst I'm not a fan of printed pins, the detail and complexity of the images means that soft enamel would be impossible, and in fact the printing suits the fact that this is a 'stamp on a pin'. Here are images of the pin and a close up to show the print effect and the 'perforated' edge

The back of the pin is also printed and has the pattern and information box. The pins have an issue size of 20,000 and are marked

2012-248

<=20000

TM (C) LOCOG 2011

ROYAL MAIL/HONAV

Overall a well thought out collectable, which has been thoughtfully presented.

However, for pin collectors who are only looking for the pin and not the 'pack' there are two things to note.

Firstly, the packs are priced at £7.99. Not too bad for a stamp/pin collectable where the packaging is of good quality. However if you are just interested in the pin, it's a little expensive for a printed pin. Maybe the pins will become available on their own rather than in the pack.

Secondly, each pin has been stuck to the card with a type of small sticky fixer. Presumably this is to stop the pin moving in transit and on display, and therefore ensure the pack always looks correct, rather than the pin spinning upside down. But the glue used is too strong and leaves residue which you need chemicals to remove. If you want to detach the pin from the card to wear or to even see the pin number, you need to slide a knife behind the pin, avoiding damaging the card and then slice the foam fixer so that part stays on the card and part stays on the pin. The part left on the pin needs to be cleaned off with some sort of adhesive remover (without scratching the back) and I've yet to think of a way to remove the sticker left on the card without damaging that. I can't help but wish they had used the type of rubber-glue that publishers use to stick things to the front of magazines. That way the pin could be easily detached and the glue 'rolled-off' the card.

17/3: Coca Cola 500 Day To Go Pin

Here's a picture of the Coca Cola 500 day pin I mentioned a couple of days ago.

Seems like there are already a few on eBay. Some have sold for around £25/£30 and others are listed from £25 to £45 at the time of writing. I'm trying to find out the issue size for this pin. Interestingly, this one does not have a London 2012 logo on it, but the back markings are consistent with the first pin.

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. 

15/3: 500 Day To Go Pins

The only sponsor pins that came to light today were BT and Coca-Cola.

The BT one follows the style of their 1000 days and 2 year pins

No picture of the Coca-Cola one yet, but it is described as having the Olympic rings, a GB flag, a Coca-Cola bottle and '500 Days to Go'. Update soon I hope.

15/3: Ticketing Pin

So, it's 500 days to go, you've just applied for your tickets, and wait!  Here's the opportunity for a pin...

A reader, Pippin, has said that when he made his ticket application, he got the chance to purchase a Ticketing pin.

No word on issue size but given the number of tickets that are available, I guess it's a big number!

I believe that this pin is one of the 2,012 retail pins, but I need to confirm that.

14/3: Countdown Clocks

The countdown clocks were unveiled in Trafalgar Square this evening, and here are a couple of pictures, one showing the Olympic Games countdown and the other the Paralympic Games countdown.

The logos on each clock are illuminated from behind so they glow.

There were no London2012 / Omega pins around during the presentation, but I was lucky enough to see some Omega people as I was leaving (it was actually thanks to my daughter, but that's another story!) and managed to get a generic Omega pin.

The pin is 25x10mm and has no markings on the reverse.

Let's hope Omega or LOCOG release a pin of each clock, the shape would look fantastic on a pin.

13/3: Thomas Cook Pin

Looks like Thomas Cook have released a pin. It is a silver base with the Thomas Cook logo sandwiched between a blue Games logo and the Paralympic logo. The pin is 55mm wide by 28mm tall.
The pins are for staff only and will not be available to the public.

Photo reproduced with permission.

11/3: 500 DTG Pins Available from 9.00am on 12th March

A couple of days ago, there was a comment on the London Pins message board about the being able to buy the 500 day to go pins in advance so that they could be worn on the day.

I'm pleased to say that in direct response to that comment, I've been told that the sale date has been brought forward and the 500 day to go pins will be available for sale from 9am tomorrow morning - Saturday 12th March.

I understand that stock is with some retailers and that they have been told that it can be sold from tomorrow morning.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE check with your preferred retailer before making any journeys just in case they aren't aware or haven't got their stock yet, but my understanding is that some (maybe all) of the retailers will sell 500 day to go pins from tomorrow.

It just goes to show that the blog and forum are read by people with influence!!

Thank you to LOCOG and Honav for listening to the collectors.

11/3: Message Board Unavailable

Apologies, but it looks like the forum message board is unavailable at the moment.

As London Pins is completely non-profit, I use a free service to provide the forum. Unfortunately, this means that the system availability can be a problem at times.

It's not just my message board that is down, it appears to be the entire message board provider, so I guess they are looking at the problem.

Sorry for the inconvenience, and rest assured I'll keep checking to see when it's back.

I'm exploring other avenues to deliver the forum and hope to have some news soon.

Paul.

9/3: Mini Pin

No, not  a smaller version of another pin this time. But a pin of a Mini.

Pin MINI0001

Thanks to a reader for sending me the details. This pin was issued on 1st March to workers at the Cowley plant just outside Oxford where BMW produce the Mini, The pin shows a cream coloured car with an orange logo and the wording 'official partner'.

No word on the issue size.

7/3: New Internal Velodrome Pin

Is it me, or are pins like buses? You wait for ages then all the news comes at once!

Anyway, last one for today...

A new internal ODA pin has been released. Thanks to a reader who sent me news about a pair of pins issued last week, presumably to coincide with the official opening of the Velodrome - the first Olympic Park venue to be completed.

The pin shows the long sweeping lines of the Velodrome roof along with the tagline 'A great team effort'.

The pin comes in two varieties - a blue logo and Paralympic logo. These are pins ODA0012 and ODA0013 respectively and measure 50mm x 17mm. They were issued in bags and not on cards to ODA permanent staff I am told.

Given the popularity of venue pins, I guess this will be on most traders' wish list.

7/3: London 2012 Shop Pin

Along with the new London 2012 shop at Heathrow last week, a new pin was released.

This pin is exclusive to the London 2012 shop and at present only available in Heathrow, although I understand it will be moving into the other shops (St Pancras and Paddington) soon.

This is pin number 535 and is limited to 2,012 pieces.

7/3: 500 Day To Go Pins

Details about the 500 day to go pins are available today.

Four Pins will be available from next Tuesday  - 15th March. Three of them use the irregular shape background, countdown number and date and complement previous countdown pins.

This time however, there is a mascot pin too. Wenlock appears on a 500 day pin.

All pins are limited to 2,012 each making them the smallest issue countdown pin so far. All are priced at £6.50.

Also, no word on retailers, but given these are countdown pins, I expect you'll see them in almost all the standard places.

Update 8/3: St Paul's Cathedral confirmed they will be selling the 500 day pins.

7/3: New Inclusion Pins

London 2012 have released 2 new inclusion pins today. These follow on from the diversity pins issued last year.










The packaging for these pins contains the following panel.




Pin numbers are 387 and 388, they are priced at £5, and they are available now.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

31/1: Retail Update

A few snippets of retail news.

Firstly some more pins officially 'sold out'. By this I mean that the manufacturer has no more stock available for retailers, however some retailers may have stock on their shelves. The Southwark borough pin showing the Globe theatre (pin 222) and the Wenlock mascot pin (232) are both sold out. I understand the remaining stock of the Southwark pin has gone to the Globe theatre themselves. Maybe some tie-in with the international festival of Shakespeare plays being performed as part of the Cultural Olympiad?

Also, a new retailer coming soon - Harrods will be stocking London 2012 pins in the next few weeks.

17/1: Valentines and Welcome to London Pins

The first pins of 2011 have been announced and they should be with us soon.

The first is a pair of pins celebrating Valentine's Day and show Wenlock and Mandeville in front of a large heart in the Union Flag design in 2012 colours.

Valentines 2001 Pins

Each pin is marked 'Happy Valentines Day 2011' and is only available in this limited edition set. The issue size is 2,012 pieces and the RRP is £16.00. This set fits very well with the limited edition mascot set issued alongside the mascot launch and I imagine these will sell fast. Pin numbers are 531 and 532.

No word yet on which retailers will be stocking them, but expect to see them available in the last week of January to give you enough time to buy them before Valentine's Day.

The other new pins announced today are a pair of 'Welcome to London' pins. These are 'dangle' pins which combine the Games logo and Paralympic Games logo with the words ' Welcome to London'.

'Welcome to London' pins

These pins are available separately at RRP of £6.50 and are limited to 10,000 and 5,000 pieces respectively. Pin numbers are 285 and 286. I believe these should be with retailers very soon. Again, no word on who is stocking these initially.

If any retailers are reading and would like to let me know their plans for stocking these pins, please drop me an email and I'll let the readers know.

Update 19/1: Glamorous Living have announced they have limited stocks of the Valentine's pin sets. Click here for their site.

12/1: Pin Bag Available

Ok, so how many of you have your pins in the drawer because you didn't have a way to display or transport them?

Finally the wait is over as the London 2012 official pin bag is now available. The first stockist I have seen with these is Glamorous Living. They are available to buy via their website - click here. They are priced at £45, so if you would like further information, contact them via their website or click here for email. 

With the number of pins available, maybe splitting them into more than one bag such as retail and sponsor may be the way to go, or perhaps one for a collection and one for traders?

I have used this retailer before and can confirm I had excellent service. If you contact them or decide to place an order, please let them know you found out about the bag from londonpins.co.uk.

9/1: Comparison of Guards

Now that the new guards set (exclusive to British Airways at present) has been release this week, I thought I'd show a quick comparison of 3 pins that each have 3 versions.

Version 1: The pin that was release in the guards set at 3 years to go in 2009
Version 2: The pin was that released on the 'doubles' cards in October 2010
Version 3: The 'BA' version released this week

The three pins are shown below. In each photo, version 1 in on the left, version 2 in the middle and version 3 on the right.

Pins 0053, 0237 and 0416

Pins 0052, 0234 and 0417

Pins 0073, 0235 and 0418

The most obvious differences are the increased size and change of placement of the logo in the version 3 pins. However there are some subtle differences too. Look at the numbers of buttons on the sentry guard or  the number and colours of medals on the beefeater.

Feel free to add any comments below if you spot other differences. 

As those pink guards pins will be replaced with red versions as time goes on, there will be even more guards varieties to find!

5/1: Guard Pin Colours

Good news for all of you who think that the pink Guards pins should be red. It seems that following requests from customers, guard pins issued in future will use the red colour rather than the pink.

This will affect the pins 0051-0055 in the Guards set and also pins 0234-0237 issued in pairs on cards. Although these pins are limited to 5,000 each, not all the pins are manufactured in one go. Existing stocks of pins with retailers will be used up and then the next 'batches' produced will be in the red colour. I'm unsure about the set issued yesterday and exclusive to BA, but I think these guards are in red and so unaffected by this change.

So that means for some of the pins, there will be two varieties to collect with the pink variety being rarer than the red. I'm trying to determine the approximate numbers of each variety for each pin and once the new colours are available, I will update the catalogue.

Pin 0237 in both pink and red varieties

Update: I have confirmed that there are less than 200 of each pin issued as 'doubles' on card in late 2010. So less than 4% of the issue will be in pink. This makes this one of the rarer variations at the moment, possibly more so than the pink/purple variations on the early pins.

20/12: Fake ODA Pins

Following investigations and a discussion with an official source, I can confirm that there are 2 fake ODA pins floating around on the pin-trading and eBay circles. These pins are not manufactured by Honav and are not made under licence. They are copies of real pins.

These pins are the Environment pin (ODA0003) and a Heath & Safety pin (ODA0004). These pins originate from China but, in my experience, seem to be appearing in North America. It appears that genuine traders are being caught by these pins, so please be careful. I have seen examples of both and in my opinion, the tell-tale signs are...

ODA0003:

• The text 'Be Considerate' is missing from the pin
• The indentation around the thumb is missing
• The top line of the backstamp says 'LOCOB'
• The backstamp pattern is 'shallow' and uneven

ODA0004:

• The backstamp panel is crooked
• The centre of the zeros in the backstamp are not cleanly punched
• The white enamel in the hi-vis jacket is missing
• The 'London' written in the logo is missing the initial 'L'

Some traders/sellers claim that these are 'first versions' of the ODA pins, but I have had it confirmed that there are no versions/variations of these pins. Honav have created one version of each of these pins which were for ODA internal use only.

19/12: Merry Christmas and Thank You

I would like to say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my readers and their families. Thank you all for supporting me over the last year with snippets of news, photographs, feedback and helpful comments. There are large sections of the website and blog which wouldn't be possible without your contribution.

I hope you like what you have seen this year and as we move into 2011, I'm sure it's only going to get busier with more pins from LOCOG and the sponsors as well as more events. I'm already looking forward to the 500 day to go mark in March and then the 1 year to go in July.

I've been fortunate to have made many news friends this year (even if it is only be email at the moment) and it never ceases to amaze me how friendly and helpful pin collectors are. I've also been lucky enough to have help from key individuals within companies who have provided invaluable information - thank you.

Finally, some statistics for you (Dec09 - Nov10)...

The website has had over 18,400 visits from 84 countries by more than 7,300 separate readers and this news blog has taken over 9,400 hits from 56 countries from over 3,000 distinct readers. In the grand scheme of things it's small, but I'm pleased with what's been achieved this year - here's to 2011.

Paul.

12/12: Promotional Event - Tuesday 14th December 2010

Here's some great news for all pin collectors. The London 2012 shop at Paddington station are holding a promotional event on Tuesday 14th December in the afternoon. I understand there will be pin give-aways and there is a rumour that a limited number of an internal pin may be on offer to collectors. Be sure to get the the shop on the upper level of 'The Lawn' at Paddington Station - just above Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

If you manage to get there, please tell them you heard about it from www.londonpins.co.uk.

Please be aware, I'm still waiting on confirmation of an actual time for this event, if I find out before Tuesday afternoon, then I will post whatever information I hear. All information is offered in good faith and I cannot confirm exactly what is on offer. All I can say is that I will be there and think it's worth it.

If anyone feels like bringing some pin trades with them, I'm sure there will be an opportunity for people to swap pins over a coffee.

See you there.

Update 13/12: I've had confirmation that the event will run from 7.30am until 7.30pm

1/12: Guards Pins - New Version

We've seen the Guards pins in a couple of versions, well early next year there's a new combination produced for British Airways. The pin set will include 4 Guard pins together with the Union Flag logo pin (0011).

BA Guards Pin Set

There are some differences in the Guard pins from previous versions.

• the character/logo colour combinations are new
• the logo positions have changed in some cases
• the horse is now brown instead of white
• the marching soldier pin no longer includes the geometric shape
• the pins are slightly larger than the older versions

There may be more I haven't spotted, feel free to add comments for anything I've missed. Larger images are available in the inventory, the pins are numbered 0415-0418.

The set will retail exclusively through BA on their inflight magazine's website http://www.highlifeshop.com and on their long and short haul flights. No news on whether the set will go to other retailers eventually.

The set will be available from their website on 3 January 2011 and then on long haul flights from 15th January and short haul flights from 1st March.

No word yet on prices.

1/12: Retail Update

News from the Museum of London today that they have stocks of the new mirror pins available in the store and by telephone. They also have replenished stocks of the Lord Mayor's set and Christmas box set.