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.

30/11: Message Board Bandwidth Problem

Apologies for the lack of message board over the last 2 days.

I use a free hosting service and it seems that their entire site has the bandwidth problem - not just my message board - honest!!

I hope that as we move into December tomorrow the limit will be reset and all will be available again.

Once again, sorry for the outage, but I hope you all appreciate that as this is a labour of love with no outside funding, I have to use free services where I can, and as a result sometimes there may be issues with availability.

Paul.

23/11: Another New Visa Pin

Hot on the heels of the 'Skyline' visa pin seen earlier this month comes another Visa Worldwide pin. This one was spotted late last week. Again, this is manufactured by Aminco under Visa's worldwide licence.

8/11: Mirror Pins & Snowflake Pin

2 new retail pins will be launched on Wednesday (11/11). These pins are 'mirror' pins and show the Games and Paralympic logos. Unlike the previously shiny metal logo pins (LOC0003 & 4), these ones are actually made of mirror I believe. Pins are limited to 10,000 each and the RRP is £6.50.

No word yet on stockists or timescales to get them on the shelf, but as soon as I hear anything I'll update this post.

---

Hot on the heels of last week's Christmas set, an individual Snowflake pin has appeared today. It's a white snowflake with blue 2012 logo much like pin 45 but in soft enamel rather than metal and gems. Limit on this one is 50,000 I understand. At the moment, the only retailer I know with this one is Pins and Things, but I dare say others will be stocking it.

Update 9/11: The Museum of London is now stocking the Christmas pin

2/11: New Visa Worldwide Pin

A new Visa worldwide pin was spotted today.

It's a lovely looking pin combining the London skyline with the Visa logo in blue. This one is not produced by Honav, but under the Visa worldwide licence and manufactured by Aminco.

2/11: Images of Lord Mayor and Christmas Pins

Following on from last week's posts regarding the Lord Mayor's Show and Christmas pins, here are some images of what the pins will look like.

Click on the images to view them at full size.

Update: Take a look at the Lord Mayor's carriage pin. It is in fact 2 pins - the horse and coach are separate. Now look at the logo - it's only on the horse pin. That means the coach pin is a 2012 pin without a logo.

Update 2: An email from the Museum of London issued on 3/11 states that they plan to sell the Lord Mayor's set from 10 November and the price will be £50.

2/11: New London 2012 Shop in Paddington

The second official store opened at Paddington station yesterday. You can find it in 'The Lawn' shopping area on the second floor (above the Krispy Kreme shop!). Whilst it's not as big as the St Pancras store, it has a good range of stock (including models and clothing) and a comprehensive pin wall. If you're in the area, stop by and visit Lyris and her team.

Store front

Pin Wall

Clothing

Models and umbrellas

If you decide to go to the shop, please remember to tell them you heard about it on the blog/website - Thanks.

28/10: Christmas Pins

A set of Christmas pins will be released on 1 November.

There are 2 individual pins depicting a snowflake and a snowman and also a set containing 5 pins - a Christmas tree, snowflake, snowman, present and wreath.

The individual pins are priced at £4 and limited to 50,000 and the set is priced £30 and limited to 5,000. The designs in the set will not be sold individually.

Image to follow.

27/10: Lord Mayor's Show Pins

A new set of pins are to be released to celebrate the Lord Mayor of London and the Lord Mayor's show. There are 6 pins in the set which is limited to 5,000 and will retail at £45. The sets will be available online and in the official London 2012 shop and also from the Museum of London.

The 5 pins include images of the Lord Mayor's coach, the Lord Mayor himself and Gog & Magog, the giant protectors of London.

Image to follow soon.

25/10: London Boroughs Pin Set

When the London Borough pins were released back in the summer, 100 framed sets were created for VIPs and local councils. Honav have now announced that due to popular demand, 70 of the 100 sets will be made available to the public for £250 per set.

They will be available online and in the store.

21/10: Sainsbury's Pin - Potential Availability

Interesting development today - a reader contacted Sainsbury's and asked about their pins and received the following response

Dear Xxxxxxxxxx

Thanks for your email.  I’m grateful for your interest in our London Paralympics 2012 badge.  We will be selling these in our stores very soon to help raise funds for the Paralympic games and the athletes.

I hope that you can obtain one of the badges to add to your collection.  We’re grateful for you taking the time to get in touch and look forward to seeing you in store again soon.

Kind regards


Customer Manager


It looks like the Sainsbury's pins will be the first sponsor pins to be made generally available 'on the high street'. No word on whether the pins on sale will be the ones issued so far, but there were 160,000 of them!

Hopefully this move will promote the London 2012 pins generally to a wider audience. Time will tell.

20/10: Pin Meet - Ideas/Interest Wanted

A couple of readers have suggested that it would be good to meet up and trade some pins. This would be a completely unofficial get-together and allow us to put faces to names we have come across during the year. How do you feel about a meet somewhere in London at the back end of November? There's no budget so don't expect a lavish venue!! Suggestions have been the Museum of London or the View Tube at Stratford, but I'm open to ideas. It doesn't matter if it's 2 or 3 of us, or whether we can pack out Wembley, I'd be interested to know if anyone would like to join in.

You can add comments to this blog post or drop me an email at meet@londonpins.co.uk. I'll give it a week or so and then see what the consensus is.

Sorry to those of you who aren't based around London, but we have to start somewhere. Hopefully if we get enough interest to get a sponsor on board (and some of them read this blog), then maybe we can get more adventurous in the New Year. Maybe even something 'official' (whatever that means) for the 500 DTG in March.

So, let me know what you think and I'll see what can be arranged.

7/10: Royal Parks Pins - Update 12/10

News today that a set of 8 pins will be released imminently, possibly next week, to showcase the Royal Parks. The pins will be available individually and as a set. There are 3,000 of each pin being produced, with only 500 sets and the rest issued as single pins.

The pins will initially only be available via the Royal Parks, and I hope to have news soon of how they will be sold (maybe online or in their park locations or maybe both). No word yet on prices either. I believe that any remaining stocks will be on general release next year.

The pins are shown below. The design of each pin is such that the outline shape of the park forms the background and then each pin has an image representing the location along with a green 2012 logo. I like this idea which blends the angular shape motif of other 2012 pins with a geographical representation of the park - well done to the design department. The pins also shun the standard 2012 colours for a subtle forest green (based on the images anyway), which I think makes these an excellent set.

Pin 0111 - The Green Park

Pin 0112 - Hyde Park

Pin 0113 - Kensington Gardens

Pin 0114 - St James's Park

Pin 0115 - Bushy Park

Pin 0116 - Greenwich Park

Pin 0117 - Richmond Park

Pin 0118 - The Regent's Park

Once I have more news on the pricing and availability I'll post it here. I'd recommend not hassling the Royal Parks people at the moment as I understand they're working hard on getting these pins out as soon as they can, and hope to be able to promote them next week. Once they are available though, when you order, please be sure to tell them you heard about them on the London Pins website!

Update 12/10 : The Royal Parks website now has the pins available for sale . Take a look at http://www.royalparksstore.org.uk/prints-42687/2012-pin-badges-gallery.html. Prices are £6 for the individual pins and £60 for the boxed set. Remember, there are only 500 of the sets available. as mentioned previously, please mention my website if you place an order, it helps me if the retailers know my website is promoting the pins. Thanks!

1/10: Premiums Workshop Pin

On 27th September LOCOG ran a 'Premiums Workshop' for their Licensees and Sponsors. I understand that at this workshop, the audience got to see some of the upcoming merchandise. The attendees were given a pin to mark the workshop which is shown below. It's a huge pin - 53x65mm and has 2 pins on the back and is numbered LOC0011. There were only 250 of these made which makes it the rarest pin to date.

27/9: Christmas Pins

News tonight of possible London 2012 Christmas pins. I'm not sure if these are going to be retail, but it seems that a set of 5 or 6 pins in a long presentation box with a snowflake overlay have been spotted. More details if I get them.

22/9: Springy Pins

I got my 'Moving Mascot' pins today from Pins and Things. This looks to be the first (and at the time of writing, the only) stockist to have these pins at the moment.

The springy pins are better than I expected and the attachment of the mascot to the backing through the spring feels solid. The spring is 'tight' and the mascot stands firm rather than pulling on the spring. I think this has been achieved by keeping the weight of the mascot as light as possible, this in turn has been achieved by printing the mascot rather than using soft enamel. The distance between the backing and the mascot is 5mm.

We've seen sliding pins from Honav before, so I haven't discussed them here - they're still nice pins though!

Here are a couple of images which attempt to show the structure of the pin.

Partial side view

Top view

As an aside, this was the first order I had placed with Pins and Things and can definitely recommend them. Ordering was easy and delivery was next day 'signed for' - all for £1.99. I understand they have some 2 YTG pins left if you're looking for one or two. Check out their website from my links page (along with the other retailers, many of whom I have used).